Skip to Main Content

6 Benefits of Martial Arts That Can Help Your Kids at School

We all know that martial arts help people of all ages live healthier lives. People often miss the many benefits of martial arts for kids in school. Taking regular Jeet Kune Do martial arts classes at New York Martial Arts Academy can help your children be better students. Your child will be able to take the lessons we teach in our classes into their everyday lives, including their middle and high school classes. 

School can be a tough place for kids to figure out with disruptions, rules, and fitting in with their peers. Academic skills such as collaborating, managing stress, staying focused, organization, and earning grades can be tough. Keep reading to learn about the various benefits of martial arts for kids at school.

1. Anxiety and Stress Management

Many students get overwhelmed by the heavy demands at school. Students can struggle with academic expectations, especially if they have little free time and physical activity. Nowadays, more children than ever deal with higher levels of anxiety and stress. The breathing exercises and physicality of martial arts classes help students manage their mindset. 

2. Conflict Resolution

Martial arts highlights respect for others as a foundation. Security and conflict resolution work together in martial arts. Martial arts emphasize de-escalation to calm a situation that students share with their peers. When a student feels secure, they are able to more comfortably witness but not add to violence or aggression. 

3. Focus

Attention improves in students who regularly practice martial arts. Children develop greater attention spans while in martial arts classes that require attention to detail and the present moment. This skill will follow them into their school, where they will be able to sustain their focus better.

4. Self-Discipline

Self-discipline is a skill that begins from the outside. The discipline we practice in our Jeet Kune Do classes starts with the teacher. By being surrounded by instructors, experienced students, and their peers, children begin to absorb the self-discipline that martial artists strive to practice. This work ethic will travel with your child into their school life and even their other extracurriculars.

5. Self-Control

Extended focus and self-discipline lead to better self-control. The long-term goal of specific skill improvement in a martial arts classroom translates for students into them, setting aside distractions and minor problems to take steps toward their goals. 

6. Social Skills

Martial arts students have no choice but to interact in classes. Friendships form quickly in classes while students work together to improve and help their peers improve their skills. Keeping a positive, fun attitude in class allows students to navigate social situations, so they are better able to work with classmates at their school. 

Start Getting the Benefits of Martial Arts for Your Kid

There are many real-world applications for the lessons from martial arts classes for a child. With regular practice, they will feel better and have more success in school. New York Martial Arts Academy has classes for children and adults of all ages. We have been helping students develop skills they can use on and off the mat since 1985. We can find the right class for you!

The Best MMA Documentaries to Watch

By Jessica Militello There’s a lot of great documentaries on interesting and inspiring stories from the world of combat sports and the incredible stories of the fighters who are brave enough to step inside the ring. It’s hard not to...

Francis Ngannou Fighting Technique

By Jessica Militello Francis Ngannou most recently defended the title for the heavyweight championship on February 22 at UFC 270 against the interim champion Ciryl Gane. Ngannou is known for being a knockout artist with punching power equivalent...

Bruce Lee: The Greatest Martial Artist of All Time

Originally posted on 05/29/2020 It is widely accepted by fighters and other people around the world that Bruce Lee was the most influential martial artist of all time. From his famous action movies to his unique martial art of Jeet Kune...

Five of the Biggest Upsets in UFC History

By Jessica Militello Throughout the three decades of the UFC, there have been tons of historical moments and unforgettable upsets that shocked fight fans everywhere. These days, if you ask anyone what their favorites were, you’ll probably...

Sean O’Malley’s best fighting tactics

By Jessica Militello “Suga” Sean O’Malley’s career has been on the rise since he first got on the UFC’s radar back in 2017 on Dana White’s Contender Series. Since then, he’s had an impressive record of...

Looking back on the UFC-then and now

By Jessica Militello The UFC recently marked the 28th anniversary of their first fight card on November 12, 1993. At the time, the promotion had entirely different owners and was a fight to the death with virtually no rules in a quest to see...

How to Fight Like Nick Diaz

By Jessica Militello One of the UFC’s most legendary and respected fighters made a very long-awaited return to the octagon at UFC 266 for a rematch with Robbie Lawler that was 17 years in the making and many couldn’t even believe it...

Boxers Who Fight with Their Strong Side Forward

By Jessica Militello Most fighters that you watch from boxing to MMA adopt a stance that is either orthodox or southpaw. In these combat sports, it has always been a tradition to stand with your less dominant side forward and your lead hand...

Should the Oblique Stomp be Banned from the UFC?

By Jessica Militello Every once in a while the MMA community revisits the debate of whether or not moves like the oblique stomp should be made illegal in the UFC. The question has been getting attention again lately after viewers watched the...

Best Martial Arts Styles for Kids

By Jessica Militello If you are looking for a martial art to enroll your child in, you may be wondering which style is the best for them to learn and have fun while still being appropriate for their age. Every martial art has a list of benefits...

How do I choose a martial arts school for my child?

By Jessica Militello There are several criteria that are a good idea to look for when choosing a martial arts school for your kids. Obviously anytime you are investing time and money into something, you want to make sure it’s the right...

Should I Put My Kids in Martial Arts?

By Jessica Militello With all of the many choices of hobbies and sports to enroll your child in, it can become a little overwhelming to find the best one that both you and your child feel most confident about signing up for. Martial arts is a...

Can Martial Arts Help Kids Dealing with Anxiety?

By Jessica Militello Anxiety can be very uncomfortable and scary for anyone to deal with, but for parents who have children who deal with anxiety, it can feel frustrating to watch your kids struggle with it, especially if you are unsure of how to...

Cobra Kai Characters We Love and Hate

By Jessica Militello Warning: This article may contain spoilers if you have not completed the first three seasons of the show Cobra Kai. While fans of Cobra Kai anxiously wait for season 4 after a pretty intense season 3 finale, it’s...

Some of the Most Vicious Knee Knockouts in the UFC

By Jessica Militello Some of the most brutal and historic moments in the UFC have been from fights finished with knockouts using knees. Fans have a tendency to look at a fighter’s grappling, striking, and kicks, and can tend to overlook...

Using Jeet Kune Do Footwork to Avoid Getting Punched

The art of Jeet Kune Do created by Bruce Lee integrates all facets of combat. Various styles are borrowed from boxing, fencing, and other types of fighting. But one of the things that makes it truly unique is Jeet Kune Do footwork. If you...

The 5 Most Effective Types of Takedown Defense

If you want to achieve success as a martial artist, you need to improve your takedown defense as a way to avoid being brought to the ground during a fight. When mixed martial arts (MMA) first started, skilled grapplers won many of the first...

Helpful Head Movement Drills for Self Defense

There’s a saying in the martial world that says, “Either you move your head or he’s gonna move it for you.” Effective head movement is used to avoid oncoming attacks and also to set up strong counter moves. It can...

Why Martial Arts Is More Than Just Kicking

  Martial arts was initially seen as combative and puzzling. It was mostly learned and practiced by adults and was chiefly about self-defense. Martial arts has ever since grown from that stage of tiny dirty schools to schools teaching...

Fencing without a foil?

Bruce Lee often called his art of Jeet Kune Do, fencing without a foil.  In this entry we will be discussing what he meant by that statement.   If you take a look at fencing and Jeet Kune Do, you will not a few similarities.  One of...

Finding a Little Bruce Lee in All of Us

A slew of Bruce Lee types, embracing both men and women, could soon be making their way through the streets of New York--but with an added physical dimension; expertise in rough, tough and often savage street fighting.  In brief, those bad...

Doing Your Own JKD Thing

By Cass Magda   JKD has its own identity and follows a design with a purpose. It is a system. A JKD man's movement is definitely different and distinguishable from other martial arts such as Thai kickboxing, wing chun, or karate. The physical...

Getting To The Roots of JKD

By Cass Magda   In the Tao of JKD Bruce Lee said, "I hope that martial artists are more interested in the root of martial arts and not the different decorative branches, flowers or leaves. It is futile to argue as to which single...

Jeet Kune Do: The Way of The "Stopping Fist"

Jeet Kune Do is training and discipline toward the ultimate reality in combat. The ultimate reality is returning to one's primary freedom, which is simple, direct, and nonclassical.  A good Jeet Kune Do man does not oppose force or give way...

Jeet Kune Do's Five Ways Of Attack

1. SDA (Single Direct Attack) A direct attack is composed of a single movement. The objective is to go to the target by the most direct route. Although it is the simplest of the attacks, it is the hardest to complete successfully because the...