The Problem
Whenever individuals seeking martial arts training look at potential schools, mental health is given as a benefit almost every time. This appeals to parents, who want the best for their children. Developing a healthy attitudes and behaviors is important, so the dojang becomes an attractive place to enroll children.
The truth is sometimes this isn’t always the case. Because mental health benefits are correlated with martial arts training, everyone uses it as an advertising slant. While many schools do see improvements in their student’s lifestyles, sometimes aggression and discipline problems result from the training.
Part of this reason is western and eastern philosophies are different. While martial arts in Asia places more emphasis on spiritual growth (which doesn’t necessitate religion, but instead your own being), western philosophy has a larger focus on competition.
Another major issue is greed. Since there aren’t established universities that martial arts instructors can graduate from, checking an instructor’s credentials is more difficult than checking your doctor’s. This makes it possible for unqualified instructors to open a McDojo (a common term for a poor school) and roll in the cash.
Problems with the Competitive Slant
While competition itself isn’t an issue, attending a sport-oriented school can be. A survey done by Chad Trulson at the University of North Texas proved this. His study centered around three separate groups of kids: one group that was receiving “sport” Tae Kwon Do training, one group that was getting Tae Kwon Do training that included meditation and talks about the art itself, and a control group that did standard exercises.
The kids who exercised were seen to have a boost in their self esteem, but no other benefits could be seen. Students who went through the sport TKD training became more aggressive and parents remarked having a harder time controlling them. However, the traditionally trained martial arts students not only showed a decrease in aggressiveness, but their focus in school increased, they had a higher respect for their peers, and their anxiety decreased.
This study begs parents to remember that while they should want their children to receive martial arts training, simply looking for a school that is affordable can not only stunt positive mental health growth, but become a detriment.
Any parents searching for schools should be advised to meet the instructors themselves, because in a field where making a choice about one’s lifestyle is also a business, it can be easy to get sucked into a poor school. The lifestyle of the instructor and the type of training they have their students do are both very important, because there are great benefits to training in martial arts.
Benefits of training
Countless studies have shown that there are many benefits to positive martial arts training. Among these are:
- ability to cope with stress
- increased study habits and work ethic
- greater self-respect
- greater peer respect
- lowered anxiety and neuroticism
- lowered aggression
Other studies have shown that martial arts can help certain diseases. While these studies are more physical in nature, the research has shown some incredible results. A study by The American Journal of Chinese Medicine showed that hypertension was decreased in practitioners of Qigong. Tai Chi has been found to prevent osteoporosis in the elderly, as well as increased cardio respiratory function.
References
http://www.dctkd.org/library/papers/benefits-of-ma-training.cfm
http://ftp.pwp.att.net/w/a/wabokujujitsu/articles/psychsoc.htm
http://lifegetinit.greenmaplewellness.net/new/articles/article.html?artid=1000
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