Martial Arts - Teaching of Morals / Coordinatiion / Social Skills

[Shiroi Tora]

I am sitting at my son's Dojo...watching him in his Karate class. It is very good for so many children...especially most Aspies. While it is structured...it stresses basic respect for oneself and for others. With those incorporated in the child...all unstructured play will take on these positive aspects...and the child will do well with othes.

Another great strength in training is in the total body coordination. The child learns how to operate the body as a single unit. His gross motor control will greatly increase and his conditioning will greatly improve. His mood will be elevated and this alone will greatly improve his life.

My son goes 4 times a week. He loves it...the training sessions are short as he is in a kids class...just 50 min long. He is mixed in with a variety of children and situations...perfect for Aspies.

Sports are very important for growing youth. You learn how to work with others. My son also tried Tumbling and Soccer....however..he likes Martial Arts the most.

Any others out there with similar experiences with their children?

If you haven't tried Martial Arts for your children...I heartily endorse them to greatly improve so many aspects for your child.

 

[Balamvucub]

I believe this also helps with 'adults' as some ten-twelve years ago,I was enrolled into a martial arts class in order to better defend my self against potiential attack[from my 'ex husband] This helped in the ability to balance ,such as the 'crane'and helped in regaining upper body strength, 'the mantas'. I would hazard a guess that no matter how 'old' a person is, this would help to keep them in shape.

 

[jaws]

I do believe martial arts helps...by not only providing coordination and physical activity to relieve stress, but by also building self-confidence...I was bullied as a kid, but I felt sorry for them, not threatened by them, because I had been taking karate and competing in tournaments since I was 8yr old (and placing in top 3 katas and sparring). I knew I could avoid getting hurt and could stop them at any time of my choosing...as I said, I felt sorry for them and so I would usually "play along" with it as long they did not try to really harm me or anyone else. Interesting side note: I found out several years after graduating, that people in my high school feared me and thought I was a ninja or something...had to be based on my confidence, as I was never in a fight outside of tournaments..stopped a couple, but never hit anyone. I wanted to mention that for those who think it might promote violence, as good instruction teaches that violence is a last resort and usually reserved for those not cunning enough to avoid an altercation.

I had an obsession with batman and spiderman, that lead to an obsession with ninjas, which lead to martial arts...I even study a lot of eastern philosophy...I find it is naturally in tune with aspergian logic...very direct and concrete. The dojo usually requires everyone to be respectful (no exceptions, unlike in the real world) this makes it easy to learn and avoids any one being teased...I recall when I was 15yr old, there was an assistant instructor who was 9yr old...and many other younger blackbelts that we all respected and addressed as sir, and did not question it, because we respected their effort and talent in obtaining their blackbelt.

 

[Balamvucub]

It has been a long while since I had been to a dojo, however,I remember my instructer saying that it is better to avoid conflict than to cause it,that it was better if conflict cannot be 'avoided' that it was better to maim than to kill... In addition,he would talk of how 'chaotic,and wordy western culture was,in comparison to eastern culture. I, and a few others there had a natural ability to sit and observe,with out the need to speak about this and that.He noticed this and had started teaching us 'taichi' as a result. As far as being able to follow the rules and being able to let go of the 'words in brain' I am quite at home doing this.