At the age of 3 years old my son’s daycare teacher said to us that our son has trouble focusing and that he can not pay attention when the teacher is reading to him.
At first, I was annoyed thinking that how is it possible a 3-year-old has Attention disorder? He’s only 3! He’s not supposed to be able to pay attention.
Well, I started paying a lot more attention to him and noticed that he could not sit still and concentrate on one thing for any period of time. It was suggested to me to try a Martial Art for him! At the age of 3, not many Martial Arts School would take him. I was able to find a Taekwondo school that had a little tigers program so I enrolled him. At his age no doubt the best thing I could have done for him.
He really learned a lot about self-control, discipline, and paying attention. It was a Korean school and they demanded that from him. He really enjoyed it and went till he was 6 1/2 years old. He obtained his black belt with a lot of hard work. He was able to concentrate and memorize all katas.
One day he was attacked in the backyard by an older child and was tackled to the ground and held there. I was able to get to him in enough time to stop him from getting hurt. He was crying and said dad I didn’t know what to do when he Knocked me to the ground. He was very upset.
I did some research and found Jiu-Jitsu so I signed him up. This is one of the best things that I could have done for him for his Attention Disorder and his self-defense. Jiu-Jitsu requires him to focus more due to the fact of all the possible moves out there and also helps him with the defense on the ground. He has been doing Jiu-Jitsu for over a year now and is getting ready to test for his Gray/White belt and is so excited.
As a Parent, I am a firm believer that the Martial Arts can help children with all sorts of needs not to mention the most important of all, Confidence!
Guest post by Robert Streske
