I see people posting on facebook about extra curricular and what other parents choose for their child. Now I can not boast about Martial Arts enough. This is my little karate kid.
We attend the Australian Martial Arts Acadamy (AMAA) in Marrickville Community Centre which has been established for 35 years.
For a long time I wanted to put my son into Martial Arts. Mainly because he has so much strength and I wanted him to learn how to use it properly and be able to control what he does with his body. Google came up with nothing for kids under 3 so my search stopped. I figured I could just put him in when he was 3 years old. Five months before his 3rd birthday, I came across an advertisement for 4 weeks of unlimited classes and free uniform for $50. BARGAIN! Of course this special isn't always on offer. I was lucky to come across it. I searched further to find that they accept kids from 18 months. Yayyyy!
We have now been attending AMAA for 7 months. We absolutely love it. I can not recommend it enough. Since joining, my 9-year-old niece has now started and she loves it. Classes are engaging, very child friendly, full of positive reinforcement and encouragement.
Why do I recommend it? Well I get asked all the time "what do they get out of it from such a young age?" It is not all kicks and punches. It is discipline, listening skills, engaging with others, balance, respect, confidence, the ability to express themselves and use their voice, protection, fitness and goal setting. They upgrade in belt colour which gives them a sense of achievement. My son counts how many stripes he has and how many we need to advance in belt colour. We look at the chart to see how many stripes we need and talk about getting the next belt. We look at all the wonderfully large trophies on display and engage with other parents and their kids. It's a great place to meet new people.
My son doesn't attend daycare or any other extra curricular. Mainly due to finances but AMAA offers great learning opportunities for him. I saw a major improvement 4 weeks in. Better listening skills and following instructions. The confidence to get up in front of the entire class to demonstrate and a real sense of achievement. We have just started in the 3-5 room where parents do not participate. Kids go into a room and do a demonstration for parents after. More classes are available for this age group and back to back classes are available (so you can sit back and relax for an hour)! I am honestly beside byself with what I will do on my own for a whole hour馃槀. There is a cafe at the back so you can relax with a coffee and unwind.
It's a scary world we live in. All these abductions you hear all over the media. Why wouldn't you want your child to have some knowledge of how they can protect themselves and how they can use their body to their advantage, regardless of how small they may be? AMAA not only offers classes for kids but for all ages. They offer school holiday programs and specialty classes as well as birthday party packages. Why don't you join in on the fun? Why don't you take the journey with them?
We have entered one tournament (sumo). Each contestant receives a trophy for 1st and 2nd place. How proud my son was to receive a trophy is indescribable. He carried his trophy around for days, showing everyone. He was so proud of himself, as was I. Even without the trophy, it takes great confidence to get up in front of a crowd and participate. I am one very proud mumma!
The instructors are all very lovely and happy to answer any of your questions. We even received a happy birthday card sent in the mail. It was a very lovely surprise.
AMAA allow for catch up classes anytime. No booking, just turn up. I love this as it allows us the flexibility to do other things. We attend a playgroup once a fortnight which falls on the same day that Martial Arts does and it allows us to still attend. I have found that other extra curricular are not so flexible with catch up classes. My son and I are quite busy bees so this is great for us. I don't have to feel like we're missing out on anything if something comes up and my son gets the best of both worlds.
If you have read my previous blogs, you will know that I'm all for savings and discounts. As a single mum I save where I can to be able to afford things like Martial Arts. Payments get deducted once a fortnight, if you pay 6 months in advance you receive a 5% discount, 1 year in advance you receive a 10% discount. I paid a year in advance to receive a 10% discount and over the entire year I saved over $200. The great thing about paying in advance is I now don't have to worry about the payments. It has been paid for and I have committed for the entire year. I am able to scrape up the money to pay for the entire year because I save everywhere I can. This is also a saving, long-term. See my blog How to save to learn how I manage to save where I can.
Come and try a free weeks trial as my guest. If you are interested, shoot me an email for the details. If you don't enjoy it or don't think it is for you there's no commitment. Come on, you've got nothing to lose. Let's build our kids up with the tools for a positive future one black belt at a time.
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