Martial_Arts_Helps_Children

Martial Arts Helps Children 03/31/2003 “Vincent Almeroth tried gymnastics. He tried soccer, basketball and baseball, too. But the 11-year-old from Glenview, Ill., is dyslexic, which made it difficult for him to focus on the playing field. There was too much unanticipated movement and interaction with other kids, says his mother, Lisa Terranova. Then three years ago Vincent tried karate. It was an instant hit. His agility and self-confidence improved almost immediately, and his reading has progressed as well. Now the fifth grader is a blue belt. Karate has ‘given him a greater ability to focus and to struggle with things that are difficult,’ says Terranova. Vincent puts it more simply: ‘Karate makes me feel strong and good and happy’” (Greenberg, par. 1). Children today are bombarded with distraction, pre-occupation and recently identified attention deficits that can create behavioral problems as well as learning difficulties. Children often lack the self-assurance needed to face what might otherwise seem insurmountable; or, they are so aggressive they tend to have exaggerated responses to just about any stimuli. With many of our city’s populations growing and our personal space declining, martial, arts, children, karate, training, students, physical, par, mental, learned, qtd, often, says, class, child, sparring, instructor, focus, control, confidence, tae, should, schools, parents, must, kwon, just, important, behavior, while, warm-up, vincent, understand, tried, techniques