4 Big Benefits to Continue Martial Arts Training during COVID-19
As gym owners during COVID-19, the most important part of the job is to make sure your students know they can lean on you for support. Kicksite is a resource for martial arts studios across the country and we are here to help your team in the same way! Feel free to use these resources as a guide for your students and their families in this time of need. We wrote this article to show the benefits of keeping a membership during COVID-19 for your physical and mental health. It’s so much more than just supporting local businesses so you can keep your doors open. Our students need physical movement, depend on a schedule, and thrive within a community.
Quarantine is a time of change. It’s up to you as parents to define exactly what that change means for you and your family. If your young ones have been enrolled in martial arts classes that are no longer able to meet in person, now is an important time to think about the potential effects of your kids staying at home with no outside social activities. While the majority of Kicksite’s martial arts studios are utilizing virtual classes, enrollment in these online classes is only at 50%. Keeping your kids active in their martial arts training is beneficial to their mental health during quarantine, as well as keeping their bodies active in a time of social distancing.
Benefits of Physical Movement
Boosting Endorphin Levels Improves Focus
The benefits of physical activity are good for multiple kinds of health. Social distancing and quarantine could cause a negative impact on your kids and their mental states. Exercise combats mental health issues by boosting endorphin levels and reducing stress. Studies have also shown that endorphin-rich movement improves mental focus and cognitive skills.
Boosting Muscle Strength Prevents Injury
Not only that, making sure your kids are active during quarantine will boost muscle strength to prevent future injury, improve cardiovascular health, and control mood swings. Keeping your kids enrolled in their martial arts training is a very important part of keeping them healthy and happy during quarantine. According to the World Health Organization, children from the ages of 5 to 17 need at least 60 minutes of movement a day, at least 3 times per week.
Improves Mental Health & Inner Self-Discipline
Martial arts in itself is a great way to improve mental health. Martial arts can help relieve students of daily stressors and help you get focused. With training that involves philosophies centered around inner self-discipline, healthy competition, and goal setting, continuing training in quarantine is beneficial across all aspects. Plus, getting your kids focused on something other than daily news updates and the stress surrounding them takes the pressure off of parents.
Memory Is Better When You Exercise
Exercising on a schedule increases brain cells and energy, as well as improving overall memory. Lifehack’s list of the benefits of exercise cites a study done by the American College of Sports Medicine. In these experiments, two groups of students were told to memorize a list of letters. One group was asked to go run, lift weights, and get physical. The other was asked to stay put. Which group do you think tested higher on the memory experiment? The group who exercised! Allowing your kids to continue training gives your kids an advantage in their future endeavors and improves overall brain function.
Why Kids Love Schedules
Kids Feel Sense Of Security With Schedules
Sticking to schedules is a big part of how children cope with life. They comprehend changes easier and more successfully when they are occurring within the context of a familiar routine. Schedules build up a tolerance to normal life changes. The world is constantly changing at an unprecedented rate during COVID-19. School keeps getting pushed back, plans canceled, activities taken away, and more. For adults and children alike, these times are stressful. Kids get a sense of security from a schedule, so forming some sense of normalcy in their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic is important.
Kids Thrive With Routine And Increase Productivity
Drastic changes can take away a kid’s sense of security, so pulling them away from all hobbies and activities is a shock to their mental health that might bring new issues to light. Keeping your child in martial arts classes will help them feel closer to their schedule and weekly routine. It helps them feel part of their community and with familiar faces. Not only that, sticking with a schedule that includes exercise ultimately increases productivity.
Parents Get a Break
COVID-19 has been an adjustment for everyone, especially the working parent. Trying to juggle work, kids, and schooling is no easy task. Parents need a break. Having kids stay enrolled in weekly virtual classes allows you to keep some you-time in your schedule. You need it for your mental health just as much as your kids need martial arts classes for theirs!
Use That Time To Exercise
Be an example to your kids by using their virtual class time to take a break and exercise yourself. Parents who exercise regularly are good fitness role models for children and inspire them to lead healthier lives as well. Continued membership in martial arts classes could also present you with an opportunity to get involved in classes with your kids and provides an activity for the whole family to do.
Build Your Immune System
Whether you decide to get active with your kids or utilize class time as a personal mental break, don’t forget that regular exercise also builds and helps maintain your immune system. Exercise boosts your body’s level of immunoglobulins, these are proteins that bolster your immune system and help prevent future infection. When the most prevalent thought on everyone’s mind is how to stay healthy, keeping active is a great way to start. “Every sweat session you do can help strengthen your immune function for about 24 hours,” says Cedric Bryant, Ph.D.
Finding different activities to do can pose a challenge for parents, but continuing membership allows kids to stick with what they already know, martial arts! Especially during the time of COVID-19, the opportunities for physical activity are limited. Taking the time to keep up with martial arts training during quarantine relieves parents from the stress of coming up with different exercises to do.
How to Keep Them Engaged
Did you know kids are currently spending more than seven and a half hours a day in front of screens? iPads, TVs, and video games are at the forefront of entertainment for students staying at home right now. Inspiring your kids to WANT to stick with classes is the final hurdle to keeping active during the quarantine. While times like this make Stay at Home orders seem like the perfect opportunity to slack off and not do anything, it is our job to prevent this mentality in our kids.
Classes Provide Community
Providing kids with a chance to see each other (virtually!) and interact is a great way to let them share their techniques with one another and still feel connected to their love of martial arts. We know having kids out of school and extracurriculars takes a toll on their mood. Having an outlet for them to look forward to each week is good for the whole atmosphere of your home.
For more specific ways to keep them engaged, check out our other Kicksite blog How to Keep Your Students Engaged During Social Distancing. Motivational factors like martial arts help maintain a happy household and keep stressors at bay.
In Summary
It is our passion to help martial arts studios and gyms continue to thrive during this time. We are committed to helping students and owners keep their passion for martial arts alive. We hope this guide will help give you the tools and ideas you need to keep students enrolled and actively participating in your classes. Remember to be there for your students, they might need to be inspired now more than ever! Stay healthy and stay safe