Martial Arts - Teaching of Morals / Coordinatiion / Social

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I am sitting at my son's Dojo...watching him in his Karate class. It is very good for so many children...especially most Aspies. While it is structured...it stresses basic respect for oneself and for others. With those incorporated in the child...all unstructured play will take on these positive aspects...and the child will do well with othes.

Another great strength in training is in the total body coordination. The child learns how to operate the body as a single unit. His gross motor control will greatly increase and his conditioning will greatly improve. His mood will be elevated and this alone will greatly improve his life.

My son goes 4 times a week. He loves it...the training sessions are short as he is in a kids class...just 50 min long. He is mixed in with a variety of children and situations...perfect for Aspies.

Sports are very important for growing youth. You learn how to work with others. My son also tried Tumbling and Soccer....however..he likes Martial Arts the most.

Any others out there with similar experiences with their children?

If you haven't tried Martial Arts for your children...I heartily endorse them to greatly improve so many aspects for your child.

Yes, my 14 yo son has been in karate for over a year and I've posted on the benefits several times in this forum. Benefits include: physical fitness, coordination, balance, flexibility, respect for self, respect for others, resepect for authority figures, relaxation, anger management, self confidence, socialization, etc. We have seen tremendous growth in my son over the past year due, in part, to karate.

OT but I was poking around on your blog Kuma and I saw the equation your son was working on Do you understand any of that? I seriously thought if I stared at it for ten minutes I would get it

Not one bit. I've long forgotten the basics. I was never adept at math anyways. My son loves math and science.

It can be really difficult finding the right sport for our kids, and the right instructors. My son played soccer for about 6 years and had a really positive experience, but he has never shown any interest in martial arts. His sports now are biking and hiking year round; snow skiing in the winter. He loves the great outdoors; it really calms and centers him.

He's also a straight A student in middle school PE, lol, due to his good attitude, if not aptitude. I give credit to the instructors for keeping his experience positive; I've heard enough horror stories from other parents to know that my son's experience is not the norm. I must have the only kid who loves dodge ball; he's an ace at evading the ball, and he gets a kick out of frustrating the throwers. Sometimes I truly don't know what drives him, but as long as he's happy, I'm happy.

Yeah thats it!

I had a look too
I prolly couldn't figure that out. Have forgotten most of my [duh, topic?] math learnings.
But I totally wanted to play with these blocks... Build castles and things (forget mixing them up.. build! build I say!)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eN1d3dqGuxs/T ... 704735.jpg

Oh yeah... On Topic:
I was put into Judo (Martial Arts) when I was a youngster too. Great plan. I only got to yellow belt, and never really made any conections in the class but did enjoy the learnings, gained some self confidence, etc.

Anyone who does put your kid into something like this though, make sure the Dojo (master) is all about teaching that martial arts is for self defense and meditation ONLY. Some of the people out there teaching it are teaching for the wrong reasons and with the wrong morals. Interview them first and get the right one.

I totally agree about martial arts. My son has been doing it for about 6 months (I've been doing it with him) and he loves it! He used to stim by jumping; now he stims with "karate" moves LOL!

I recently told the instructor about his Aspergers -- she had no idea! He loves the structure of martial arts, and since he started he's been making amazing strides in OT that started within one week. Also, there is no tolerance for backtalk or socializing with the other kids, so he can be part of the group without having to worry about unspoken rules or kids being mean to him.

YES...YES...YES.....This is why I think it is such a good idea for so many children...especially Aspies...at least for many. My son looks forward to going. He is THE most well behaved child there. He works up a sweat and enjoys doing it. He is being taught little life lessons without realizing it...they will serve him well in life later on. I cannot recommend Martial Arts enough for children.

Yes yes completely yes! ! Martial arts was the single most helpful thing that happened to me for my AS, and I didn't even know I had AS! (Guess what- my teacher figured it out, though- so I learned after I announced it.) I cannot stress enough the importance of and benefits of a good teacher/school/philosophy, regardless of particular style.

I'm delighted to hear about your son.

It's my eleventh year of karate practice and without this particular sport, I wouldn't be like I am now. It teach me how to manage stress, stand on my feet and even concentrate me during more than 10 minutes on something. It's a really an interesting sport.

I bumped into an ex workmate on the weekend, he told me he teaches Taekwondo extensively and has classes with Downs and Autistic kids. He says they start from about age 8.
Aspects he says suit all kids:
- Learning respect
- Learning discipline and self control (i.e. self discipline)
- Co-operation
- How to behave in a group (comes back to the points above)
- Applying yourself
- Physical skills development

My (NTish but has Dyspraxia) daughter does ballet which is similar I guess and has helped her a lot.

So I'm sold on the idea, and I'm really keen to get my little Autie involved in one or 'tother when he's old enough.
Meanwhile the local ASD group have a gym they run once a week, its effectively the same idea, they have to do activities as a group and do those activities in sequence following the instructions from the teacher. So I have taken my little fellow (coming up to four) twice as he's just started and it's impressive watching the other kids who are older doing the routines.

Ah...another satisfied customer....

I've had nothing but positive experiences from Martial Arts in my son's life...as well as in my own.

It is relatively inexpensive...and the life education is priceless.

Absolutely amazing what good martial arts can do. The head instructor sized up my younger son's needs right away and seems to always know when to push harder and when to back off. My older son has also benefited greatly; he's more than a little Aspie but has always been more able to function in the NT world--like his dad I suppose. But the strength, confidence, coordination and comfort they've both found is amazing. Far more effective than anything the schools and therapists and psychiatrists have been able to achieve--and we've had some good ones.

As I type this, both are in their black belt prep class, getting ready for the big test in about 3 months.

And while it isn't the main point, I should admit that both of my sons have had occasion to use about 3 seconds of their MA skills to put a bully in his place--without doing damage, just enough force to send the other kid off to find an easier target).

I'm witnessing a developmentally delayed child in our Aikido class make progress. Though at glacier's pace, his movement is improving over the years, and that is the most important part. Better movement forces better awareness.

Very interesting... I might consider martial arts for my daughter in the future (she's only 5 now - I guess they have to be a little older than that before they can start?) I once tried to get my older NT daughter to do it but she hated it - it just wasn't for her - so I discontinued it. Sounds like it would be useful for someone with autism, though. At the very least it would give them the confidence to stand up to any bullies.

What do you do if your kid has sensory issues, though? When my daughter is in a room with too many people and too much noise, she zones out. When I was trying to get my older daughter to do martial arts that time, there were at least a dozen other students in the room plus at least a dozen parents watching the lesson. Are classes always like that? My daughter with ASD would just shut down in a situation like that.