Remaining Young as Adults
The Australian College of Sports Development, in Bendigo, saw an attendance of over 80 Black Belt Instructors recently at a seminar (see previous blog). It was amazing how many hands went up when the question was asked, ‘how many of you started training as a result of your children in the martial arts?’ Equally amazing was the number of those parents taking up martial arts after being asked by the instructor, whilst sitting in the waiting area over a period of 3 months or more. These people now run their own schools. Our Qld Head Instructor, Darren Grieve, had taken up the martial arts with his kids in the mid ‘90’s. Darren now runs the Qld branches, teaching Karate-Jitsu, Kickboxing, MMA & BJJ.
Whilst emphasis is placed on children in the martial arts, equally important, are adults. The difference with adults is they all have varied reasons for doing the martial arts whereas the kids think of it as a challenging sport and fun thing. Whilst the parent benefits a number of different ways from training, other members of the family also benefit indirectly. What better way to represent the family with a father who is physically and mentally fit, confident, healthy and is in a better position to protect his family; the same goes for a mother. The physical benefits for an adult in martial arts are tremendous!
Parents like to spend time with their children as much as possible and I could not think of a better way for families to share the same interest and passion together. You can really see it in the school.
GA