2014 August » Precision MMA Blog

Hudson Valley Karate Classes

Aug 252014

Childhood Obesity: What the Martial Arts get right and Everyone Else gets Wrong.

Childhood obesity is the big question health of our time. Like so much in childhood, the ramifications of being unhealthy at a young age will be felt in adulthood. Heart Disease is one of the biggest causes of death in developed countries. While many risk factors are out of your control, some are well within it. Diet and exercise are chief among them. While it can be very difficult to regulate what a child eats at all times, you can create opportunities for exercise. The amount of exercise someone gets can do great things to mitigate the risk of weight related health problems, and there are many of them. It is important to create a level of activity in children that can keep them at a healthy weight range.

Hudson Valley Karate Classes

The problem with physical activity is finding the right program. For many that is easy, play a team sport. The problem arises for people who are not as physically developed or who are not athletic in general. Whether they are too small, slow or out of shape they get marginalized in team sports because winning is such a big part of them. As children age this threshold gets increased and children who are not physically gifted find themselves not just sitting on the sideline, but not on the team at all. In other words the children who need it the most are getting forced to the side. This cannot be the case with such a huge problem on our hands.

The answer is to focus on a physical activity that stays fun and engaging, but doesn’t send people away. The martial arts provide a friendly encouraging environment for anyone who tries it. Kids who can’t make their middle school baseball team don’t get turned aside at a karate class. They are included and it can yield wonderful results. Some of these children suffer from constantly being compared to their more physically gifted peers. They have stuck labels on themselves and come to view themselves as “unathletic” because they couldn’t make a team. The change in how they view themselves can be remarkable. They gain a new confidence in their abilities and appearance.

Poughkeepsie Karate Classes

If you are interested in giving your child the opportunity to become more fit and confident come into Precision MMA today. We offer a FREE 30 day trial and private introductory lesson. Stop in, give us a call at 845-392-8495 or go to our website at www.lagrangemartialarts.com.

Poughkeepsie Karate Classes: End to Bullying Cycle

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Aug 182014

Poughkeepsie Karate Classes: End to Bullying Cycle

Bullying is becoming a cause celebre in this country. While in the past it was dismissed as a right of passage or glossed over with empty platitudes like “boys will be boys”, it is now being given the serious attention it requires. While at times the act of bullying may not seem very harmful, the implications of why someone is being bullied or bullying can be very disconcerting. As with anything the reason behind the behavior is what needs to be remedied. A cause common to both sides is self-esteem and confidence. The martial arts can be the perfect way of shaping the way at risk children view themselves into something more positive and prevent this kind of behavior.

Poughkeepsie Karate Classes

The way in which you view yourself is very important. Self-esteem and self-confidence are character traits that become the arbiter of so much in life. One of the sadder parts about the whole bullying phenomena is that the victim and the bully is often targeted for their lack confidence. This leads into a cycle that feeds into itself and creates increasingly poor self image problems. Children who bully others are often the victims of bullies themselves. In a different scenario with different people involved they are the ones being victimized. These children will turn around and bully others as an escape from the powerlessness that they felt. They will use the same means others have used against them. The coercive tactics, threats of and actual violence and derisive language, that will all be mirrored back at a new victim. Again we see a system that feeds into itself and reestablishes it’s terrible hold on new persons time after time. Steps need to be taken to prevent this sort of cyclical stagnation.

The martial arts help stop bullying by teaching people a few key things. They can be divided into two basic but overlapping categories, physical and mental. On the physical side of things the martial arts can teach someone how to defend themselves. They can’t be bullied in the most extreme sense because the bully cannot use the threat of force as a means of coercion. They also now have the confidence that comes with being free from this rather cumbersome mental burden. The bully can gain the confidence to not project their insecurities onto other people and the bullied now has the assertiveness to not be a viable target for bullying. The bully can also learn how to properly understand what violence means and come to grips with how atrocious using it to control people is. The martial arts are in a sense a philosophical exploration of what violence is. To practice the martial arts is to gain a better understanding of violence. Bullies use violence as a tool to get something out of someone else. Someone who studies the Martial Arts gains an understanding of just how terrible it is to use violence for any reason outside of self defense.

Poughkeepsie Karate Classes

Once someone has gained the self-confidence to not be either a bully or a target of bullying broad and exciting new vistas are open to them. Self-confidence is a truly marvelous state of mind. I would urge you to not limit the martial arts to just anti-bullying, but really explore the transformative power that the martial arts can have.

If you are interested in having a child develop positive self-esteem and not become a bully or a victim, check out Precision MMA. We offer a FREE 30 day trial and private introductory lesson. Come in, give us a call at 845-392-8495 or go to our website at www.lagrangemartialarts.com.

Striking Thoughts: How the Martial Arts Improve Scholastic Achievement

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Aug 142014

The Martial Arts have been seen as a way to improve certain social abilities. The Martial Arts are seen in the same vein as other sports and physical activities in that sense, but in many ways they can be better than other sports or physical activities in general. The Martial Arts often offer more one on one time with students and an environment that can be modified to heighten the benefits. Socializing someone so they can become a better student can be a long and arduous process, but having them train in Martial Arts can go a long way in making that goal a reality.

Martial Arts for Scholastic Improvement

Many people play sports when they are in their formative years. While these experiences are typically a highly valued and cherished memory, with the Martial Arts they can be more than that. At Precision MMA there is a stress on not just teaching martial arts, but in teaching them in a manner that increases good habits and destroys poor ones. Every class starts with the children standing at attention and listening to the instructor. In between learning new moves and drilling, the children also stand at attention. The student is also encouraged to use eye contact. The ability to consistently use eye contact when conversing with people is essential in setting a tone that says clearly “I am paying attention”. This is all done to promote focus and self discipline in the students. The ability to focus is a skill necessary for every single social interaction.

Making children understand the value of certain habits and actions is another strong suite of the Martial Arts. Repetition is a major part of any class. Repeating the moves and techniques until you have them right. Repetition is an exercise in applying yourself. It can be mundane and even boring at times, but it is necessary for long term success. This is similar in concept to studying habits in school. When study for a big text you are really just repeating and rehashing things you have already learned. Asking questions is another important habit to develop. Forming a comfort with asking questions in a classroom setting is vital for success in the scholastic world. The final and most important way Martial Arts help children be better students is that it makes them goal oriented. The whole concept of someone attaining a belt in a Martial Art is an exercise in long term goal setting.

If you are interested in having your child develop important social skills through martial arts, come into Precision MMA today. We offer a FREE 30 day trial and private introductory lesson. You can contact Precision via our website at www.lagrangemartialarts.com, our phone number 845-392-8495 or come in and ask about our program.