Posts Tagged ‘Life Today’
Martial Arts & Middle School!
Martial Arts & Middle Schools!
I am going to make a bold statement, based partly on what I see day in and day out at my martial arts school and also on the behavior I witness of our community’s youth when I am out in public:
I think it should be a requirement that ALL students in Middle School study a martial art!
Not to learn how to defend themselves (although that is one of the many benefits acquired through study), but rather, to be exposed to the fundamental elements of respect, discipline, focus, and confidence that are inherently learned through the structure and function of a martial arts class.
In addition, not only will students learn these fundamental human values through the study of martial arts, they will also gain a profound understanding of what it takes to succeed at a worthwhile goal. They will learn how to be patient and to persevere, even through failure; life lessons that are not easy, but which are sorely needed in the technologically speedy world in which we live today.
Respect, Discipline, Focus, and Confidence
The martial arts have, through the centuries, been founded on and operate by these basic human elements (respect, discipline, focus, and confidence) which are its underlying foundation. These are elements which are integral to a warrior’s existence, as well as the existence of the society which he protects. The warrior’s code, “Bushido”, has always and by necessity must demand of its members respect for authority, discipline to obey orders and superiors, focus on the mission at hand, and confidence to stand strong and fight alongside of your fellow warriors; even when being vastly outnumbered. This is known simply as the “Way of the Warrior”. It is a profound way of life.
Today, these elements of “Bushido” are still in use, but have been carried over in a totally different manner, to use as tools by martial arts instructors to build character in our students, especially our youth. However, today we stress respect for our teachers, parents and our own body. We stress discipline to do what’s right and not to be a victim of negative peer pressure. We teach our students to focus on the positive and when trying to accomplish a task they must focus their eyes, their mind, and their body to be successful. We instill self-confidence in them by believing in them ourselves and by showing them how to develop their own self-confidence by helping others who are younger or weaker than themselves. The same concepts used centuries ago by the Samurai. But used in a totally appropriate way for the youth of today.
Patience & Perseverance
Because of the speed that our society now operates, children also need to learn about patience and perseverance. Patience and perseverance are extremely important elements in realizing any meaningful goal. Anything of value takes hard work, effort, and time (A.K.A., patience) to accomplish. If it didn’t, everyone would have it and its value would be worthless.
Furthermore, I believe that “success is composed of 99% failure”. So perseverance is also essential to succeed at anything worth attaining. What I mean is that at some point in life, we all fail at something. We must understand that failure is a part of success and that we must continue past our failure by getting up brushing ourselves off and persevering towards our goal.
Unfortunately, I see that kids today have very little patience and perseverance to accomplish anything worthwhile, anything that takes a great amount of time, effort, or patience. Furthermore, they are not willing to put out the effort necessary to really be excellent at something. It seems that “good enough” is the standard among most of our youth. This worries me. No goals, no ambition…no future.
Martial Arts, taught properly, can change these negative attitudes. I’ve seen it happen firsthand. Again through the structure and function of a martial arts class, it provides the foundation to learn what it takes to accomplish a valuable goal (such as the Black Belt); to strive for excellence; to not be satisfied with mediocrity; and to try and reach for your full potential as a person! It’s certainly not easy, but, with patience, perseverance, and passion anyone can be a success! Goals we set are goals we get!
Conclusion
The martial arts are something that is sorely needed in our modern technologically enhanced society; for our youth in particular. They need the solid moral and ethical foundation that martial arts will provide them: A foundation that may be structurally a part of the academic school system’s curriculum, but not functionally brought to life as it is in a martial arts classroom; a foundation that may or may not be taught in the home. We need to instill in our youth a solid foundation of moral and ethical values that will enhance their lives as well as the communities in which they live. And the martial arts can and will do this, given the opportunity.
So again, I make the bold statement:
I think it should be a requirement that ALL students in Middle School study a martial art!
I hope you agree.
Regards,
Mr C.