Why self defence and mixed martial arts should be part of every child’s early learning
It’s no secret that the discipline of martial arts is widely recognised as being beneficial to the mental, social and physical wellbeing of all those who take part. Founder of My First Gym, a children’s activity hub, former Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Champion and father of three, Korey Gibson believes children as young as four should be taking part, but not restricted to one martial art. His background in MMA suggests they learn wrestling, grappling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission fighting, not just for variety and excitement, but for the broad learning and real-life application.
Here are his seven reasons for enrolling your child (and yourself, because it’s never too late) into self defence/mixed martial arts classes.
1) It grows emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence and the ability to learn are being favoured over intellect in some workplaces. What does it mean? It refers to one’s capacity to handle interpersonal relationships and be aware of, control and express emotions, and is developed during every martial arts session.
All martial arts disciplines focus on social and communication skills through working together to practice techniques and prompts people to connect with their thoughts/inner being by promoting meditation and calmness. It’s this practice that improves focus and concentration, which, for the younger ones, fairs them well in their first years of school.
For relationships, martial arts rely on people interacting with their team, opposition and coaches in a clear and controlled manner and working with different types – the more they practice this within a martial arts environment, the more they will be able to apply this across all aspects of their lives.
2) Builds self-confidence
Martial arts build self-confidence through the achievements made by hard work and dedication. Self-confidence is vital for the issues our children face today such as online bullying, which we are hoping to empower people to not only resist but see the threats and risks before they occur. Our mind is our greatest weapon – “use it to defuse it” (the situation) is what I believe in, this may include talking people out of situations that could become hostile.
3) Makes us comfortable with our bodies – get comfortable with being uncomfortable
Teaching our children to learn about their own personal safety area is one of the most important things to instill early on. This comes from being comfortable with their own body, how it moves and works. Martial arts encourage activities such as ground fighting and grappling where being close is imminent.
4) Improves situational awareness
At its core, situational awareness involves being aware of what is happening around you to understand how information, events, and your own actions will impact your goals and objectives, both now and in the future. Lacking situational awareness has been identified as one of the primary factors in accidents caused by human error. I find with lots of children, martial arts make them think in terms of action, outcome, reaction and consequence – what happens if I do this? What’s my next move? How will my partner/opponent respond?
5) Improves all aspects of physical and mental fitness
Variety is good for any person’s general fitness levels – it keeps our body guessing and we continuously must improve and adapt. MMA works on cardiovascular fitness (for a healthy heart and lungs), strength and flexibility, which is great for the development of muscles and joints. In terms of mental fitness, martial arts provide tests for problem-solving and logical thinking, as every variable is explored through any contact or non-contact combat.
6) Helps people learn to recognise threat and prevent danger
When we teach children and adults martial arts, we still practice the mantra of ‘defending oneself should actually mean doing everything possible to avoid fighting or conflict’. All the points outlined above highlight. Martial arts are about encouraging people to use their smarts and not their fists. It’s about so much more than getting physical – it develops their decision-making based on gut instinct, body language and behaviour. Growing their awareness and ability to physically defend themselves is promoted as the best way to learn to identify danger and avoid it, which is what we all want for our loved ones at any age.
7) It helps identify a future focus
By being involved with all the different contributing disciplines of MMA, people get to try a bit of everything. From there, a child might take a shining to an individual martial art such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, wrestling, grappling, taekwondo, muay thai, boxing or kickboxing (for example), which they might choose to focus on full-time. This will help them hone their skills and, should they want to, prepare them to compete in children’s tournaments. Yes, this could inspire a sporting career, but better yet, it will help them prepare for high-pressure events in their lives, which might require quick thinking, public speaking or performance.
Korey Gibson is the founder of My First Gym, a children’s activity hub throughout Australia, which he sold in 2019. He has more than 24 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, through various ventures such as Snap Fitness New Zealand, 9Round, Fit Futures Learning Institute, and Cadence Beats Cycling Studios. He is a former professional rugby league player and mixed martial arts (MMA) champion. Korey’s wellness philosophy is to create health habits early and always look to inspire movement.
If you'd like to know more about living with a peak physique, contact Korey Gibson today at evolve@whai.life
