How true encouragement in martial arts is crucial to kids self esteem in surrey, Bc and delta, BC!1/28/2025
I outline how "true" encouragement, within a great martial arts kids program, is crucial to kids self esteem in Surrey, BC and Delta, BC area.
We all know encouraging our children is essential to a child's well being. That said, we sometimes go about it the wrong way, unintentionally. From my experience of instructing thousands of martial arts kids in Surrey, BC and Delta, BC, I have ascertained what works best for my particular teaching style and personality. I outline major key components of how to establish "true encouragement." This may apply to all styles of martial arts such as martial arts, karate, kung fu, kickboxing, judo, or taekwondo in Delta, BC or Surrey, BC areas. They are as follows: 1) When not to give praise 2) When to give praise. Effort counts! 3) intensity level of said praise 4) battling back against the world of negativity 4) how students are encouraged in martial arts setting (by both instructor and/or by other students) 5) the connection between praise and self esteem development 6) how a martial arts kid's life is filled with hope and overall well-being 7) "He can do, she can do, why not me?!" Let's get right into it! Too often, we praise our young loved ones because of their natural born looks, height, or natural abilities. Honestly, I see no harm in doing so, but I prefer to give stronger praise when a child works to better a skillset through intentional effort. This may come in the form of working on improvements in a front kick by chambering the leg properly and so forth. Effort matters! Martial arts students are continually learning how to improve their techniques and behavior during classes. It is a non-stop learning until they get a strong foundation of skills and classroom expected behavior. Once they achieve this, corrections become less and less as their knowledge expands within the dojo. In addition, I try not to compare students with each other. This may demoralize a child's sense of self. Instead, I focus on each individual student's level of where they are today. Then, I seek ways of small improvements every day. I call this the one percent rule! I explain do everything 1% better. My young students exclaim, "Master Kim, of course I can do anything 1% better! I can do 50% better!" This is the whole idea that we do not put such great expectations that the child feels over whelmed. I purposely do this for this exact reason. My father once said, " to climb the tallest skyscraper, you just need to take one step at a time. And, in no time, you will have reached many stories high! Did you realize that if a martial arts child improves 1% every class; that in 3 months, he/she will have improved 100%! I don't know about you, but I think 100% improvement in a few months can be life altering change! This change may come in the form of improving a kick or believing anything is possible if you put the effort into it. I choose proactive positive changes any day of the week. The more the child puts effort into improvement in a particular punch or kick; the more I cheerfully give encouragement. This way, my student can differentiate between false unwarranted praise and true praise which is congruent with effort. With the advent of cyber bullying through social media platforms, our children are bombarded with negative cynical comments from keyboard warriors. This is in addition to regular elementary school life of dealing with bullies; via verbal and/or physical. Studies have shown that just one negative comment may outweigh a hundred positive comments. With this in mind, it is crucial kids know who they are and that they are valued! I ask my student often how many of you get bullied? 70% of my students say they have been bullied verbally and/or physically at elementary school. This is very disheartening! As we give "true" and deserved encouragement and praise, a child's self worth and self esteem grows in our Jong Kim Martial Arts academy! A few minutes a day, I come up with ideas how to grow my student's self esteem through words. Words can be destructive but I choose words as a constructive means to grow my kids in class. One way is I pair up kids in class by two's. Each pair must answer this question towards their partner, " What is the BEST thing about so and so?" All that I require that the response be sincere and honest. I say, " you can find one good thing about a stranger within a minute of meeting them." I ask my students what is the best thing about yourself? I was shocked when no one was able to say one good thing about themself! This floored me. As a result, I was on a quest for each child to KNOW their best qualities! I usually start off by encouraging one random student. I ask, "Who really needs to hear a compliment about themself?" I was surprised that every one need encouragement! Never underestimate the power of sincere encouragement; whether it's to a friends or stranger you met! We need more encouragers in this world! It is a superpower! By nature, I am personable and sincere to those around me; whether to a stranger or friend. I only realized my superpower a decade ago. It came by accident when I wanted to find a solution to my students lack of self worth! I wanted to be genuine and I came up with many ideas along the way. Some through trial and error. With the right martial arts instructing and caring for your child in Delta, BC or Surrey, BC area, true confidence results. In conclusion, I came across an article in Black Belt Magazine about this korean grandmaster female instructor. She had a few biological children but also adopted 5-7 intercity kids from Compton. She raised them as her own. I'll never forget her motto. It was, " He can do! She can do! WHY NOT ME?!" This ideal spread to the minds of her children and adopted children. These kids ended up at Berkley, UCLA, Harvard, and Brown University! Wow! I share this ideal with my own students and share the encouraging story of this wonderful Korean Grandmaster in Taekwondo. The world doesn't necessarily need more doctors, lawyers, etc. The world needs more encouragers! Share your superpower! You will then surround yourself with amazing people! I promise YOU! I sincerely hope this brightens your day. Sincerely, Master Edward Kim 8th degree black belt Please feel free to have your child try my martial arts school located in Surrey, BC and Delta, BC area. I specialize in Taekwondo, martial arts, and karate. Jong Kim Martial Arts - Surrey, BC - Taekwondo 136 - 7536 130th Street, Surrey, BC, V3W 1H8 or call 604-590-1000. www.JKTKD.ca Cheers! Comments are closed.
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AUTHOR: Jong Kim Martial Arts - Surrey - Delta - Newton - TaekwondoArchives
February 2025
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