By Rochelle E. Brenner
One of the best ways to bond with your child and set them up for success takes very little time or extra expense.
Focus on goals.
This is where karate comes in. It fills the gap to connect belt milestones with additional personal achievement.
The benefit of goal-setting is backed by science. A study by Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University found that people who wrote down their goals were more likely to achieve them. This simple act of writing creates clarity, accountability, and motivation. Only about 1 percent of the population regularly writes down their goals, but families who set goals together are up to 42% more likely to report higher happiness and cohesion. A good goal is an idea that takes action.
It’s a tradition to set resolutions at the start of a New Year. Action Karate doubles down on the importance of writing resolutions by writing them down four times a year – at each belt opportunity, students set new goals and instructors check regularly for progress. If the goal is for higher kicks, that student is challenged on the spot to expand their stretching routine. If it’s push-ups, they work on holding up push-up position in the moment. Martial arts is the perfect place to work on goals because the setting is a natural conduit for self-improvement.
Good families eat meals together. Great families also set, talk about, and follow up on goals together.
5 Things You Can Do for Your Child to Achieve Their Goals
1- Set your own goals to set an example
2- Write them down
3- Talk about them
4- Plan a time in the future to talk about them
5- Revise the goal timeline as needed instead of giving up at a misstep
6- Connect it with a positive reinforcement – meeting that goal results in a reward
7- Seek measurable results
8- Goal stacking: Combine a goal with another milestone or habit
Setting goals should start very young. It may be challenging at first. They may start out with vague, outlandish, silly or unrealistic goals. But with nudging and encouragement, the habit of goal-setting will eventually kick in as they will want to see and measure their progress and demonstrate what they’ve done.
Every family that walks into a karate school has a specific area they want to improve: grades, reading, acts of athleticism, responsibility. How karate incorporates goal setting:
- Goal-setting is built into the curriculum. As soon as students earn a belt, they 1- thank their support team 2- celebrate 3- talk with their classmates/family to set new goals 4- write the goal down on their attendance card 5- expect to be asked about their goal frequently 6- plan to achieve it by the time they get their next belt
- Every new belt represents not just a skill milestone but also a personal goal reached. The act of “tying” the belt into a goal (Get it? Tying a belt?) becomes symbolic of progress to intentional growth.
The mission is to raise a generation of children who are simply more likely to set and meet their goals, and achieve more of their dreams along the way:
- Write down their goals to increase achievement
- Think critically about their aspirations and the steps required
- Share goals with parents to build support and accountability and family bonding
- Celebrate milestones as proof of progress, reinforcing the value of persistence
If the only thing Karate accomplishes is bringing a child one step closer to their own goals, then this is a success.