3 THERAPEUTIC MARTIAL ARTS TAKEAWAYS FOR IMPROVED WELL-BEING

Martial arts has a lot to teach about well-being, especially a hybrid style like Summit Academy Schools’ Therapeutic Martial Arts. With a focus on serving K-12 students with autism and ADHD, Summit Academy Schools incorporate therapeutic martial arts into their curriculum. In the dojo, where students learn martial arts movements and traditions, they also find focus, structure and self-confidence. For improved well-being, Shihan Chuck Rickard, who heads Summit Academy’s Therapeutic Martial Arts, shares three takeaways from the program that you can incorporate into your daily routine.

1. FOCUS — Mindfulness represents a key component of therapeutic martial arts. Students practice thoughtful, deep breathing, helping them find focus and stress relief. They then advance to a combination of breathing and movements, coordinating intentional inhaling and exhaling with motions and stances. From a martial arts standpoint, breathing centers attention and power on movements and tempers anxiety.

TAKEAWAY: Just breathe.

2. ORGANIZATION — Structure runs deep in the therapeutic martial arts classes. For instance, students bow when they enter the dojo. They arrive prepared to practice movements and do so within a designated space. Students learn organizational skills through therapeutic martial arts. Structure helps them complete tasks by building routine into their schedules. Students can carry these strategies into their classrooms and home lives.

TAKEAWAY: Structure will not only help you develop organizational skills, but create a sense of calm in the process. Through structure, you can complete tasks in manageable segments without feeling overwhelmed.

3. SELF-CONFIDENCE — Therapeutic martial arts creates a noncompetitive setting, one in which students are not compared with each other. Instead, students compete with themselves, striving to improve from the day prior. “This really helps with self-esteem and confidence,” says Shihan Rickard. He adds that therapeutic martial arts encourages students to strive to meet their own goals, rather than those society sets for them. The result is a validated feeling of accomplishment.

TAKEAWAY: When you set a personal goal and achieve it, you’ll give your self-confidence a boost. Summit Academy Schools, located throughout Ohio, are tuition-free, public community schools that serve students in grades K-12 who learn differently, such as those with ADHD and Autism. Summit Academy Schools design, develop and deliver educational opportunities in a therapeutic environment so everyone can learn. For information, visit summitacademies.org