Community of Champions
We don’t get to pick our children’s friends. We don’t get to pick who they go to school with or who their influencers will be. We want to guide them as best as we can, but ultimately the role models they pick will be will be up to them. It’s very important that young people have friends that demonstrate good values and a variety of role models to admire. The one place where your child is guaranteed to find positive role models is at Columbus Martial Arts Academy! At Columbus Martial Arts Academy we have a Community of Champions who are high achievers on the mat and in school alike! In taking martial arts classes, your child will not only get to see the example set by their martial arts instructors, but also by kids their own age! Starting with their first class, your child will see kids their own age doing things they did not think kids could do! Part of being a leader means being a role model and setting a good example. The young people on our Leadership Team get to practice this every day as future black belts.
All children learn by watching others. If one of their friends tells a joke that makes everyone laugh, your child will want to tell that joke. If one of their friends gets to show off an awesome project for school, your child will want to do the same. Ultimately, we want the role models that our children select to be positive influences. The Leadership Team is comprised of young, future black belts who are academic all-stars, respectful siblings at home, and diligent, hardworking students on the mat. Yes, future black belts at Columbus Martial Arts Academy are called on to be role models for their peer group! The Leadership Team’s ever-present goal is to lead their peers by example. Leadership students learn to stand out from the crowd and this is exemplified by the black uniform that they wear. It is a significant accomplishment in a student’s development to be invited to the Leadership Team. Being on the Leadership Team is an exclusive privilege and the students who earn the Leadership uniform wear it with pride. They are watched by their peers on the mat and off and strive to set the example that others will follow. They give 100% effort on every drill, never stopping until coach calls for time. They demonstrate unrivaled work ethic and discipline befitting a martial artist. Whether they are learning a Judo throw or Karate kick, a future black belt never quits. This is the behavior that your child will witness and emulate in martial arts class. These are the peers that a martial arts student gets to spend their time with: a hand-picked group of high-achievers that will be successful in all aspects of life. Peers can be wonderful teachers, but they will not be the only role models your child will encounter in martial arts class.
Who was your favorite teacher in school? We all remember that one special teacher that stood out to us. They taught us to be interested in something new, brave enough to participate in class, or how to do something that we didn’t think was possible. The coaches at Columbus Martial Arts Academy are like academic teachers in many ways. The martial arts instructors teach a structured curriculum designed for student success just like a math teacher. Coaches, however, don’t take summers off! One of the biggest advantages we have as martial arts instructors is that we get to be constantly present in the lives of future black belts. Your child will likely have a new math teacher every twelve months, but your child’s martial arts coach will be a constant in their lives. The job of a martial arts instructor is to be steadfast role model. Coaches demonstrate black-belt respect to their students. They say ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ when talking to student and parent alike. They have a ‘mat chat’ at the end of every class where they talk to the students about important tenets of leadership. If the Leadership Team shows a young person what they should strive to be like today, then your child’s martial arts instructors demonstrate what they can grow into! Together, the Leadership Team and the coaches at Columbus Martial Arts Academy make up the Community of Champions that your child will get to grow up with.
Our children will be constantly emulating behavior they observe throughout their young lives. It’s simply how young people learn. They will repeat things they hear at school and want to do what they see their peers doing. While we may want to be there for our children and guide them in every moment, ultimately we can’t live their lives for them. What we can do is set them up for success by giving them positive environments to grow up in. Places where their peers are high achievers and their influencers are strong leaders and positive role models. Places where your child will not only observe kids their age doing things that they thought impossible, but where your child will get to learn to do those same things! Students learn and grow by leaps and bounds in martial arts class. Future black belts learn life-long lessons in respect, discipline, and work ethic that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. When we show young people what high achievers look like early on, they will mimic those winning ways and emulate those patterns of success throughout adolescence and into adulthood!.
Your child is going to copy the behavior of those around him. Having a positive environment surrounded by enthusiastic role models (both your child’s peer group and in their coaches) is a huge benefit to a young person’s development. Get your child involved with a Community of Champions who can help shape their concept of leadership and success today! Help them start down the path of the black belt and set your child up for a lifetime of success. Call today to schedule a consultation with one of our professional martial arts instructors!