Martial Arts is about so much more than punching & kicking. It’s the most effective path to all-round personal development.
I’m sure if you asked any parent who’d enrolled their children in a martial arts class what they were hoping to gain from their membership it’s pretty unlikely they’d say they wanted them to learn to fight. It’s all about the many other benefits, including focus, self-discipline, respect for them self and for others, confidence, assertiveness and so much more.
Here’s a great example of two young lads who’ve been with us for a few years now. Jack and Thomas and are now approaching their black belt examination next month. When they joined us they were both pretty quiet kids who’d barely say ‘boo’ to a goose, and yet this week they stood up in front of their whole school to give a presentation about their martial arts. There were probably 150 people in the room so that’s a pretty nerve-wracking thing for anyone to do, but they absolutely rocked it and got a fantastic response from both students and teachers alike..
Given the number of adults who’d tell you their biggest fear is public speaking, you can imagine how proud we are to see the confidence these boys have developed through their training at the Black Belt Academy!
A lovely picture and your words above are very true. The boys have learnt so many skills in the lead up to their black belt all of which they will take forward into their school life and beyond. Although the journey so far has been tough we are so glad we met Richard Olpin at a fair in Dursley and signed Tom up all those years ago!– Jo Munyard
Here’s a little article in the Gloucestershire Gazette today about our three latest junior black belt promotions, plus Master Olpin’s promotion to 6th Dan and his “Instructor of the Year” award from last xmas (old news!).
Last weekend we saw a post on Facebook from the mum of one of our junior students. This is what it said..
I have had a private text from school asking me to attend assembly tomorrow and not to say anything to Alex….. Can’t help thinking whats he done or not done?!
Sounds ominous, but then the next day’s update:
He got a Gold Star!! For being kind, working hard, making his teacher laugh every day with his sense of humour and growing in confidence daily. Result was I cried but am so very, very proud of him
Excellent, thats great to hear! Even better when she followed that up with:
I think the Ilyokwan Black Belt Academy has been the greatest thing helping his confidence. Thank you Richard Olpin!!!
This is the real power of personal development through the martial arts programmes we teach here at the Academy.
It’s not just about punching and kicking, it’s about developing real life skills. Here we see a child developing into a kind, hard-working and confident young man and his mum attributes those improvements directly to the positive start he’s gained from his training here at the Academy.
Well done Alex, we’re so pleased, and very proud of you!
Thanks again to our friends at St Joseph’s School in Nympsfield. We have a number of students in common and I know we share some similar goals to help them develop as well-rounded, confident and positive individuals.
If you’re interested in giving your family a real a Positive Start in life, then get in touch. Try our programmes free of charge as our guest for 30 days, and you’ll see the rewards for yourself!
When we first met Dillon he was really shy, and you’d be lucky to get a few words out of him even if you asked a direct question.
How amazing then to see him a few years later where he stood up in front of his whole school and gave a 20 minute presentation about his martial arts to well over 100 people! Such a huge improvement in his confidence since he began training at the Academy.
Well done Dillon!
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