Your kids' and karate: 4 tips to get the best lessons

Karate lessons are a great way for kids to get fit, have fun and learn important life skills. Here's what you should know before enrolling your kid in a class.

• Karate lessons help kids achieve focus and physical fitness and also provide the opportunity to meet other kids and make friends.
• Typically, kids participate in hour-long classes where they work with their teacher and a group of other students on kicking, punching, blocks and other karate moves. The class works on progressing through different skill levels and is tested at regular intervals, which helps them set and achieve their goals.
• Below are some tips that will help your children enjoy karate and get the most out of their lessons.

• Six is a good age to start karate classes. By that age, kids usually have enough control over their muscles and can punch and turn properly and safely.
• Muscle control is important because it allows children to perform the moves adequately and it's important when children want to learn more advanced moves.
• Starting karate at a younger age, though, can sometimes be a frustrating experience for children because they can't progress as quickly as they would like.

• Discipline is a very important part of any martial art. Kids who are learning can get frustrated in the beginning while they're building strength and learning the skills they need. Without discipline, it's difficult to advance at a consistent rate.
• Kids learn discipline gradually by committing to practice for a certain amount of time every day and then building onto that over time. They will start to see improvements and will understand how their efforts are paying off. If children are patient with themselves, they will continue on the path without falling behind.

• Breathing is one of the most important parts of karate and is connected to each and every move and the overall success your child will experience in karate. Tapping into the life force of breathing is essential to the way we move our bodies and improve concentration.
• Learning to breathe properly during physical exertion will help your child advance more quickly.

• Karate is about physical agility and exercise, but it's also an extremely mental sport. The earlier kids learn to listen to their bodies and to connect the mind and body, the more they'll get out of their karate lessons.
• Martial artists are taught to see, feel and listen both internally and externally. Tell kids to take slow, deep breaths with their eyes closed and to take inventory of different parts of their bodies by focusing on one area at a time. Start with their heads then tell them to move their concentration down to their necks, shoulders, stomachs and so on.
• Over time they will learn to pay closer attention to their bodies at the same time as doing their karate poses.

Sources:

http://breakingmuscle.com/family-kids/7-reasons-why-your-child-should-practice-martial-arts

http://www.howcast.com/videos/500208-How-to-Pick-Karate-Lessons-for-Kids-Karate-Lessons