Why children need Martial Arts

excerpt from a great post about the benefits of martial arts for kids.

"In many oriental nations, martial arts are taught to school children how P.E. is a part of our children's school day. If we would make the shift from general P.E. to a martial arts curriculum, we would be giving our children all the benefits of a general P.E. class and so much more. Here's why:

General P.E. classes aim to teach many different skills that promote physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle. Along with this important life skill, P.E. also aims to teach cooperation, taking turns and following rules among other social skills. Martial arts teach all of these and more.
It's obvious that martial arts are a great form of physical fitness just as the activities in P.E. are, but martial arts have an advantage. Martial arts are exercises that children, adolescents, adults and even older adults can practice regularly - it is an activity that can continue through life. Unlike "pickle ball" or the "shuttle run", school children won't outgrow the ability or desire to practice martial arts as they get older. It is a lifestyle rather than an exercise.

The social skills taught in P.E. can also be enhanced through martial arts. Because of the nature of martial arts, people often find that practicing martial arts requires concentration and focus and these skills carry over to other parts of life as well - including school work and, later, jobs and family. Additionally, martial arts tend to focus on respect (both for self and others) which is a great asset for any school child and will give the child the skills needed to cooperate, take turns and follow rules appropriately.

Some people worry that teaching martial arts in schools will foster a sense of violence and give bullies the skills they need to continue harming others. Martial arts do the opposite, however. A common characteristic of bullies is that they lack impulse control and also don't know how to manage their anger. Martial arts can solve for that because it helps reduce stress, it improves concentration and control and it teaches respect of others. In this sense, it also helps children who are bullied because it gives them the confidence they need to combat bullying before it even starts.

Just think about the change in society if everyone had martial arts as part of their daily lives. We'd be more physically fit, but we'd also have a greater sense of respect towards one another as well."