Martial Arts Helps Children

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very being (Payne 5). This transformation has provided many students relief from their behavioral difficulties. The mother of 11-year-old Daniel says, “Karate became an outlet for Daniel’s aggression, but it also taught him how to stay calm and focused” (qtd. in Saulny, par. 19). This calm focus comes from a combination of physical and mental disciplines learned by martial arts practitioners.
The physical aspect of martial arts often begins with stretching and warm-up exercises. As with many physical activities, these help reduce the frequency of injuries to the practitioners. Martial art styles often mirror warm-up exercises to techniques and movements incorporated somewhere else in the training. From the onset of the simplest motion, good form, posture and technique are learned. Just as the basic warm-up exercises often appear in early forms or kata (a series of choreographed kicks, punches and blocks), early form builds on itself to evolve into more complex tec...