You may already know that we intermittently offer free stranger danger courses for kids at our karate school in Las Vegas, but the connection between teaching karate and stranger danger may not be immediately obvious.
So in today’s blog, we’re sharing with you three key reasons why there is a strong link between stranger danger and karate.
Autonomy
It’s only natural and right that as parents we want to do everything in our power to protect our kids from the many dangers out there. But many adults underestimate children’s ability to recognize threats and do the right thing to help themselves.
All that’s needed is to educate your children of the signs to look out for and to know exactly what to do should something happen. The aim isn’t to scare kids, but rather to empower them with facts and tips so that they can also take responsibility for their own safety.
Responsibility is a core value that we instill in our karate for kids classes. Kids learn that they have the power to shape outcomes in their own lives. Rather than feeling burdened by this, kids actually grow in confidence. It’s a change that parents notice outside of the dojo.
Self-defense
This is probably the most obvious connection between karate and stranger danger. There is a reason that martial arts techniques are so often used as self-defense techniques. There are many martial arts in which size isn’t a factor in the same way as it is in other combative sports.
Children learn techniques that use their small size to their advantage and use what strength they have to defend and protect themselves.
While self-defense is a great skill to have, our stranger danger classes also focus on helping children to avoid situations where these techniques would need to be used.
Focus
Kids learn to think quickly on their feet and maintain their focus in high-adrenalin situations.
When anyone, child or adult, recognizes that they are in a potentially harmful or dangerous situation, their flight or fight response kicks in. This is when a lot of people panic and are unable to think of what to do next.
In our karate classes, our students regularly practice maintaining control of their minds while still in this heightened state.
Keep a lookout on our social media pages for our next stranger danger event. Empower your kids to keep themselves safe when you’re not around.
