Why martial arts is one of the best to teach respect

The martial arts is uniquely qualified to teach respect far more than any other sport. That’s because the entire methodology and system is based upon it and the environment in which students learn is immersed in it. One cannot achieve anything without it. A student cannot advance without it. In fact a student cannot even begin a class without it.
Respect is admiration, an expression for someone’s achievements or accomplishments.
And it is something a student learns when they enter into the relationship of student and instructor. A student must show respect before beginning a class, and before they conclude a class. Every interaction they make or take part in is based on respect. And they learn to show their classmates respect, and learn to receive it as well.
Then, as students learn the things the instructor wants them to, they learn to plan and set goals for advancement. An instructor teaches them that they’ll eventually be called upon to advance from one rank to the next, from white belt, to black representing mastery of the art. And with each successive belt or rank they earn, and achieve, they are entitled to more and more respect. Eventually they will become a senior student and be entitled to help as an assistant instructor, which in turn prepares them for the role of ultimately becoming an instructor themselves if they choose to take that path.
But in each and every interaction they take part in they are dealing in a currency of respect.
And they learn that it is simply the way the martial arts functions, and how they must function in order to accomplish anything. They learn the value of it, and they learn to adopt that as a way of life and way of interacting with others.
It should be noted here also that one of the most valuable lessons learned here aside from respect in and of itself, is that a student learns to respect themselves. And that is monumental in terms of how they treat themselves and the influences they expose themselves to.
And when they take these lessons into the world with them, they make a world of difference.
A student learns that respect is earned through their achievements. And it is a solid basis and foundation for how they will treat themselves and others. It causes them to engage in critical thinking skills because they analyze the influences that are put before them and discern whether they should allow those influences to affect them. It causes them to look at others and their achievements and accord them the respect that those achievements deserve.
This simply makes their world better because it governs the way they treat others. And when they do they can positively influence the way those people act and feel toward them.
There is no simpler way to put an interaction on a proper and positive footing than to show respect. And this becomes a way in which students can benefit themselves and their communities. It encourages the pursuit of wisdom and maturity, and this promotes growth, both personally and outwardly. It opens doors and possibilities and new ways in which a person can enhance their quality of life.
But it all begins with what a student learns in the martial arts, and it is something they will utilize and practice all of their life.
So many life skills like respect and the value of it can and are learned in the martial arts. And it represents yet one more building block upon which society advances and grows, and indeed is preserved and protected. And we want these things for our kids, just as we want them for ourselves. But it takes a commitment to becoming something bigger than yourself, and being a part of something bigger than yourself. Indeed in the wider perspective, by training yourself to act with respect toward others and yourself you are taking part in building a bigger and brighter world for yourself and others.
And that is what community is all about, and why it is so important.
Respect can be a difficult thing to earn, but it is so easily practiced, and it makes such a profound and positive difference in life that it shouldn’t be left to the wayside.
And when it is practiced in the martial arts a student learns to practice it in their daily lives.
One sure way to prove this to yourself is to take the time to visit a martial arts school and see for yourself how the students and instructors interact with one another, and consider the impact it has for all of those people. Then consider how those people interact with you and others outside the school. And you’ll walk away convinced that the martial arts is in fact one of the best places to learn respect, and learn respect not only for others, but for yourself as well.
And you may just decide that the martial arts is something you’d like to get into.
You have nothing to lose by trying, and everything to gain, including a great deal of respect.