Can Martial Arts Help Your Child Focus in the Age of Screens?

In the age of screens being everywhere, how can martial arts help with attention? And can it help at all? Let's talk about it.

We live in probably the most stimulating time of human history. So in the middle of all that, how can martial arts really help with attention? Well, first, the moment a person crosses the threshold into the school, their phones are off. Just the removal of them is a start.

Second is the thing I refer to as just the process. The simplest way to say it is: perform, then analyze that performance, theorize some different ways to fix whatever was wrong with it, drill whatever that solution is, and then perform again.

It's not rocket science, all right? I'm a martial arts instructor. We're not launching rockets to Mars. But having that kind of stated process in place matters. You can use an AI to maybe help you do some thinking, but a lot of the thinking out here on the big blue mat doesn't need one. Your punch sucks. How do you fix the punch? How about keeping your wrist straight and not rolling it? That would feel better. It's a lot of basic stuff like that.

A physical debate

What martial arts can offer that's unique is that exchange between two people. I'm doing a thing. You react to that thing. The quality of that reaction is your ability to see the flaw in my system, my thinking. Then we trade back and forth. It's almost like a debate, a physical debate. We're finding flaws in the other person's thinking and then exploiting that physically.

At the end of it, it's like a good game of chess. I got you there. Yeah, but you do this with your pawn, and that's how I'm catching you. That's the cooperative problem solving that happens, and there's no place in there for a screen. There's something that just sharpens a person's attention like a foot flying towards their head. That usually gets somebody to stop thinking about 50 other things and get unified on the moment.

Let's say I'm wearing a jiu-jitsu gi and we're going to start the roll. I'm on my back. This person's sitting on me. Go. Now I have to find a way not to let this guy choke me. If he does choke me, I tap, he lets go, we both kind of chuckle and we restart. No harm, no foul. But still, the amygdala in there knows this person is letting you live because they're nice. And so it sharpens up the attention.

That sounds brutal to hear me say it like that, and it sounds fear motivated. It's not, though. It's play. It's just rough play. You're working with your friends. You get grown guys my age in here, and we're doing the same thing as kids. Yes, it's rough, but it's also very real and very honest. I think it was Jocko Willink who referred to jiu-jitsu mats as the mats of truth. You can't fake it out here. You either know how to do the thing or you don't, and pretty quickly when somebody gets a hold of you, you're going to find out. So it can't help but sharpen the attention and strengthen the muscles of problem solving.

What to look for in a school

If you're at a martial arts school that does have consistent sparring, I think yes, it helps. If the school doesn't pressure test, could it still help? Yes, but I think it loses a bit of what martial arts can offer uniquely. Martial arts is uniquely suited for the physical chess match, and if you're at a place that doesn't take advantage of that, you might be missing out a little bit. You also have people who don't like sparring but want to do martial arts. Those people exist, and they need a place too, so those schools may be great for them.

So can martial arts help with attention? It can. How much it does has to do with the way the school is set up, what that student finds interesting, and the culture of the school: one that promotes safe practice and a good team kind of scenario. If it gets negative competitive, with rivalries and grumpiness, it's not really as healthy. But if it's a good culture, with all the things I've discussed, it's a great place to raise a warrior.

Watch the full conversation

Watch the full talk on YouTube to hear how sparring and steady practice sharpen your child's focus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7f1hffI9Fw

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Can Martial Arts Help Your Child Focus in the Age of Screens?

A physical debate

What to look for in a school

Watch the full conversation