Kid's Program  (Jing Mo Do )

We limit enrollment in our kids program to a maximum of 12 students so that we can give all of them the attention and focus needed to help them develop their skills to their best ability. 

Must be 6 yrs or older to attend.  

Serious students only!    

     INSTRUCTORS

       Steve Grantham - Head Instructor
       Alex Burr - Assistant Instructor

American culture today does not encourage our children to reach their full physical potential. With the emphasis on academic achievement, a child’s busy schedule rarely allows time for a PE class or even merely “playing” after school.  The rare PE class or team sport after school tends to encourage those children who are already athletic and coordinated into developing their abilities, since most programs are focused on winning rather than overall development.  Natural skills are encouraged to grow, but skills not yet developed or those skills not needed for that game or sport are ignored.  Not everyone can be a Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, but everyone can become a better athlete or just develop more coordination for everyday activities.

Physical education should be about helping our children to increase that coordination and develop those skills through an exploration of their mind/body connection.  Children have that connection at birth but society encourages that growing child to ignore the connection; that child grows into an adult with no idea that this connection even exists. Children need to be physically active to develop this connection, and any sport that allows children to play is helpful;  however the best approach is in which children are allowed and expected to work through specific drills and movements.  These drills encourage a variety of coordinated movements that creates a wide range of balance, strength, flexibility, and mobility.   Our skilled instructors help individual students to find their growing edge – the areas in which they need to develop skills and abilities - and help them focus on those areas to in order to become more balanced physically. 

Another way in which martial arts training differs from traditional sports training is our emphasis on how we treat other people, due primarily to the nature of our training.  Students are constantly reminded of the importance of the safety of their partners and any student who shows disregard for that safety is not allowed to continue training with us. Over time, our students learn how to protect themselves and their partners from accidental injury.

One of the most important lessons a child can learn is that through conscious practice and awareness, he or she can develop physical abilities that he or she does not currently have.  At Phoenix Martial Arts, our children’s program uses methods of physical training gleaned from Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Kickboxing, and Weapons training, as well as movement drills to help our kids learn this lesson.  In the controlled environment of a class, children learn sparring with and without padded weapons, wrestling and grappling with other students, and learning to throw and to fall properly.  These activities all help our students develop physically, mentally, and emotionally so they are better prepared to deal with the social pressures of growing up in this culture.