I hear it all the time. A parent walks into my school to meet with me, and the first question they ask is this:
Will my child get hurt doing martial arts?
It’s a good question to ask – an important one. Injuries are part of life, but that doesn’t mean that parents are lining up to enroll their kids in dangerous activities.
If you’re worried about your child getting injured in class, then here are some things that might reassure you.
First, we take kids’ safety very seriously. Our instructors are experienced, skilled, and careful. Kids are taught the importance of stretching and warming up before class. Limbering up their muscles decreases the chances that they’ll sustain an injury.
We put a lot of emphasis on doing moves properly. A lot of times, people get injured because they don’t have proper form. In class, our instructors always demonstrate moves for kids before asking them to repeat them. They do it several times, and break down each move by talking about the form and technique needed to perform it properly.
Students spar in class, but they do so in a controlled way. The goal is to help them master the moves they’ve learned and apply them defensively, not to allow kids to beat each other up.
Now, that said, I have to be honest. Injuries sometimes happen. But, they don’t happen any more frequently in martial arts classes than they do on the soccer field or basketball court, or even in a dance studio. Physical activities sometimes beget injuries, but they’re rarely serious.
If a student sustains an injury in class, our instructors make sure they get immediate treatment. We know basic first aid, and our instructors also know when to call for help. We take our responsibility as temporary guardians of your child seriously.
As a parent, you worry about your child’s safety. What you should know is that we do, too. Kids in our classes are closely supervised, and they’ll never be left to spar on their own.
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