Guest Blog Post from Master Melody Schuman
During the school season teachers, assistants, and counselors are focused on helping your children learn and grow. But what happens during the summer season when these people are not around? It makes sense that as a parent you would want your child to maintain some level of growth and development over the summer in order to limit or prevent your child from losing a lot of the skills gained over the last school season. This includes growth and development in the following areas: physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially.
With that said, one of the very best options is to keep your child active through a solid martial arts program. Whether your child is currently active in martial arts and you are considering giving him/her a break from training over the summer, or you are seeking some sort of activity to get your child involved in, consider the benefits of martial arts training over the summer before you make a decision.
To make your job easier, we have selected four of the top benefits and provided an overview of each one below.
The benefits that we are going to cover in this report are:
1. Prevents weight gain!
2. Prevents summer learning loss!
3. Improves emotional stability!
4. Improves social stability!
Let’s get started!
Benefit 1: Martial arts prevent unhealthy weight gain!
Although it may seem like children are more active over the summer, the lack of structure also contributes to weight gain. Even just two days of structured physical activity over the summer can have a snowball effect on their physical activities at home. Martial arts is so much fun, that children actually enjoy the physical workouts even during the summertime.
Did you know?
• Children gain weight nearly twice as fast over the summer because they are snacking
more often, many times out of boredom or lack of proper supervision. At the same time, many children are also less active over the summer because they sleep in longer, watch TV longer, play video games longer, etc.
• Martial arts include fun daily classroom activities that boost physical development. In fact, children who train in the martial arts practice more at home over the summer since they have more free time to do so. This means they will enter the new school year in better physical shape than the previous school year!

Benefit 2: Martial arts prevent summer learning loss!
Many people have an image of summer being a carefree happy time where “kids can be kids,” and take for granted the benefits of enriching experiences from organized activities. Even just two times per week in a structured program can make a tremendous difference in a child’s intellectual development over the summer. Martial arts provides these benefits in a manner that is also fun so that kids can still be kids and not loose that carefree and happy summer lifestyle.
Did you know?
• For over a century, scholars have recognized that summer vacation is a period when
children’s brain development declines relative to the school year. In fact, studies have shown that children score much lower on standardized tests when they enter the new school season compared to the same tests taken at the end of the previous school year.
• Martial arts include daily classroom activities to boost intellectual stimulation over the summer. In fact, children who train over the summer also tend to progress even faster because their brains are not “bogged” down after a long day of academic learning. This means children can actually enter the next school year even smarter than when they left for the summer break because their working memory and fluid intelligence are expanded into a whole new level of development!
Benefit 3: Martial arts training improve emotional stability!
When the school year ends, children lose a lot of key contributors that boost self- esteem. This leads to less confidence entering the back to school season. Martial arts provide a great environment for building children’s emotional development in a manner that is positive and productive.
Did you know?
• Children that lose self-esteem over the summer enter the new school season with
many fears associated with making new friends, meeting new teachers, and bullying.
• Martial arts include daily classroom activities that strengthen children’s emotional
outlook. In fact, children that are more confident enter the new school season excited about all of the wonderful opportunities that schooling has to offer!
Benefit 4: Martial arts improve social stability!
Following rules are very important, especially over the summer when there are lesser rules that children must follow. This includes proper social behavior. Martial arts develop proper social behavior during class, and those lessons carry over at home.
Did you know?
• Children that do not have proper social development over the summer tend to
misbehave when they enter the new school season. At the same time, children that
do not have sufficient positive social interaction over the summer enter the new
school season with more anxiety.
• Martial arts include daily classroom activities that boost social development. In fact,
children who train in martial arts over the summer tend to be the same students that get glowing behavior reviews from teachers during the first round of parent- teacher conferences. At the same time, children with the best behavior reviews are also statistically the students with the best academic reviews because they are not distracted with the repercussions of poor behavior.
Conclusion
The summer can be a wonderful opportunity to help your child not only enjoy a break from school, but at the same time become a better version of themselves as they enter the new school year. What parent would not want to see their child enter the new school year physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially stronger? Martial arts training could very well be the best investment you make over the summer!
Did you know?
At Dragon Gym Martial Arts, we provide several ways to help your child keep up on their martial arts training if he/she misses classes over the summer, or simple want more opportunities to train!
• We provide at-home training assignments in the member’s only section of our
website. These are great planners to use when your child misses class, or wants to practice more at home!
• We provide a make-up camp at the end of summer for those students that are traveling a lot, or simply want more practice.
• We provide 4-weeks of accelerated training summer camp during the summer.
Ninja Parenting SKILLZ Copyright © 2014, Melody Shuman
