Welcome back. If you haven’t read Part 1 of “Why Parents love their children to excel in Taekwon-Do”, you can do so by clicking here

Benefits

• Self-defence skills – one of the key benefits of learning Taekwon-Do. It must be understood, however, that this is a “slow roast.” You cannot “microwave” the ability to defend yourself. It takes time to develop the skills.
• Awareness & Focus – children’s attention span is shorter than ever. We teach them to “focus” on what is going on, for their learning, and safety.
• Emotional resilience – essential defense against anyone who wishes to harm your child verbally or physically. We also teach children to cope with disappointment, failure, and other difficult situations.
• Patience – yet another major life-skill. By the time our students reach black belt, they have learnt the value of patience and, especially, commitment.

What Parents can do:

Demonstrate respect

Respect is essential in Taekwon-Do, If a parent doesn’t respect the instructor, I can guarantee you, the child won’t either, which will limit their progress. Parents are always addressed as Ms/Mrs/Mr. Similarly, instructors should be addressed by their title of Mr/Ms/Master. The respect is mutual, and also goes beyond just using titles. It includes our attitude to each other.

Communicate with the instructor

We care about the well-being of your child. It helps greatly when you let the instructor know how things are going at home/school. If a child acts out in class, they may be trying to cope with something going on at home/school. The instructor can be a lot more understanding if they know what’s going on. Other reasons to stay in touch with the instructor are to find out how your child is getting on in class. Communication is paramount.

Events

There is more to Taekwon-Do than just weekly classes. Lessons that cannot be learnt at class, are learnt at special events like tournaments and seminars. At tournaments, students learn sportsmanship, and how to deal with fear and confrontation. Seminars are a great opportunity for your child to be inspired, and learn things from another instructor.

Presentation

One of the traits taught in all martial arts is that of neat and tidy presentation. Younger children may need parental help, such as:

• check finger/toenails monthly, and trimming when required.
• Uniforms should be washed/ironed between classes.
• Check for sizing of uniform and safety equipment, every few months

Conclusion

We have the same goal – successful development of a, physically and emotionally, healthy child who will add value to society, as a self-sufficient, confident adult. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Master S. Fitzgibbon, VII dan.