Tell Get Into Martial Arts about your DCs hobbies – £200 of high street shopping vouchers prize draw NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Get Into Martial Arts have asked us to find out what hobbies your DCs have and how it’s helped them in everyday life.

Here’s what Get Into Martial Arts say, "With so much choice and influence around it can be a real challenge for Parents to decide on, and organise out of school hobbies and activities for their child. Where to start looking?! What will the activity involve? is this purely for fun, or could the children get more out of it – maybe making friends or learning new skills?

“Martial Arts is packed full of benefits for children, and so we’ve made it easy for parents to start the journey towards getting their child involved. On getintomartialarts.com parents can find the Martial Arts school nearest to their home, and better still book a free trial lesson – allowing the child to try it out before deciding to join!"

So, do your DCs have any hobbies? Do you think they also help your DCs in everyday life, or not? Perhaps they have an unusual collection of comic books which you think has helped teach them how to take care of their belongings? Maybe they have taken an interest in building robots which has aided their concentration with certain subjects at school? Or are they taking martial arts lessons which has helped them gain confidence? Whatever it is, we’d love to hear it!

Everyone who leaves their comments below will be entered into a prize draw to win £200 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Dd 4 hasn't done any martial arts however she does do a weekly gymnastics class which requires a lot of concentration as it lasts an hour. I think it's great for her confidence and listening skills and also obviously her fitness which is important to encourage from a young age and make part of everyday life. I would definitely consider martial arts in the future as we know dc who do it, and they seem to really love it!

We are just looking for martial arts class for my daughter at the moment she does rainbows which has improved her social skills and independence and dance which has improved her fitness and gained skills which have given her confidence

Ds (5yrs) swims, climbs and does gymnastics. We have done a term of football and 2 terms of rugby but he's not thrilled with either. He's done some peaks in the Peak District.

Dd (3yrs) swims, climbs and does gymnastics. She wants to dance but we are holding off for a couple of years. I used to dance and show make up was ok when I was young (foundation, blush, eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick) but now my friends 5yr old dd who dances is all fake tanned and false eyelashes for both shows and dressing up.

My DH used to teach martial arts and he's very fussy about the curriculum. We would consider signing them up if he approves the teaching methods and curriculum but he's fine about teaching them self defence at home too. I guess in a way it's an advantage, he's looking at instructors that really relate to the kids and make training fun (one reason why ds didn't like rugby was one old school coach).

As it is, right now we are happy with our desicions. Maybe as they get older we might consider more activities.

I have 2 DS aged 5 and 6. At the moment they both go to swimming lessons mainly because I think being able to swim is a pretty important life skill. The older one also does football and they both go to art club too. Though I am sure these hobbies are developing skills etc I tend to think hobbies should be about down time and having fun.

My DC both tried judo and kept it up for a couple of years, but tbh they weren't getting much out of it and weren't bothered about continuing (disclaimer: this is no reflection on the value of martial arts in general, more on the individual teacher. I know a family whose DC do mixed martial arts and seem to thrive on it - older DC now teaches alongside his father, which is great)

My DC have a wide and expensive range of other hobbies between them nowadays - mostly physical things like riding, climbing, archery.... I would sort of like them to have some more "cerebral" hobbies as well, but TBH they have such full school lives that there isn't any time. DC1 does enamelling at school, and DC2 art club, so I guess that sort of counts. What do they learn from it? Apart from the specific skills involved, and general patience and perseverance, which are important, I like that they do things with groups other than their school peers, as it gives them a break from the same friendship groups/issues and also lets them learn to get on quickly in a group that they don't know well.

Mine used to do martial arts but gave it up as he felt he wasn't progressing and we witnessed him being totally ignored lesson after lesson.

I'd love to do another class with a different teacher as I think it has benefits other than just physical - respect, concentration and self control for example.

Now he does rugby, swimming and chess. It's enough to keep him busy for now.

My eldest is big into lego which has helped fine motor skills he also does Beavers every week which has been amazing for him, he's learnt so many skills and so many social skills you wouldnt come across in a class. He's mroe confident at trying new things and making new friends.

My dd has just started karate and I have started in their ladies group so we can progress together! It's great all round - physically and mentally. We are lucky to have a wonderful family run club with a great ethos for kids and adults. Dc also swim (bit of a pain but they nedd to learn) and ds does beavers which is good for him socially.

Ds(8) does rugby, computer club and swimming as school clubs. Outside school, we've been cycling a lot this year and he's been doing events up to 25 miles, and also did a sprint triathlon. He's really learnt about pushing yourself on, having to grit your teeth sometimes, and how training builds to let you achieve.

My DS does a form of Krav Maga for children (basically about controlling the oponent, rather than kicking their arse), which was designed to address bullies. He got involved because I started going to Krav Maga classes for self defence myself. He has been going for 3 years and really enjoys it. We often practice some moves together.
They have a system that rewards children in the first years as they progress, rather than just one big reward (belt change) at the end of the year.

He has also learnt to swim, but got fed up last year and is now starting football lessons, which he specifically asked for (and had been asking for the previous year). It was a passion he developed playing with friends at school.

In addition to sports, he often has a card collection going on, trading with friends and organising it. It definitely exercises his memory skills, as well as trading and social skills.

DS (6) goes swimming, plays football at the local church and is starting Beavers this week (torrential rain last week stopped him being able to go then!!). He has become more confident and it means he has outside interests as well as being glued to his computer games.

We have been looking for a martial arts club near us, but the ones closest are for 7+, so we'll be looking into that more nearer the time.

Extra-curricular hobbies I wanted mainly physical. I had two very active children and wanted to wear them out, teach them focus and discipline, and set a foundation for keeping fit. I chose;

Swimming. Non negotiable, it's a life skill, can save your life, and has to be continued until you have a grounding in all 4 strokes.

Also (negotiable)
Ballet. Grace, spatial co-ordination, general flexibility and strength. Also following instructions, and discipline.
Gymnastics. Let them get the running/jumping/climbing out of their system!

I also wanted them to find something they were good at, to build self esteem and confidence. Getting them into a good sports club means they have the pathway to get very good, if they want.

As it turned out, they both have a talent for gymnastics, so once they were picked to compete we went with that. If they hadn't have found that, I'd have tried to find a sport they were good at- probably gone to martial arts next.

I do karate. I did it for 4 years as a child/teen, and took it up again 25 years later, about 3 years ago, and should be going for my black belt in the early new year. My DDs thought it looked like fun, so they also do karate now. They had previously done gymnastics, ballet and tap, but none of those more traditionally "girly" activities suited them. DD1 (9yo) particularly loves karate, and I love the confidence it gives her (she can be quite unsure of herself). DD2 (6yo) isn't quite as keen (though she does enjoy it), but I'd really like her to keep going as she can be a challenge with regards her behaviour, and the karate club has much higher expectations of behaviour and discipline than gym or ballet ever had. The gym and ballet classes would just let her run riot around the hall, but she can't get away with that at karate. It's also great that we can all practice together at home, and that I can be an inspiration to my daughters.

My DDs also do Rainbows and Brownies, which I think are great for them to have an all-girls space to explore and to learn a few extra life skills.

DD1 has an additional hobby - she is a very serious rock collector/amateur geologist. She has a huge collection of rocks, minerals, semi-precious stones and fossils and knows loads of stuff about all of them. It's great for her to have her own specialist subject that everyone else (teachers, friends and family included) is so impressed that she's so knowledgeable about, and she can be proud of herself for having put in the time and effort to build up both her physical collection and her knowledge of the subject.

DD age 7 does swimming lessons, Brownies, and plays with local Young Musicians group as well as doing music theory classes. She also did gymnastics but lost interest when her friends left.

All of them have built her confidence physically and emotionally. Performing with her music group has really pushed her to practice and work in a team and has been very valuable.

Gymnastics taught her to climb trees like a monkey and we'll as anything else she can get a handhold on. Thinking about climbing lessons when she is older!

My DCs (8&6) attend karate. They love it! DS(6) has been doing this for 9 months now and it has much improved his fitness, stamina, listening skills and general attitude. DS(8) has been doing it for 2 months, he took some encouraging to start (he has ASD) but loves it. Again his fitness has improved, his listening skills are improving slowly and also when to stay still and not be distracted (something he struggles with). They both have more self-confidence in themselves too.

DS1 "collects" coins. I put it in quotes because he doesn't organise them, but does memorise them. He can tell me in detail about which coins he does and doesn't have and tells me all sorts of things about their history.

The only benefit of his hobby/obsession is the fact that he can tell straight away if a pound coin is fake, just by looking at its condition and markings.

DD (7) does Brownies, swimming, chess club, and choir out of the house. At home she mostly plays on the computer (using Scratch to code stuff) and reads. I'd really like her to start doing something more physical that involves flexibility as she really isn't at the mo, but her school doesn't offer gymnastics or anything like that. I've thought about martial arts but I have no experience of them and there are so many different sorts I wouldn't know where to start.

oh so many hobbies . .

boys mostly just do footie, with a bit of basketball
dd does gym, swimming and brownied
i would love them to do judo but they are not interested. sob
website sounds good tho

My DCs haven't really done any extra curricular activities. I have felt horrible guilt about this, as I feel like they've missed out. We couldn't afford anything and with my health being rubbish we couldn't guarantee being able to get to venues etc.

Both (5 and 7) have done yoga club though as that was paid for with pupil premium :) it has been nice for them, and physically good too I guess although I don't really know what they do in lessons!

I would like them to start more clubs now, especially something like martial arts or gymnastics, but I am thinking very carefully about what's affordable and where/when we can get to places. After school activities is basically the only issue that really makes me wish we had a car!

It will be a while before they get to do anything I think. This is quite a wealthy area with most children doing heaps of clubs and competing at an early age (so in some ways I am glad my DCs haven't been pushed too hard IYSWIM) and waiting lists for everything are huge. I'm hoping my parents - who hate choosing presents anyway and always ask me to - will be happy to pay for an activity instead of toys at birthdays/Xmas.

What I reeeeally want to get DCs doing is parkour. No clubs available for their age though so we are just going to visit the local training ground at a quiet time. They are interested in rock climbing too but it's (understandably) horrendously expensive. Anything really physical would be great as I think having confidence in your body and what you can do is a great gift. Apart from that, something like brownies/cubs or maybe badgers (St. John's Ambulance club - my friend used to help run one).

As for hobbies at home, well I'm not sure really as to them it's all just play! But I guess if asked they'd say lego above all else. And I'm really happy with that - fine motor skills and following instructions using spatial awareness etc.

DD would probably also say her hobby is watching anime :o and I love that (really into it myself as is teen DSD - we've really bonded over it) as she's starting to learn about Japanese culture too. We are hoping to go one day need a lottery win and I'm thinking that when I start teaching myself a little Japanese, I'm going to teach her alongside a bit too.

Oh DD does do a bit of recorder and piano too, very low key though and no lessons ATM, I just teach her the next bit when she wants to (I used to teach piano), but I think I'll suggest it more often after school once she's settled in.

DS (now 16 yo) did Judo for 8 years and got himself a brown belt. He did it at his old prep school. He absolutely loved it. It taught him controlled aggression, which is useful for a boy, and just as importantly, it taught him how to fall safely so when he was out playing football and esp rugby, he rarely injured himself.

When he changed schools, Judo just fell off the curriculum. Could not find any classes near us at all, so he's reluctantly given it up. Ive told him its something he could pick up later on in his life. Its such a shame...

He is now very into Downhill biking (known as DH dontcha know!) which takes up a day a week, and his 'release'. Costs a blinking fortune, though :)

Dd1 (11) went to a drama class for 4 years which helped her massively with her confidence around talking to adults. She isn't shy...it's the wrong word to use...but she finds it really difficult to 'chat' with adults. She has improved loads though and I'm really proud of her

DS does scooter and BMX. It has improved his balance and motor skills, and the boys who teach at the skate park are great roles models (at least whilst they are there). It's also been very good for his confidence.

He is starting karate this year at school. Previous to this there was no suitable class for him.

DD1 goes to a music group and has swimming lessons. There are so many different activities to get involved in, it's hard to figure out what she might get the most out of.
I'd be happier with her learning some kind of martial arts than ballet/gymnastics because I'm concerned about the influence of ballet/gymnastics on body image.

DS did judo - and thoroughly enjoyed it until be broke his elbow badly in a biking accident and was told he shouldn't risk further damage to it. We were extremely impressed with the discipline of the lessons as well as the exercise element. Several parents we spoke to felt that it was a wonderful introduction to realizing that in some situations there are strict rules to be followed (though this had come as a surprise initially to some of the children). Judo did wonders for DS's confidence and at secondary school he was grabbed by a bully who was much larger than him and immediately dropped into a "throw" position. As they were on a concrete playground DS did not intend to throw the bully unless he was being badly hurt as he had been taught the risks of doing so. However, as soon as he dropped into a "throw" position the bully said "Oh you've done judo" and let him go immediately and never bothered him again.

DS also enjoyed football and anything to do with computers - he taught himself programming when quite young.