Give Your Kids The Edge! – How MMA Could Be The Perfect Match To Help Your Kids In Sports

Before we get started here’s something really important you need to know about bringing your kids to train at TFC – when you train with us, your kids get access to all the combat sports we teach.  Our kids and teens program is about cultivating a love of learning and developing in combat sports.

We don’t believe that kids should be fighting in the ring too early.  What we want to see, are kids having fun learning, growing in confidence and building skills to last a lifetime, and most of all, we want to see them making mistakes and recovering from them – safely.

Many parents who haven’t been through this before really want to see their kids do well, and they push too hard, too early.  That’s not what we do here.

Instead of focusing solely on Boxing or Muay Thai, we encourage all round skill development in martial arts striking, as well as ground work with BJJ.  Your kids can do it all every week day afternoon, and we train year round!

Ok – here are some key benefits on how learning combat sports, can give your kids the edge on so many other playing fields, including the school yard.

If you’d like to get better at sports like soccer and rugby, the last thing you would probably think of that would help you is martial arts training. I mean, they aren’t exactly found in the same field—or ring. You’d be surprised to find that those sports share fundamental similarities with martial arts training. After all, martial arts isn’t just about kicking or throwing punches, and the same goes for sports like soccer and rugby (yes—including throwing punches, at times). For those who play these types of contact sports, martial arts training can offer plenty of benefits.

Mental Discipline

It’s easy to lose your wits while playing on the field, and the pressure is high—as it always is. A bad look or a snide remark from someone on the opposing team could be enough to throw you off, and instead of motivating you, it could end up making you lose focus.

A couple of key things that martial arts training teaches are mental toughness and discipline. Although some fights and training sessions can be intense, it’s a big no-no to be aggressive in martial arts. You’d see a good example of self-control in BJJ, for instance, where you’d have to be more rational than impulsive to submit your opponent. 

The key to getting your head in the game (and keeping it) is to control your emotions and aggression. Cross-training in martial arts is the perfect way to achieve that.

Improved Footwork

Balance and coordination are some of the basic things that martial arts training teaches. They’re equally as important in other sports, especially soccer and rugby. In Muay Thai and boxing, for instance, you’d have to be quick on your feet and anticipate and respond to your opponent’s movements. If you’re not fast enough, you won’t be able to strike or block at the right time. You wouldn’t wanna end up with a broken bone or a missing tooth (take it from me!).

So, by training your footwork, martial arts training can enhance your precision and agility. It helps improve your balance and reflexes, which will surely be carried into the field you’re playing on.

Tackling and Grappling Skills

It’s not rugby, of course, without some intense tackling. The ability to control your opponent on the ground is a huge competence in both rugby and martial arts, especially BJJ. The latter is definitely the best way to master this.

BJJ can help rugby players develop their strength and endurance through proper technique. This, of course, translates into effectively taking down and keeping down an opponent on the field. Likewise, proper grappling techniques can help them defend themselves against their opponent.

England’s rugby players themselves learned cross-training in MMA, which, according to them, has made them better players.

Endurance

Soccer and rugby, like any other sports, are absolutely physically and mentally demanding. It can be tough to maintain your energy and fortitude up to the last second of the game.

Martial arts training helps develop both your physical and mental endurance. Because martial arts focuses on developing your discipline and mental toughness, it can also help you build stamina to push through the game. Cross-training in MMA will improve your performance and keep you from passing out after the first match.

Preventing Injuries

By now, it’s clear that none of us would be happy with a broken bone or a missing tooth. More often than not, though, injuries like such happen in sports like soccer and rugby.

Since martial arts like boxing and BJJ teach you a lot about self-defence, you’d be able to minimise getting yourself hurt both on the mats and on the field. Your body would also thank you for improving your agility, balance, and flexibility to avoid unwanted strikes from your opponent. By learning proper techniques, you’d also benefit from recovering quickly whenever you do sustain some injuries.

Disclaimer: Mastering techniques in martial arts isn’t a free-from-injury guarantee, both on the mats and on the field, but it’s definitely a huge training for physical and mental skills that help you dodge strikes, move gracefully, and stay and always land on your feet.

Respect

Lastly, and most definitely not least, love thy neighbour. No matter how hard your opponent tries to look daggers at you, well, try harder not to shoot real ones at them. 

Respect is the most valuable principle that martial arts training instills in students. It teaches you to be graceful both in winning and in losing. It also helps you better see your team and your opponents as human, and the goal is not to hurt them during the game.

At the end of the day, you will be measured by your respect and camaraderie, and your wins will come second.

Conclusion

Now you don’t have to wonder where to start building yourself, your body, and your mind in order to become the soon-to-be best Rugby League or AFL athlete out there. Look no further than Logan’s biggest martial arts gym and start your journey with us—we’d love to have you for a free trial!