Confidence is one of the most sought after goals of new parents that enroll their children in martial arts. It is also one of the most used, “buzz words” in the marketing of martial arts programs for children. But what is confidence and what is the best method for building self-confidence?
Let’s start with what confidence is. At Quest Martial Arts we define confidence as: a positive belief and or feeling that you have about yourself and your abilities. Confidence is intangible. You can’t touch it nor can you go to Walmart or Target to buy a box of it. Building self confidence has to be developed from the inside out.
How, you might ask?
The answer is simple, through mastering challenges.
Mastering challenges is one of the best method for building self-confidence. During a recent class, I asked one of my 9 year old students if he knew what a challenge was. His answer was perfect, he defined a challenge as something that pushes you and makes you work hard. Through the toil and arduous journey of mastering the physical skills associated with martial arts training such as the kicking, striking, weapons training and the self defense techniques, to the challenge of implementing the character development component of martial arts training into your daily life, we discover what we are truly capable of. 
Often times, most people are conditioned to hate challenges and to try to avoid them at all cost. As someone who has devoted his career to using martial arts training as a tool to help people develop confidence, my approach has been to teach my students to embrace and love challenges because through mastering challenges we become stronger and more confident people. Students in martial arts learn to look at challenges as an opportunity to grow. One of the positive self-talk mantra’s that I challenge my students to remember is: “I’m a Black Belt Champion and I love challenge. I succeed at the things that I do, because I work hard and never give up.” Here are 4 benefits of developing self confidence in kids:
- Increased Performance
- Happiness
- Social Ease
- Health
The domino effect from developing self-confidence, is that it breeds high levels of self-esteem which fosters high levels of self-efficacy. As parents, we all want this for our kids, right?
