Why Taekwondo is Best for Children

by John D. Nottingham, 6th Dan Master Instructor, USA Martial Arts Phoenix ScottsdaleTaekwondo.com

Is Taekwondo For Your Child?

More and more parents are learning that Taekwondo can have a profoundly positive impact on children. It has many parents saying that Taekwondo is the best martial art for children. What makes Taekwondo so unique and different from Karate, Kung Fu, Judo or other sports and children's activities?

• Taekwondo offers a comparatively faster promotion system to keep kids motivated and more successful. This results in an often higher graduation success rate to Black Belt.
• Taekwondo is an Olympic sport with an organized competition circuit, training and development programs.
• Taekwondo has numerous cultural lessons, cultural benefits and active support from the Korean people. Taekwondo is Korea's national sport.
• Taekwondo training has more incentives and rapidly changing classes that helps Taekwondo classes keep kids interest.
• Taekwondo places less emphasis on uncomfortable low stances and more on fun dynamic kicking. This makes it a rewarding workout and more fun for all ages.
• Taekwondo helps children develop and maintain better flexibility and coordination due to the emphasis on high kicks.
• Taekwondo is known to develop core and abdominal strength. This makes it ideal for cross training for other sports such as baseball, football, soccer and so on.
• Leadership skills are developed with the senior student, junior student rank relationship, assisting others.
• Taekwondo develops social skills of cooperation, patience, teamwork as well as goal setting.
• The respectful structure helps to instill discipline in each child with a "YES I CAN" confident attitude.
• The disciplined culture helps bring out your child's best.

Taekwondo places special emphasis on attitude, character and moral education. This is the primary emphasis at USA Martial Arts Children' s Taekwondo Phoenix.

The Tenets of Taekwondo provide the foundation for all TKD training.

TaeKwonDo Tenets

The Principles of Black Belt

Modesty

Courtesy

Integrity

Perseverance

Self-Control

Indomitable Spirit

• Taekwondo teaches a "Can Do", no excuses attitude that reflects the cooperative Korean-American relationship over the past 60 years. This is evident in Korea's amazing prosperity and progress in recent history.
• Most Taekwondo schools also have requirements of home rules of respect that help children learn how to contribute to their families. This can include incentives to do chores, be helpful, kind, cooperative, and respectful at home.
• Children in Taekwondo are encouraged to cultivate respectful relationships with parents, siblings and friends. Most Taekwondo schools also emphasize or require good academic performance - often with rewards systems in the Taekwondo school such as stripes on belts.
• Taekwondo is a lead by example action philosophy that is a way of life.

While in my experience, it has more to do with the teacher and less to do with the style, Taekwondo has some fundamental components which were designed for the development of children that make it unique. Whether Karate, Kung Fu, Judo and other martial arts, the important thing to remember is that there are no superior martial arts, only superior martial artists. Find a caring, qualified instructor with a track record of developing great Black Belts and individuals with confidence, character and citizenship.