Respect

The Academy of Traditional Karate has always placed a high priority on Respect, as it is the foundation of most relationships. Without respect, there can be no cooperation, no education, and no support or encouragement. Respect is very important to living a successful and fulfilling life.

 

It is important that your children learn the importance of respect, and how to truly show respect for others. We strive to teach and model these important lessons every day through our Karate training. We have provided some suggestions below on how you can help your children learn the importance of respect.

 

Things you can do at home to reinforce the concepts they learn at home:

 

Model respect for them:

You have the most influence on your children. They will pattern their behavior after what they observe you doing. Go out of your way to display respect for others in front of your children. Also, talk to them about the importance of self-respect.

 

Give them concrete actions to take.

Give them some things they can do to show respect for others. Helping a sibling with a chore, helping a friend with homework, and obeying you or the teacher the first time they are instructed to do something are all good examples of showing respect. These examples will help them see that showing respect for others requires actions more than words.

 

Remind them of what they learn in Karate class.

We work hard to teach respect to our students. Remind your children of what they learn in their class, and how they can apply it to other areas of their lives. Making the connection between what they learn in  Karate and what they do in other places will reinforce the importance we place on respect.

 

Help them respect themselves.

It is hard to show respect for others, or to gain the respect of others, if we don’t respect ourselves. Children often have a hard time gaining self-respect. Help them by emphasizing the importance of exercise, learning, and helping others. As author and motivational speaker Tony Robbins tells us, these actions will “feed and strengthen our minds, body, and spirit.” They will generate self-respect.