Local Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania VA Martial Arts News
3/10/2010
Provided Courtesy of Spotsylvania Martial Arts

Top 10 Martial Arts Tips to Help Prevent Childhood Obesity

Spotsylvania Martial Arts in Fredericksburg VA suggests the following 10 tips for martial arts parents to help prevent childhood obesity:

1. Martial Arts Tip #1: Allow children to be in charge of the food they eat. Children thrive on self control.

2. Martial Arts Tip #2: Make all foods equal.  Teach children to check in with their bodies and choose healthy foods based on what their bodies are asking for. Encourage your child to respect their bodies.

3. Martial Arts Tip #3: Encourage children to know when they are full and to stop eating at that point. Focusing is a key life skill we teach at Spotsylvania Martial Arts.

4. Martial Arts Tip #4: Let children eat according to their own hunger patterns, rather than according to external schedules. Mr. Willits suggests eating a healthy snack before coming to your martial arts class or exercising.  This can help a child build discipline into their training/exercise program.

5. Martial Arts Tip #5: De-emphasize body shape and weight. Encourage children to love and accept their bodies unconditionally. Self-esteem is a key life skill taught at Spotsylvania Martial Arts.

6. Martial Arts Tip #6: Help children find ways to move and play so they get enjoyable exercise every day. We have many families enrolled at our academies. Families that kick together, stick together -- and our seniors are a great example.

7. Martial Arts Tip #7: Accept children unconditionally, and don’t make derogatory comments about their looks or weight. Children need way to build their confidence.  Martial arts is an individual activity that allows children to progress at their own pace.

8. Martial Arts Tip #8: Be sure children never get started on the damaging cycle of dieting and bingeing. As always, encourage them to live a healthy, active lifestyle. It is important for children to be courteous to their bodies.

9. Martial Arts Tip #9: Let food fuel the body. Don’t turn it into a reward, or save certain things to be a special treat. On a further note, don’t use “grounding” a child from a sports/healthy activity as a form of punishment. The instructors at Spotsylvania Martial Arts encourage parents to communicate with them on progress at home and in school and help the children to use their ATA Life Skills to do the right thing. We encourage the children by rewarding them in class for positive behavior.

10. Martial Arts Tip #10: Teach children to honor and respect others and not to make fun of someone that is overweight. Instead, encourage your family members, friends, classmates, and neighbors to take part in healthy activities.  A great way to do this is to invite them to try a three-week introductory program and to call today to schedule their first class.

The American Taekwondo Association is based out of Little Rock AR, and the local ATA Martial Arts training facilities are top martial arts schools in Richmond and Northern Virginia. Whether you are looking into Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwondo (Tae Kwon Do), Krav Maga, or any variation of Martial Arts Training we would highly suggest checking out the local ATA academies at spotsybba.com and their national headquarters at www.ataonline.com.

Spotsylvania Martial Arts offers a free three-class trial program in traditional martial arts and krav maga.  Please call 540-891-9008, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.