There are many skills that you learn in martial arts, but several are forgotten and even though they may be used in day to day life.

Martial arts teaches many different skills that can give a good and sturdy foundation for childhood and their life ahead.

Skills learnt include but aren’t limited to:

• Discipline
• Self Respect
• Confidence
• Honesty

All very valuable and all taken for granted by adults. But these skills are learnt in those important childhood years, the years that can and often do have huge impacts on the rest of your life.

So why have I titled this blog ‘The Skill That People Forget’?

Well there are actually several skills that you learn in martial arts that most adults fail to realise. That’s because most adults either take these skills for granted or never even learnt it in the first place.

Conflict Resolution

To an adult this can be thought of in a few ways, whether it can be a simple argument or a full out war, but to a child every little argument can feel like a full on fight and can have a huge emotional impact.

Conflict is natural, people think differently and disputes are bound to arise from time to time. Different people also react to conflict in different ways, whether it be with aggression, submission or another way, many forget there are better ways.

Giving a child another set of skills to resolve any conflict that will inevitably occur will impact every aspect of their life. They should no longer feel bound by a limited number of choices. You may have heard of these choices quite often: Fight, Flight, and the worst choice of them all Freeze.

Simply giving a child the permission to walk away or defend themselves is something that means a lot and can prevent someone from simply freezing. This actually works for adults too, who often don’t realise they need to give themselves permission before anything occurs.

’Peace is not the absence of conflict;

It is the ability to handle conflict through peaceful means’

Obviously if a conflict can be resolved peacefully it’s always a good option. In most small arguments that adults find themselves in can often be resolved by walking away and avoiding any contact with that other person. It isn’t so simple for children who are often required to see, sit next too, and interact with others that may have issues with your child; school cannot be simply walked away from by a child.

‘Conflict cannot survive without your participation’

Often an argument starts small and grows with each comment put back and forth, much like adding fuel to a fire (and I’m sure everyone has heard of that analogy before).

However, for an argument to exist it requires at least two opposing sides. If one party has the skills to just say no, and to not be drawn in to an argument, then it will fizzle out.

Now I’m guessing your thinking that doesn’t stop the other party from saying something. No it doesn’t, but it does give you more options while it is resolved, and it does prevent it from getting much worse.

Children have a right to not be bullied or scared when they go to school. What they learn in martial arts give them more than punches and kicks, its gives them an invaluable set of skills for any conflict and the power to feel safe and happy.