18 Ways 360 Defense Martial Arts of Middletown

Develops Great Kids:

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1 - The Encouragement That Comes With A Positive Environment: Our classes attract quality people. It’s kind of weird, but not really a mystery that only nice people stick around this place. The parents who come to our Dojo are raving fans of their kids, but also of everyone else’s kids. It’s not uncommon for our entire seating section to burst into a round of applause for a child who got a good report card. Now THAT’S positive. If it truly “takes a village”, then THIS little school is a village.

2 - The Strong Reinforcement of Parental Involvement: One thing you’ll notice when you come into my Dojo is that we have a lot of chairs for spectators. There are martial arts classes out there that don’t want you to stay and watch classes because they think it’s distracting. However, here’s what I’ve found in 12 years of teaching: The kids who get the most out of our program also happen to have the parents who are most involved. This isn’t a coincidence. I encourage you to not just drop your child off, but to stay and be involved. Trust me, your child will notice how much attention you give their efforts in class, and they will LOVE YOU for it.

3 - The Structure of a Proven System: The 360 Defense Martial Arts program is mapped out, start to finish. The path from White Belt to Black Belt and beyond is designed to keep your child motivated and on track. They will understand that accomplishment comes from hard work and focus, both in and out of the Dojo.

4 - The Feeling of Praise & Recognition: Ever find yourself only noticing or acknowledging when your child messes up? At our Dojo, we LOOK for the good, and when we see it, we make it a big deal in front of everybody. The best (and some say only) way of creating a confident child is by building on their successes, no matter how small.

5 - Applicable Life Lessons: As I mentioned earlier, we take a proactive approach to teaching your child the things that are so important in life: Self-Control, Discipline, Concentration. These lessons are verbally taught in every class – and not only that, they are woven into everything we do. To truly own these character qualities, I believe that your child needs to experience them, not just be lectured on them.

6 - Teamwork Between Parents and Instructors: You’ll find that an alliance between you and someone your child “idolizes” (like a Martial Arts Instructor goes A LONG WAY. We have this cool “secret” method we use to keep your child on the right track, and it REALLY works.

7 - Accomplishment Through Positive Reinforcement: Ever hear that “Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions”? At the heart of teaching is communication, and when we “catch” your child doing something right, we let them know about it. It’s all about positive attention.

8 - The Importance of Staying Fit: It’s crazy how big of a problem childhood obesity is in this country, never mind what happens when that obesity carries on into adulthood. Our classes are physical as well as mental. Your child will break a sweat in every class.

9 - Positive Friendship and Socializing: A lot of my students have told me their best friends have been their 360 Defense friends.  Beats wondering what kind of kids your children are hanging out with at school, right? And not only that, a lot of their parents have found great friends too.

10 - The Influence of Great Role Models: Kids are going to find role models no matter what. There’s Youtubers, TV and Movie Stars, etc. We’re not exactly dealing with the Cleavers anymore.  Martial arts role-models lead a healthy lifestyle by example.  Which role models are better for your child?

11 - BECOMING a Great Role Model: This is truly awesome. In martial arts classes, the longer your child trains, the higher their belt color goes. Everyone with a colored belt is required to be a role model for lower-ranked students. This means that your child will become a leader through experience, and understand the importance of setting a good example for others.

12 - A Sense of Challenge: Kickboxing is fun. It’s a lot of fun. But it’s serious too, and that’s perfect. Our program comes equipped with a series of obstacles and hard-won goals. As adults, we know that life doesn’t get easier after childhood, and sometimes it helps knowing that you have what it takes to tough it out and come out on top.

13 - The Motivation of A High Energy Environment: Everything is so fast now. Texting, email, internet, etc. Kids are used to having things “high speed.” In our classes, we keep things moving. There’s no time for boredom when your child is jumping, kicking, spinning, blocking, and punching, and learning.

14 - The Habit of Setting Goals: There was a Harvard study conducted in the 1950s, tracking incoming students and their goals, and then revisiting these same students 20 years later. They found that the 3% who actively kept, wrote down, and revised their goals were financially worth more than the 97% of their classmates who didn’t. Martial Arts is BASED on goals, both short term and long term, with specific action steps in between. Is this something you’d like to see your child learn at a young age? Do you wish you had learned it at a young age?

15 - The Confidence that comes with Self-Defense: There’s a certain attitude that comes with knowing you can handle yourself in almost any situation. Before, I mentioned that bullies have a built in “radar system” for detecting easy targets. When your child has the quiet understanding that he or she can handle whatever most bullies can “dish out”, they no longer show up on that radar and are almost “Bully Repellant.”

16 - A Sense of Accountability: This is cool. Did you know there is a very noticeable difference between Asian and Western school systems? Here in the West, it’s the teacher’s responsibility to make sure their students learn. In Asia, it’s the student’s responsibility. In other words, the teacher will show up to teach, but it’s up to you to learn and understand the material. In our karate classes, we’re right in the middle. We teach and coach each student, but we also leave a certain amount of responsibility on their shoulders, at any age. So not only will your child learn martial arts, they will learn how to proactively learn, and carry this work ethic along with them wherever they go.

17 - The Benefits of Healthy Competition: Don’t misread this: We’re not a Tournament School. Some martial arts schools want their students to compete in tournaments every weekend.  If you’re looking to have your six year old become the next karate star or cage sensation, we’re not the school for you. However, healthy competition is great, and we foster this type of spirit in every class. It’s one of the best ways to help your child perform at his or her best, until they are mature enough to understand that the true competition is with themselves. If you're interested in getting you're child involved with martial arts competition, email me and I'll refer you to a competition school.

18 - The Help of Parent Coaching Seminars: We're really proactive when it comes to teamwork. The best way to help your child succeed is to have a strategic support system to guide them. I hold regular Parent Coaching Seminars to teach parents how to make their "karate kid's" martial arts experience the best it can be. We cover "The Do's and Don't's of Being a Black Belt Parent," "The Green Belt Blues", and "The Black Belt Success System" as well as many other secrets to keeping your child on track in the Dojo and in life.