The Perfect Blend of Traditional Values with Real Life Self-Defense

With so many options available for Martial Arts lessons for children, it’s tough for a parent to know how to make the right choice. You can enroll your child in a traditional martial arts program where they will learn techniques that have been around for hundreds of years but are simply not effective for defending themselves. Or you could find a school which focuses on Mixed Martial Arts as more of a sport. Your child could end up training to be the bully at the school yard without the added elements of respect and discipline.

“The Elite Martial Arts program is based on the premise of respect, discipline and effectiveness,‘” says Jim Graden, a Master Martial Artist, World Martial Arts Champion and instructor of the Elite Martial Arts System in Seminole.”

When choosing a martial arts school for your family, the first thing you need to ask yourself is if the ability to defend yourself is a high priority for your family?

Most people think that if they receive a black belt they’ll automatically know how to defend themselves. This is not always true. Many martial arts schools are teaching old-styled martial arts that are more of an art form than a form of self-defense. There’s nothing wrong with this as long as you understand that self-defense is not a high priority in many traditional martial arts systems. These systems still teach martial arts like it was taught hundreds of years ago and aren’t making the modifications that are needed to keep up with modern, real life self-defense skills.

Having Fun In Elite MA

If self-defense is a high priority, then you might want to choose a school that teaches a more modern system that is always adapting to modern times and modern threats. In the Elite Martial Arts System, we teach the most modern and effective real life self-defense you can learn while maintaining the discipline and respect of a traditional martial arts program.

The second question you should ask yourself is if there are any social values being taught with the martial arts techniques. With the growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), there are many schools teaching martial arts as a sport and not as a discipline. The instructors don’t focus on any of the self-discipline and respect that should separate the martial arts from other sports. A good quality family martial arts school shouldn’t be willing to teach effective striking techniques that could be easily abused by someone who is a bully and has no respect for others.  “We  constantly check with the parents of our students to make sure the child is showing improvements in their social behavior as they improve in their martial arts techniques”, Jim says.  “Martial arts should be more about becoming a confident leader, not about becoming a fighter.”