On any given day after school or during summer break, karate studios in towns across the United States are packed with children. They offer camps that teach children the same skills that have been practiced for thousands of years. Children get much more out of these camps than just exercise, however.
Benefits
Karate requires total concentration. This promotes focus in children. The discipline has a philosophy of respect, courtesy and a positive attitude. That inspires children to become more positive, respectful and courteous away from camp. As children advance in skill level, they earn different colored belts for their karate uniform, such as a yellow belt or an orange belt. This allows children to learn for themselves that they can accomplish their goals. The result is that children have an improved self-esteem and more self-confidence.
Camp Organization
Karate camps divide children into small groups based on age and within each group, kids are matched up with others of approximately equal skill level. That way you can be sure your first-timer won't be matched up with a budding black belt. At the Chicago-area Camp Kokoro, for example, each day starts with a group meeting to talk about the activities of the day and the skills the kids will be working on. Depending on the karate camp you choose, breaks in all that martial arts action will be provided for other activities such as swimming, lunch, other sports, fitness training and even field trips. Instructors are usually assisted by teens with considerable karate training.
Special-Needs Children
Children with special needs can thrive at karate camps, too. MayoClinic.com specifically recommends the activity for kids with autism and also attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This is because karate requires kids to immerse themselves mentally and physically, promoting focus. MayoClinic.com says children with these disorders can improve their self-esteem and sense of discipline in karate. This leads to improved focus, a vital skill often missing from children with autism or ADHD. A karate camp setting, with a focus on fun, can also help special needs kids feel accepted by others and will help average kids develop a new appreciation of the abilities of all children. If you're considering a karate camp for your special needs child, inquire about the camp's ability to work with these kids and the camp's experience with such children.
Camp and Fitness
Karate requires endurance and physical strength. As a result, students become more physically fit. A good karate camp will include physical fitness training as part of its daily routine. Daylong karate camps tend to have two or three karate instruction periods, with the rest of the day devoted to exercise and fun. Youth fitness training is more important today than ever, with childhood obesity rates skyrocketing. Child obesity rates have tripled since 1980. The nonstop kicks, lunges, punches and jumps involved in a day at karate camp burn calories and help children stay or become physically fit. Children move every part of their bodies when they practice karate, getting a full-body workout and becoming more flexible. Often karate camp graduates will want to continue the sport throughout the year, giving them an ongoing way to stay fit.
Variety at Karate Camp
A good karate camp will make each day unique and teach the kids a variety of skills, from board breaking to sparring to self-defense, as well as a mix of other types of martial arts, such as Bo staff skills. Ask about the daily curriculum at a karate camp you're considering and see if there is a possibility for belt rank advancement. Kids who take up the sport of karate, even for a short time, look forward to advancing through the belt colors.
Self-Defense Training at Camp
The great benefit of karate is that it teaches self-defense, which bully-proofs children of all sizes. Self-defense instruction is usually a part of karate camps, along with sparring instruction, and is an important skill now more than ever, with bullying an ever-present threat in school, and kidnapping a constant threat in today's world. In fact, the Justice Department says the risk of abduction by a stranger increases through elementary school and peaks at age 15. Knowing how to defend himself will give a child a chance to survive or escape an attack.
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