| What is martial arts? Who is it good for? How | | | | arts for them forever. |
| does it help? These days, more and more people | | | | This continues even now. Many schools still exist in |
| are asking these questions. What is it about | | | | that seventies mindset that I remember from |
| martial arts training that has made it so popular | | | | my youth. Instructors pass down and teach what |
| today - especially for kids? | | | | was passed down to them. They blindly follow |
| Martial Arts has gone from being this mystical, | | | | 'tradition'. |
| fringe activity practiced in dark basements by | | | | They don't stop to think that the reason behind |
| mostly testosterone driven young men to an | | | | the founder of their art punching a brick wall |
| activity the entire family can participate in. These | | | | wasn't to strengthen his fist at all. It was because |
| days it's enjoyed by the youngest child to the | | | | he was trying to knock a lose brick from his jail |
| oldest adult. | | | | cell so he could escape. I'm making that up, but |
| I personally started taking taking Taekwon-Do | | | | the point is that the tradition behind something |
| when I was 18. But I fell in love with it as a young | | | | may or may not always be what it seems. |
| child. However when I was a kid in the seventies, | | | | Peeling away the tradition is important. Often it |
| parents didn't enroll kids in martial arts. Kids played | | | | reveals huge deficiencies that could potentially be |
| baseball, football and soccer. | | | | harmful if practiced by adults let alone kids. |
| But it was watching Kung Fu theatre every | | | | I grew up in Danbury, Connecticut which isn't |
| Saturday followed by re-enacting it with the | | | | exactly the mean streets of New York City. But I |
| neighborhood kids after-wards that enticed me. | | | | probably would never have made it in these 'old |
| Bruce Lee was already gone by the time I was 6. | | | | school' style dojos of the seventies if I had taken |
| But his legend lived on in us. | | | | it as a kid. |
| Then a seminal moment in recent martial arts | | | | I started taking martial arts as an adult because |
| history happened. The Karate Kid was released in | | | | of my love of the old fashioned movies. I wanted |
| 1984. After that, everything changed. Parents | | | | to be Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. |
| flocked to Karate schools by the droves. | | | | But as I continued and got better I discovered a |
| They saw in that movie that martial arts wasn't | | | | deeper reason for why I started and continued. |
| like what was taught at the Cobra Kai Karate | | | | Something I must have kept hidden from myself. |
| Dojo (that's where the bad guys practiced in the | | | | I wanted to feel better about myself. |
| movie). They wanted their child to be | | | | See, I was bullied as a kid. This isn't uncommon. |
| transformed by Mr. Myagi the way Daniel was. | | | | Most kids experience some type of bullying by |
| You see, martial arts training always has been | | | | the time they are in 3rd grade. |
| about discipline, respect, self control, focus and | | | | For me, it turned me inward. I was shy, a loner |
| indomitable spirit. Before the Karate Kid, most | | | | and afraid to try new things. I developed the real |
| people just saw it as fighting. After, they began | | | | bad habit of giving up before I even tried things. |
| to realize it really was about building character. | | | | I started martial arts because I thought it would |
| This one movie flooded schools with droves of | | | | make me a fighting machine who would make |
| young students. The only problem is many | | | | bullies quiver in their moon pants (hey, I started |
| schools had literally no idea how to teach kids. All | | | | martial arts in the eighties). But what I discovered |
| of the sudden they found themselves in | | | | is martial arts training can profoundly rebuild |
| uncharted waters and high tide was coming. | | | | people from the inside out. |
| To make matters worse, many schools didn't | | | | If it wasn't for martial arts I never would have |
| realize they were doing more harm to many than | | | | gone to college, never would have had the guts |
| good. As many schools went from having an | | | | to think I could work at any job other than |
| active student count of about 40 adults to 125 | | | | grocery store clerk. It changed my life. |
| kids, they had to change the way they taught. | | | | This is why I teach. This is why I own and run |
| But many didn't. | | | | Zandri's Martial Arts in Brookfield, Connecticut. This |
| Many of these schools who used the 'old way' of | | | | is why I help other school owners all over the |
| teaching were making strong people stronger and | | | | world to run better schools. |
| weak people quit. That's because even though it | | | | I love breaking down the misconceptions of the |
| has an amazing and deep character education built | | | | 'old school' martial arts mentality. I love showing |
| right into it, it was created for adults. | | | | people our rich character education curriculum. I |
| More than that, it was created for military use. | | | | love showing people how martial arts can give the |
| Not the ideal situation for kids as young as 3 | | | | shyest child superhuman confidence. How it can |
| years old. | | | | help a child with ADD/HD come off their |
| Doesn't matter how well martial arts can build | | | | medications. |
| character. If you teach it to a 7 year old the | | | | More than that, I love seeing people really benefit |
| same way you would a 27 year old, the great | | | | from it. There's nothing more gratifying than |
| lessons are just lost. What's worse is that it isn't | | | | seeing the absolute personal empowerment that |
| any fun for the child and potentially will ruin martial | | | | comes from martial arts training. |