In a recent article published in the Journal of Developmental Psychology, a study on improving self-control for children who train Taekwondo was conducted. The journal explained how researchers studied 240 elementary school students aged 7-11 over 11 weeks.
(Does Taekwondo improve children’s self-regulation? If so, how? A randomized field experiment)
The true mastery on his emotions and his actions is a difficult task at any age, but adolescence can be a particularly turbulent moment. However, researchers at the University of Surrey find the practice of martial arts – specifically Taekwondo – can help children improve their “self-regulation”. In other words, Taekwondo promotes emotional control stronger, improved cognition and better global behavior.
Even better, the study finds strong self-regulation in children has a connection to both the benefits of mental health and better notes at school. The researchers evaluated 240 children aged seven to 11 for 11 weeks to reach these conclusions. In total, the team chose eight academic classes for this study. They randomly attributed half of the students of each class to attend Taekwondo lessons. The experimental group attended two weekly Taekwondo 45 minutes, while the control group received two gym lessons 45 minutes a week.
The study authors collected the reference date of each participating student before their gym classes or taekwondo began, and then again after the eleventional period of 11 weeks. Each child filled a series of polls that ask for what they thought about their lessons and the level of importance they put in the practice of “good self-control”. The teachers of each student also qualified their self-regulation at school. Finally, students completed a series of computer-based tasks that measure the cognition and functioning of the executive brain.
Taekwondo strengthens a child’s attention.
After 11 weeks, students attending Taekwondo classes showed a much stronger capacity to pay attention to those who attended traditional gym classes. Taekwondo students also obtained a higher score in an executive care test called the Flanker exam. The examination is to identify the direction of a stimulus on the screen, at the same time that it simultaneously ignores any stimulus in close competence.
In conclusion, the study authors find that children respond favorably to the standard Taekwondo classes, which help improve children’s self-control and self-regulation.
“Many studies suggest that improving children’s self-control has practical benefits,” said Dr. Terry Ng-Knight of the Department of Psychology at the University of Surrey. “However, research is not clear how to achieve this.”
The results of this study suggest that Taekwondo learning can teach children the value of self-control and increase self-control. Taekwondo is a popular extracurricular activity for many children, but its distribution at school sites is quite limited.
