Coordination Tips for Kids

A child’s physical coordination will ultimately have a bearing on his skill level in sports, academic performance and even attitudes about school and education, according to a report by the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. That’s why it is important for kids to have structured games and activities throughout the day that offer coordination exercises.

With your help, your child can work on developing coordination skills that can help him throughout his life.

According to Greg Silva, a 7th degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and author of the book The Silva Solution: Teaching Black Belts From The Inside Out, “martial arts is like no other sport in developing coordination.”

Coordination is developed thought physical exercise that access both hemispheres of the brain.  As kids begin martial arts, we often notice kids with good physical skills when doing things on their favorite side.  When students punch with their right hand, they are accessing the left side of the brain.  When first starting a new activity, using the less favored side is more difficult, especially for younger students.  In martial arts, we practice all activities on both sides and often from side-to-side at a fast pace.

Mr. Silva explains the process of developing coordination with this analogy:  “If you and a neighbor had a large hedge between your properties it would be difficult to pass from one yard to the next.   However if you and your neighbor would visit often,  a clear path would soon form.”   When kids train in martial arts, the drills, basics and exercises in martial arts form clear pathway of communication and the skills and coordination develop rather quickly.

We see kids improve not only coordination, but also quick thinking and decision making.  Parents concerned about motor skills and coordination might, therefore, consider martial arts for their kids.  There are very few sports that build coordination inherently; football and baseball have drills for building motor skills, but martial arts has the drills built into all of its activities.