Guard Up! Better on the Mat, Better in the Classroom: The Benefits of Martial Arts for Kids
Grand Master Evan R. Henry explains how taekwondo training can help children develop self-control, respect, confidence and classroom habits that support success in school and beyond.
The Kid Who Walks In Different
I have been teaching taekwondo since I was ten years old. A few decades of watching kids walk into my dojang for the first time. I know the ones who are struggling before they say a word. I have seen it hundreds of times. The kid who is not listening to teachers. The kid who hurts other kids at school. The kid who cannot control what comes out of his mouth. Grades bad. Hard to teach. Every one of these kids has a parent standing next to them, tired, hoping I can do something. Some of these kids have been in trouble for years. Some just started falling apart. But every one of them comes through my door with the same look. Head down. No eye contact. No belief that anything is going to change.
Let me tell you what happens to those kids.
The Three Things I Teach First
Before I ever teach them a single kick, I teach them three things.
- Confidence. Not the fake kind. The real kind. Built one small win at a time. First they learn to stand right. Then they learn to breathe right. Then they learn one technique. Then they master it. Every mastered piece grows the confidence.
- You are a champion. Not a baby. On the mat and off it. You do not whine. You do not quit when it is hard. You do not act like the world owes you something. Champions get up when they get knocked down. Champions finish what they started. That is who you are now.
- I believe in you. And sometimes, that is the first time anyone has said that to them. Outside their parents.
You are a champion, not a baby. On the mat and off it.
What Martial Arts Actually Builds
Those three things open the door. Then the discipline of the training does the rest. Martial arts builds focus. A kid learns to hold their attention on one thing until it is done. That focus walks into every classroom the next morning. Martial arts builds respect. Every class begins and ends with a bow. That bow becomes a habit that shows up when they greet a teacher, when they meet a stranger, when they walk into any room.
Martial arts builds the ability to fail and try again. A technique does not come the first time. Or the fifth. Or the twentieth. Every time it does not come, the student decides to try again. That is the same muscle they will use for math homework and every hard thing life will throw at them. Martial arts builds control. Not just physical control. Control of the mouth. Control of the temper. Control of the impulse to hit back. A kid who has learned real control is not the kid who gets in trouble at school anymore.
Evan Henry
How a Martial Arts Kid Walks Into a Classroom
After a season of training, my students walk into a classroom different than they walked in before. They walk in giving respect. To the teacher. To their classmates. To the space itself. They walk in ready to learn. Not distracted. Not defiant. Not carrying the anger from yesterday. Ready.
That is the difference. And every teacher who has ever taught one of my students has felt it. Parents call me telling me their child has changed in every area. Teachers call me not to complain but to thank me and to ask what I did with their student. That is what a martial arts kid looks like in your child's classroom. That is the kid your child needs to be sitting next to. And it is the kid your child can become.
Evan Henry
Do Your Best in All Things
Master Joe Dweck was my first taekwondo teacher. He gave me my first black belt. And one of the things he taught me that I have carried into every part of my life is a simple sentence.
Do your best in all things.
Not on the mat only. In school. At home. With your friends. With your family. In every corner of your life. Do your best. That is what I teach the kids on my mats today. That is what the parents who trust me with their kids get back after a year of training. A child who is not just better at kicking. A child who is better at everything.
A Word to Parents
If you are a parent watching your kid struggle in school, in behavior, in confidence, in respect, or in focus, this is one thing that works. It is not the only thing. But it has worked for me on hundreds of kids over three decades. I would not tell you to put your child in martial arts if I were not doing the same with my own. My children train. Because I have seen what the training does to a kid who needs it, and I want it for mine too.
Look for a school that will teach your child the values before the kicks. Look for a teacher who will believe in your child when your child does not believe in themselves. When you find that school, put your child in it and let the work happen.
Reflection
Do you see your child falling behind, acting out, or losing confidence? If yes, this week is where you start looking for the mat that will meet them where they are.
I do online classes once a week on Tuesdays on Zoom for only $30 a month. Call me directly to join!
Guard up!
For Speaking, Seminars, or Self-Defense Training Contact:
Grand Master Evan R. Henry
Founder, New Creation Taekwondo • Senior Pastor, Infinite Hope Global
Follow @TheGrandMasterPastor on TikTok
Business: (848) 217-2202
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The Unity & Heritage Exhibition is on display until December at The African American Heritage Museum Of Southern New Jersey.
