✍️Why Wouldn't You?

How do you, as a parent, view your child’s martial arts journey?

Is it just a fun activity — a way to burn off energy, build confidence, and get a little exercise?

Or do you see it as essential to your child’s growth, mindset, and long-term well-being?

There’s a world of difference between those two perspectives.

Because while martial arts may start as a hobby, for many kids it becomes something deeper — a foundation for how they think, act, and see themselves.

And the research backs that up.

Children who train in martial arts don’t just get stronger or fitter.

They tend to earn better grades, develop sharper focus, higher emotional intelligence, and stronger cognitive skills.

Their brains and bodies learn to move together — coordination, awareness, and control working as one.

This runs completely opposite to the image that the UFC sells to the world — the spectacle of violence, ego, and entertainment.

But let’s be clear: Dana White and Joe Rogan do not represent the spirit of martial arts.

They exploit it.

The UFC is entertainment. It’s a *spectacle* — loud, aggressive, dramatic by design. And that’s fine. It sells tickets. It builds brands. But it’s not martial arts.

Real martial arts is quieter. It’s slower. It doesn’t chase applause. The rewards aren’t televised. They happen in the small moments — a student finally breaking a board after weeks of frustration, a shy child learning to raise their voice with confidence, a teen learning how to take criticism without falling apart.

Those moments don’t make highlight reels, but they change lives.

That’s the real value of martial arts training — and it starts with how parents see it.

When parents treat karate like an *essential life subject* — not just another extracurricular — everything changes.

Kids show up differently. They focus more. They start to see discipline not as a rule, but as a skill.

The truth is, children rise to the level of the respect we show their training.

If parents treat karate as serious learning, kids do too.

If parents treat it like just another hobby, the lessons never sink in.

So when you see your child bow, don’t think of them as “doing an activity.”

Think of them as practicing a way of life — one built on discipline, humility, and purpose.

At **Northern Karate Markham**, our long-time students always do well in life.

The lessons they learn on the dojo floor carry them far beyond it.

We’ve watched students grow from nervous white belts into doctors, teachers, engineers, and innovators.

So many have gone into medicine — I’m looking at you, **Demitri** and **Alexander** — and others into education like **Sarah** and **Josh**, into science, technology, and leadership.

They go on to serve their communities in meaningful ways — ways that will change the world.

But they all start the same: awkward, unsure, a little shy — standing barefoot on the mats, being guided by teachers who might not be as academically gifted as the students they teach, but who know how to bring that brilliance out of them.

Because that’s what good martial arts instruction does. It doesn’t fill students up — it draws out what’s already there.

So the question isn’t *“Why should you make your kids do karate?”*

The question is — *why wouldn’t you?*

Osu,

Kyoshi Eric Vinagreiro, B.A., B.Ed.

Northern Karate Markham