You are at home when the doorbell rings; you open it to find your son or daughter standing there with a bloody nose and a swollen eye.
They are crying as they explain that a gang attacked them and at that moment your chest explodes with a combination of anger and frustration as your child has been physically attacked.
I have been the child in that scenario, and I hope that I will never be the parent.
If you were to stop a parent and ask them if they thought that there was a real risk their child could be attacked by another child one day, what would you think they would say?
Most would say yes.
Then if you asked them the simple question ‘do you think that it would be better that your child was trained to protect themselves?’
The answer would again be yes!
They are straightforward and obvious question and answers, but most people are never asked “do you want your child to learn self-defence?”
When you ask this question, you will rarely get a ‘no’ from a parent.
However, there are other benefits of children training in self-defence that are equally important and in this article, we will look at them all.
Ready?
Let’s do this;
1. Self Defence Training Will Teach Your Child When Not To Fight
Every parent worries about their child fighting, but self-defence training will encourage your child to remain calm and look for non-violent solutions to aggression.
As the child learns self-defence, they will experience a greater sense of physical security. So when the playground bully comes at them, they will know they can deal with him (or her), but instead due to training will have no issues talking to a teacher.
However, they will also know when it is time to fight. They will have been taught about physical boundaries and be ready if they must defend themselves.
2. Self Defence Training ‘Bully Proofs’ Your Child
A bully will use the fear of violence to cause severe emotional distress.
The solution?
Remove the fear!
As your child starts to train in self-defence lessons, they will soon see that they can hit hard and they can generate tremendous force.
Once they have this ‘feeling’, they are no longer trapped by the threat of violence from a bully.
They know that if they have to fight, they can.
3. Self Defence Training Teaches Teamwork
Just because self-defence is not a sport, it does not mean the child will miss out on the element of teamwork.
In contrast, the children will learn that they progress far faster if they work together in drills.
They will encourage their training partners in gradings, and because there is no competitive element, the children will not become stressed about ‘winning’. They will learn that the process of training or the taking part is just as rewarding.
4. Any Child That Learns Self Defence Also Increases Their Confidence
There is something special about learning to defend yourself that allows you to walk tall.
But why?
Perhaps it is learning that you can do another press-up even when you were about to stop through fatigue, or it could be that you can now escape when another human being is trying to keep you pinned to the floor.
The process of self-defence will take your child on a journey of self-discovery where they will learn to push themselves through barriers, battle adversity and overcome fear.
The result is a child that can stand up for themselves, and this crosses over into all areas of life.
5. Your Child Will Become More Determined
Life is not a bunch of roses, and we face adversity on a regular basis.
Self-defence training cultivates determination by the bucket load!
From learning to keep your hands up even when your arms are so tired they feel as if they could fall off, to learning to protect yourself against four attackers.
Every situation will act as a mini test, and they will learn not to ‘give up.’ They will learn that they can get through stressful situations and this feeling of determination soon becomes a belief.
They will believe in their ability to overcome tough situations, and this is backed up by many experiences inside the class.
The result is a child that will not ‘give up’ easily.
6. Self- Defence Allows Your Child To Participate 100% Of The Time
Have you ever been to a football training session with young kids?
The better players usually get the ball and pass it to other ‘skilled’ players leaving lesser players to watch the game they are playing in.
In self-defence training, all the children have to participate all of the time. The competition in self-defence training is with yourself, not the other participants.
This unique situation means that every child regardless of their physical ability gets to be involved in equal measure.
7. You Give Your Child The Gift of Safety
We all want to be able to be there for our kids, but the simple truth is that it is natural for kids to mix with their friends away from adults.
Self-defence training is a gift that every parent can give to their child for the times that they are not with them.
It is a way of knowing that you have given them an extra tool to help them stay safe in a world that can often be dangerous.
Conclusion
So there you have it, seven ways self-defence lessons benefit your child.
Defence Lab offers children’s self-defence classes across the world because we feel that by enrolling your child in training you will be helping them to grow both mentally and physically.
Self-defence is not just about learning to protect yourself; it goes far deeper than that!
Thanks for reading.