One of the drawbacks of being a schoolteacher is that outside of work and often during a Tae Kwon Do lesson, people do take every opportunity to talk at length to me about their children’s academic progress, friendship issues and eating habits. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to help the children who had been sent over to me by their father hoping I could help them with their homework about otters, my degree in English wasn’t much use there; but one conversation I had with a parent recently did strike a chord.
He was describing the change in his young son’s behaviour since taking up Tae Kwon Do. While we were engaging in our one-step sparring he told me about how they were thinking of ways to tame their “devil child” and saw martial arts as a possible solution; all whilst performing an alarming reverse turning kick to my mid-section. It’s hard to imagine the little chap who often trots up to me with “lello Lelley” (I think that’s “hello Lesley!”) with a nasty temper but apparently he used to throw some award-winning tantrums. However, according to his father his behaviour has been modified since doing Tae Kwon Do. My friend put this down to the discipline he experienced in class along side being led by example by other, more senior members and teachers. This led me to think further about the place children have within the martial arts world or rather, what children could take from that which a martial art offers.
The first and most obvious tenet of Tae Kwon Do people desire of children is that of ‘courtesy’. Certainly in our time of hoodies and ASBOs, this is a value we feel is lacking today but apart from the minority of society’s miscreants, the real value here is that of discipline and more specifically, self discipline. Whilst dealing with young people at a normal comprehensive school the most successful students, be they academic, sporting or vocational, are those that have the ability to control their own behaviour and motivate themselves to listen and learn. These are the youngsters who have probably had some type of structure applied to their young lives and have not been party to the idea of ‘loving neglect,’ those who are left to play computer games for hours at a time and have fast food on demand, that I feel some of my school students suffer from. Children crave discipline (not to be confused with punishment) and this is where martial arts can play a crucial role. Merely by standing in line and wearing the collective uniform of the dobok gives the children a feeling of security as they know what they’ve got to do and when to do it. The goals that are set in Tae Kwon Do, such as getting the next belt and even competing, give the young students a feeling of achievement, sets them goals and boosts their self-esteem, something that my most disruptive students at school lack the most.
On another level, the health benefits of children doing Tae Kwon Do are enormous. In the western world, Type II Diabetes is on the increase due a lack of physical inactivity and trashy food, and frankly, some of the kids could do with losing a few pounds as well. In a martial arts class, the students get used to working hard the old fashioned way by being out of breath and sweating, in a controlled environment of course. One parent spoke of the, “strong physicality” her daughters learnt from a combination of both patterns and sparring. She also mentioned that they,”both have a level of fitness few of their peers can match.” Another advantage Tae Kwon Do gives children is an increased spatial-awareness and development in their motor skills. The combined movements and multi-directional nature of patterns teaches them consciousness of their environment and the physical challenge of sparring with its fast movements and reaction to another’s movements gives them speed, flexibility and strength, much the same as it would an adult! One instructor summed this up well when he described the children as, “learning to express themselves in movement;” through martial arts, young people become fitter, stronger and less self-conscious of their physical selves.
Children who attend a Tae Kwon Do class also become much more socialised. This works in several ways as in the class environment, the children learn to mix with a variety of adults and other young people of various ages. Very often in a mixed-grade class, the children learn to communicate with adults in a mutual working environment and they can make friends of all ages outside of school. Also, particularly with girls, they are given positive male role models. In Primary schools, there is a severe lack of male teachers and quite often children are taught solely by women up until the age of 11. One parent mentioned that her children are now, “used to male teachers,” children need to experience adults of both genders wearing a dobok and equally, boys are subject to female authority as they are party to female senior grades. In addition, youngsters will build a friendship group amongst their own age range based on a common interest they can share, forging bonds that are built upon mutual respect and loyalty which are often much stronger than those they are exposed to in the social melting pot at school.
So what of the actual mechanics of teaching children in a martial arts class, compared to that of a school room? Throughout school, children are taught strictly according to age (although this doesn’t necessarily relate to level of learning) and are amongst a small group of students who just don’t want to be there and are highly disruptive. Within the Tae Kwon Do class, one can assume that the young people are pursuing an activity they have chosen to do, so therefore they are much more rewarding to teach. However, one of the drawbacks I have noticed is that in a mixed class, sometimes the children can struggle to keep up with the adults’ acquisition of learning, they just can’t take in as much at the rate an adult can; therefore, it will often take them longer to learn a pattern and may progress at a slower rate and so our expectations should compensate for this. The same instructor explained that, “you have to keep things more basic with children,” and so this is why I believe that up until the age of around ten, or until they reach blue belt, children should really have their own class, numbers permitting. The teaching methods will differ as you will have to change task much more often as the children will have a shorter attention span, and obviously, you want them to enjoy it. Our instructor mentioned that, “the classes should be a balance between fun and discipline,” which is absolutely key to keeping their interest in Tae Kwon do. Another mistake I often see is that sometimes, the classes are just too long. In my opinion, a junior class should be no more that an hour as by then, a younger child will have more than reached their capacity to concentrate and will struggle with any more. A prime example I have seen is at my local club where a young boy of eight, who is a blue belt and therefore qualifies for the senior class, is often left with us for the full evening of two classes lasting two and a half hours. I sometimes struggle to last that long so how we can expect a small child to is unfair. I suspect that his father is using us as a cheap babysitting service but very often, the young lad can’t keep focused for that long and often needs a break part-way through the senior session as time-out, or he’ll misbehave.
Finally, I though it was quite interesting to measure the attitudes to children practising a martial art from those outside of the world of Tae Kwon Do. The feelings I found seemed to be quite typical in that they were all for it because of the benefits of instilling discipline and concentration, but were exceedingly wary of the sparring and competition side of Tae Kwon Do. One person mentioned that she, “didn’t like the thought of little kids fighting each other,” and one had a vision of children, “chopping each other in the playground.” This is interesting as in fact, a child who does a martial art is much less likely to be violent outside of the dojang than those who don’t. Most school bullies are not trained in a martial art and if they were and used it in a non-defensive situation, would be in for a hell of a roasting from their instructor. With regards to competitive sparring, I don’t see this as any more physically dangerous or morally troublesome than that of football or rugby. Children are much more likely to acquire an injury in these sports than they are wearing the protective sparring gear and being supervised in a responsible dojang. Also, competitions are there to test their skills and many relish the challenge, attaining a level of maturity and sense of fair play than those who are not exposed to any element of competitive sport. I remember seeing at the World Tae Kwon Do Championships in Cardiff last year the final of the boy’s lightweight division, particularly as it featured a boy from our club. The level of skill these boys demonstrated in their match was breath-taking and most of us agreed that theirs was one of the most exciting finals we had seen. What was also pleasing to see was their sportsmanship, they both demonstrated a mutual respect for each other and the winner took his first place with grace.
Overall, the benefits of children practising a martial art far outweigh any reasons for them not. Indeed, I’ve noticed many parents becoming interested an joining in the class as well, right up to gaining their black belt, so it might be worth checking out your local dojang to see what’s on offer for your little tigers and you never know, you might enjoy yourself as well!
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