Making friends with martial arts

The martial arts today is built upon a foundation of community. That’s how schools function, is through a sense of community in the class structure of the school. An instructor is able to teach a number of students, and with the aid of senior students who are experienced in the lessons the instructor wishes to teach, even more students can be reached.
And studies have shown that people, especially young people learn well and more rapidly in a classroom structure because they’re able to draw from each other’s shared experience and help each other. It fashions bonds, and creates lasting relationships. So the martial arts is particularly well suited as a place where friends can be found and made.
That’s the beauty of the methodology by which martial arts is taught. It can provide instruction to students of any age who then through the course of instruction come to form bonds, share experience, and learn with one another. Young people can bring vitality and energy, while older students can bring wisdom and life experience. And each can benefit from the other and grow wiser and stronger and become more productive and successful.
This is especially true and valuable for young people, because enrolling in the martial arts can be a frightening prospect, it can seem intimidating in a way that may not be so evident with older students. So it becomes a source of great help for kids insofar as their ability to grow and mature in a safe and controlled environment. And it’s in such an environment that they learn valuable life skills that can be translated into adulthood as they grow older.
Kids are impressionable by nature and for that reason we want to provide them with positive ideals, and habits before negative ones have a chance to take root. We want our kids to learn discipline, self confidence, positive self image, and a goal oriented nature that offers them the ability to develop problem solving skills, engages critical thinking, and causes them to see all their potential through success, and overcoming challenges. And when they experience this in the company of other kids they absorb these lessons much quicker, they retain knowledge more readily and they enjoy themselves, they have fun. And it’s simply a fact that when kids are having fun they learn at a higher and more efficient rate.
This is great for kids in the company of other kids. But there’s more, because the martial arts often incorporates older students, adult students, and even elderly students. And this allows kids to learn and benefit from other life experiences, it encourages them to become more mature, and it offers them a wider view of the world in, again, a healthy and productive environment.
The elderly can benefit from this as well, because it’s a sad truth that often they can feel marginalized, and left alone, and don’t enjoy the quality of life that they should. They might not get enough activity in their regular routine, and this can accelerate health problems and things like depression. So for them the martial arts offers a great deal of benefit just as it does for children and young people. The elderly can discover a community of others who want to engage and enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle. And what’s more they get to interact with kids whose energy and optimism can be infectious, just as for young people, the life experience and stories of the elderly can be exciting and intriguing for them.
In this way people of all walks of life and backgrounds can discover new friendships and interactions they might not have been so readily privy to before.
And that’s why martial arts offers people such a wonderful opportunity to meet and make new friends.
The martial arts teaches self defense, yes, but it teaches so much more. And it is done so in an environment and means by which people share the same experience. They struggle with the same challenges, and they learn that they can’t overcome these challenges alone.
They need other people. They need their classmates as well as the instructor.
They need community, and that’s what the martial arts is truly about, building and strengthening a community. And from within that community people learn about one another, they learn about the motivations and desires that brought them to the school. They learn how other people have experienced life and they learn where others want to go.
And the friendships and bonds that are created here so often last lifetimes.
So if you are looking for a place to meet new friends, make new bonds, and learn to grow, mature, and overcome various struggles you might be experiencing, then the martial arts is the perfect place to do it. And there is every reason why you should look for a school near you and drop in on a class, and see what you think.
The instructors are friendly and knowledgeable, and happy to answer questions.
They can invite you to sit in on a class and see how everyone interacts.
Then you can talk about setting up an enrollment plan and getting started today.
Don’t wait. Engage and enjoy a community where you can learn, grow, and strengthen yourself in the company of a community, a community of friends.