Benefits for Children
Believing in yourself starts early! At United Studios of Self Defense, we work hard to make your child's first experience with the Martial Arts a safe and productive one. Young people must have personal goals and a caring support system to make their dreams a reality.

We will help your child become a strong and productive member of society armed with character, strong self-discipline and a healthy self-image. 

• Allowing your child to receive martial arts training is not opening up a door to violence; it is opening a door to building a solid foundation of self-esteem and confidence.

• Students learn that respect for others, as a priority, naturally leads to a respect for self

• This wonderful philosophy is often at odds to what our young people learn here in the United States. We have become obsessed with the 'me first' mentality which often leads to emotionally unhealthy young people."

• Children with learning difficulty, such as ADHD, hyperactivity or behavior problems, can benefit from the structure learning program that martial arts training offers.

• Many do not realize this, but it is a fact that martial arts training are safer than most school sports.

• Karate, as a sport, teaches self-discipline, builds self-esteem and a level of commitment, which may otherwise not be there.

• Martial Arts is ideal for children who do not do well in team sports, giving them the ability to flourish this activity, while combining physical and mental practices

• Coordination - the techniques taught in most martial arts systems build from simple movements to complex combinations. The teaching techniques are accessible to children no matter how much or little natural grace they may have. The process of putting together the techniques inevitably provides improved coordination, balance, and grace.
  
  

• Flexibility - Martial artists emphasize flexibility more than most sports. It is much easier to develop flexibility when young than to try and achieve as an adult.
  
  

• Strength - Martial artists employ both traditional and modern exercises to develop and maintain the strength needed to support the advanced techniques.
  
  

• Endurance - As children pursue their development as martial artists, they will find that they can work harder, longer, and with greater ease and enjoyment.

• Focus - The martial artist must learn to bring all of his or her attention to the activity at hand. Many children do not get this lesson in their daily activity and become easily distracted.
  
  

• Learning - Learning is a skill. Children who work their way through a martial arts curriculum are learning to learn. The level of challenge, the individuality of instruction, and the visible results all work to make learning martial arts uniquely valuable in the art of learning itself.

• Respect - Lessons in the martial arts studio are conducted in an atmosphere of respect. Students bow in and out, show respect for the flags, the studio, their teacher, and senior students. In return, they are shown respect by other students at all levels, the teacher, and share in the respect that others show in their studio. 
   
• Achievement - As students move up through each belt level, they are shown new techniques. Before moving to the next level, achieve proficiency. This cycle of establishing and achieving goals creates an appreciation for achievement in the students.
  
  
• Camaraderie - Many children are naturally gregarious, others tend to be loners. All types of children learn to enjoy the community spirit of the martial arts studio, however. Camaraderie is the spirit people share who have gone through difficult things together. The martial arts studio is an excellent place to foster this spirit in a wholesome environment.
  
  
• Calmness - The most important key to success in sparring and other martial arts activities is calmness. The martial artist who can remain calm in mind and body is best able to react properly and perform effective techniques. This calmness will carry through in all areas of the child's life.

·        Discipline - While natural talent might carry some a long ways in many sports, the martial arts requires discipline. The traditional forms, also called Katas or Pinan, require performance of an intricate set of movements, with crispness and rigor. Many of the specific skills in martial arts can only be achieved by doing difficult exercises over and over. In addition, the atmosphere of the martial arts studio is filled with the discipline of other students and instructors who push themselves to achieve greater mastery.

·        Mental Awareness - The mental abilities already discussed, along with training in self-defense and sparring, produce an attitude of mental awareness. The experienced martial artist is aware of his or her surroundings at all times. This attitude helps the student respond better to many aspects of life.

·        Tradition - In the modern world, children are exposed to fewer sources of tradition than they once were. We have come through social periods when change and upheaval, for better or worse, have torn apart the bonds of tradition that tie each generation to the past and future. In traditional martial arts, a respect for learning that goes back 5,000 years is instilled in the students. When performing traditional forms, the student connects to the long past that went into the development of the form.