“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh," he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you."
Before we begin talking about self confidence, I would like to clarify what I think a quality Martial Arts program and a Senior Instructor should be able to do for their community.
Martial arts should be able to assist a parent in building many strong, positive traits in a child. One of the First goals of a quality martial arts class is to reinforce the positive goals and values of the parents and families that have entrusted their children to them, teaching punching and kicking should be taught but not at the expense of life skills - they come first.
Our goals as master instructors is service, assistance, and guidance, to our families. It should never be just about a student(s) honoring an instructor, but instead an instructor honoring the position of trust bestowed on him - giving back one hundred fold that which he receives.
Self Confidence Issues;
A child with good self confidence is easy to spot in a crowd. He or she possesses a bright, engaging smile and a positive attitude. Effortlessly, this child makes friends and accepts leadership opportunities.
Timid and shy children, however, are too often relegated to the sidelines. For these children, their problems start small; a child who can't interact with his or her peers has a hard time look an adult in the eye, or won't step into a game or program because they lack confidence.
But as a child grows so to do these problems, and before long this child is the target of bullies, susceptible to peer pressure and withdrawn in the classroom, playground, and possible at home. Kids like this are called "painfully shy" for good reason, for them it must be very emotionally painful to be in this place.
A child with self-confidence problems needs to improve his or her self-esteem. Here are some of the characteristics of a child with low self-esteem, followed by ways to assist a child with their self confidence issues;
Timid and shy
Loner, not a leader
Bully magnet
Fear of failure
Peer pressure
The Look of Confidence
What does confidence look like, and why is “Looking Confident” important? Muggers that were interviewed from their jail cell said the same thing over and over, how a person physically presented themselves when passing by the mugger was extremely important and in many cases it was the determining factor in the mugger choosing to pursue that person.
There are some definite physical qualities involved in projecting the look of confidence. These qualities include:
• Great posture
• Good eye contact
• Strong and controlled voice
Great Posture;
Our posture communicates what we think of ourselves long before we ever open our mouth to speak one single word. Most people get a significant portion of their first impression of us from how we walk, stand, sit and in general how we physically present ourselves.
Eye Contact;
Making eye contact with someone yelling at your child, a bully at school, a mugger or an abductor seems small, but can be the only difference between your child becoming one of their victims or not. Good eye contact tells people you are focused on them, confident in yourself, and could possible describe the person to authorities if needed.
Strong, Controlled Voice:
Great posture and good eye contact are the perfect starting points to presenting a confidence that people notice, and acknowledge, adding a strong controlled voice reinforces this and tells others "you are someone to be listened to". Whether you are trying to get your point of view across to someone, part of a group that is working on a project together, or making sure a play ground bully or a would-be assailant is stopped in their tracks, the child with a confidence in their stride, eyes and voice will be considered the leader, and the person to be listened to.
Let me ask you, have you ever been around a person that is loud for no particular reason, but is just naturally very loud? Do they keep your interest or make you want to leave the area? How about someone that gets loud when they want to make sure their point of view is heard, does it ever convince you that they are right just because they are loud or do you tend to end the conversation quickly and leave. Does loud convey confidence, or insecurity? I don't think this is the way you want you child to present themselves.
Click Here - If you would like to print, e-mail or read the complete article that gives you
• Great ideas so you could practice with your child
• What to avoid when working on your child’s confidence. and
• How a martial arts classes will help
Learn more about how martial arts addresses specific problems related to a lack of confidence and other important issues. Call us today Sonoma Taekwondo Center 707-935-7118 or drop us an e-mail at sabum9@sbcglobal.net
