Healthy competition helps improve the experience for everyone in sports, games, school, and even the workplace. Children can learn a lot from healthy competition, which is why it is so meaningful they learn through their parents, teachers, and instructors. The skills obtainable through healthy competition are not obtainable in a few days. Instead, it takes years for kids to master these skills.
Here at Tiger-Rock Martial Arts, we do our best to train students these essential skills. Kicking, striking, and sparring exercises help instill traits like empathy, teamwork, and confidence. You can help your kids develop these traits with the following tips.
Empathy is Critical
It is good to win, but it isn’t right to flaunt your win in the face of others. You can teach your kids how to treat others with kindness and support their fellow competitors. Start by asking your child how it would feel if they lost. Then, use their response to roleplay and teach them what to say to those who lose. Have them say what would make them happy if they had lost.
Teach Teamwork
Teamwork is present in all aspects of life. It greatly benefits your child if they know how to work with others and support them. Board games are a great way to teach teamwork because they require patience. Other players must take turns in the game, which should teach your child they are part of a team.
Being part of a team teaches patience and responsibility.
Winning is Not Everything
Winning is fun, but it also isn’t everything. In fact, trying to win at everything can be tiresome. More importantly, your child cannot be good at everything. You should motivate your kid to find a balance of wanting to win and merely wanting to participate. Let them participate in the things they want without having the pressure to win all the time. Ensure they know they can’t win at everything, and it’s okay to just have fun. Tell them they are better at X, so they can always return for some much-needed winning.
Motivate Them
Motivation can be challenging to generate among children. If your child is not giving their all, then talk to them about it. Understanding the perspective of your child is critical for teaching them essential skills. Ask them about their goals. What do they want to achieve? Once you know their goals, you can help motivate them. An incentive is one way to drive kids. Let your child have an extra 30-minutes of screen time or a sweet treat after giving their best.
Tiger-Rock’s Efforts
Tiger-Rock Martial Arts teaches Tiger-Cubs and Juniors 7 life skills: listening, obeying, learning, sharing, patience, attitude, and courage. These skills are at the very core of martial arts training. Enroll your child in one of our programs to start their skill training today. Call our dojo today at (512) 846-1112.