How Martial Arts Training can Teach Respect
There are a number of key principles that underline and unify all martial arts training programs. These include courtesy, self-discipline, greater self-esteem and improved self-confidence. However, there is one main principal that underlies all the others, the principle of respect.
Martial arts programs for kids, teens, and adults, are designed to promote positive behavior both on and off the training mat. The respectful manner in which we conduct our training and interactions at our facility has a powerful effect on our students that is generally carried over into other aspects of their lives. We foster an environment where students are encouraged to respect not only their instructors and fellow students but also themselves. Many parents observe that by practicing respect for themselves and others while training in martial arts, their kids develop a greater sense of respect in other key areas of their lives including at school, at home, and in their social interactions with their peers.
When it comes to the martial arts, you get out of it what you put into it. Martial arts are about a lot more than just learning how to kick or punch someone. Martial arts challenge individuals to push their own personal boundaries and to go beyond them. To do this requires hard work, discipline and perseverance. This same hard work discipline and perseverance that students put into improving themselves as martial artists carries over into their lives as a whole. The respect they develop for their teachers, fellow students and their own abilities is projected out to the world leading students to become better citizens, better students and better people overall.