It is one thing to talk about the instruction and the things that kids can get from a martial arts style in terms of internal goals of the art itself. But what about benefits to a child as a whole? What does Karate have to offer 7 years olds overall?

Through a series of self improvement goals Karate classes for 7 year olds first turns the focus from others to a focus on the mental, social, emotional, and physical health of the students themselves. Once these are raised to a high level, controlling situations and reacting to the actions of others is mastered.

One objective way to look at how Karate can help the development and growth of 7 year olds is to see how it can aid children with reaching milestones as outlined by trusted medical sources.

Kaiser Permanente is one such leader in the field of medicine. On their website, they list several crucial goals that all 7 year olds should be experiencing in this formative year. Let's look at some of the major ones and how Karate classes for children can help.

• Have a good and concrete understanding of time.

- This is something that the combination of class attendance, home training, as well as short and long term goals helps 7 year old children with directly. Time in training, being on time, and amounts of time until goals are met are essential in Karate.

• Start to understand and prefer certain learning styles.

- Experienced and accomplished Karate instructors will be able to assess each student and their learning styles and preferences. These are regularly adapted and applied on a class by class and student by student basis. It takes time, but Karate becomes very individual for each child in the long term.

• Can begin to solve social and emotional issues using basic facts and logic.

- Many of the self defense, interpersonal, and social issues addressed in Karate can begin to be understood by 7 year olds. Younger students are more deliberately taught these concepts, but a 7 year old begins to work them out for him/herself with guidance from instruction.

• Empathy becomes fully understandable and usable at this stage.

- An integral part of Karate is dealing with social situations. Empathy is at the core of most any social interaction. To truly engage with another person, a child must learn to see from their perspective and have been taught to let that viewpoint play a major part in decisions and actions. A good Karate program teaches Kindness, compassion, and self control, major components in empathy.

• Fear of the unknown is still a major concern which could be opinions of others, school attendance, or trying new experiences.

- Karate aids children at this age push their boundaries in a controlled setting with proper supervision. The confidence gained from this and a knowledge that they can defend themselves from aggression is only one way this ancient martial art can help. There are tournaments, testing, and demonstrations that push them to strive and conquer fear.

• They form friends frequently with other children.

- This social interaction plays a huge part in a Karate school culture. Some of my closest lifelong friends have come from training partners, competition team members, and classmates in the martial arts. This started for me as a child and lasted throughout my life.

• 7 year olds need both structured time in groups and individual time to go solo.

- Karate with its multifaceted approach to teaching the martial arts gives students the 'team' experience with others they train with, but also the individual goals that only they can accomplish alone.

• Can communicate well in comfortable situations.

- Not only is there ample time for children to express themselves in the comfortable training halls and dojos that offer boundaries everyone is expected to follow, they are also taught to be able to verbalize in stressful situations where speaking up for themselves could be vital for the safety of themselves and others.

• At this age coordination is beginning to develop rapidly. Complex actions can be possible.

- Karate is world renowned through both anecdotal evidence and university level research to have dramatic impacts on the coordination and physical health of children. I have several articles on this website that cite many studies speaking to this well founded medical and academic opinion.

As you can see from these medically established milestones for the average 7 year old, Karate is an excellent tool in helping a child grow and learn. Its popularity only grows daily even with the rise of practical only based martial arts devoid of many of the ethical safeguards we all know should be there for kids.