A Humble, Determined Martial Arts Attitude Spurs Growth

Children come to kung fu for many reasons. Some are obvious, like physical fitness and learning to defend themselves. Others are less tangible but just as important. Kung fu can be a powerful tool for improving attitude and increasing positivity, both in and outside the school.

Training in kung fu is far more complete than running laps or playing a game. It asks for mental and physical fitness together. Mastering techniques has an uplifting effect on a child's attitude and can reshape how they see the world around them.

In a good kung fu school there is little room for negativity. Students are encouraged to leave their problems at the door. Classes teach self-defense, and they are also about building positivity.

Kung fu asks students to push past their limits and grow in ways they may not have thought possible. Many find that, over time, they are stronger, more capable and more flexible, in mind and body, than they imagined. That new self-image has a positive effect on how they see themselves and how they act.

Bruce Lee liked to say that a martial artist's effort is directed not at an imaginary opponent but at an older version of themselves. By training hard, students build stronger bodies, better attitudes and a new view of the world and their place in it.

Most students will never need to use what they learn in a fight. Self-defense alone is not why children stay in kung fu for years. They stay for the fitness, the fun with friends who share their goals, the courtesy and encouragement, and the habit of setting and reaching goals that serves them at school.

By learning to appreciate their own struggles in training, children develop respect for the struggles of others. They discover that there is always someone more skilled, and they learn either to win or to learn. They come to appreciate their teachers, parents and classmates, and that outlook often leads them to stand out as leaders in their classes, families and communities.