Youth JingShen MA ~ Ages 7yrs - 14yrs
Beyond the Belts!
Our INTENTION & PRIORITY is to lay the foundation and building blocks for living a meaningful, joyful, and successful life by developing practices and habits that will serve for many years. Within the classical teachings of the medicine that we practice, there exists a theory or concept that discusses the idea of "nourishing the root" in order to set the stage for a "bountiful harvest". These years in a child's development represent the "root" years and our intention is to provide some easy to understand and learn skills that will set the stage for what the future holds.
- Our FOCUS and GOAL is to help children gain the knowledge and tools to be good human beings outside the dojo. (home, school, world)
- DISCOVER self-esteem & EMBRACE the confidence and the courage to show up in the world as themselves, proud of who they are and what they have to offer.
- DEVELOP the tools and practices to not only show up in their life, but to deal/handle life as it comes at them.
- MARTIAL ARTS as CULTIVATION - While it is always our hope that they never find themselves in a situation where they would need to fight/defend themselves - our goal is NOT fighting - however SHOULD they find themselves in need, they have the knowledge, wherewithal, and the ability to protect themselves.
Why JingShen Martial Arts? How we plan to be different?
Martial arts classes historically in the west are about punching, kicking, promotion tests, fighting, sparring, tournament, and belts. How fast can I get to a black belt while learning the discipline that encourages me to behave, be respectful, and work hard? The essence of some of this will be included in our program with so much more. While learning the physical aspects of the arts and the application and appropriate use of those skills (punching, kicking, blocks, self defense, etc…). Our goal is to also teach/incorporate some of the gentler side of the arts. The side of the arts that encourage calmness and develops in its students the ability to recognize, understand, and respond appropriately when life gets “exciting”.
“Exciting” can be school stress, bully stress, sibling stress or whatever life stress may be at this age. Our teachers have developed this program to incorporate many aspects of different systems that have been useful in their own lives while also proving to be beneficial for their patients in the clinical work.
The Jing Shen Program will include the typical Yang (active) aspects of the arts as well as Yin (gentler) aspects of the arts combined with a bit of fitness designed specifically for the age group. Each class will have a different flow to keep the classes engaged and learning while also developing the tools and skills to show up in life respectful, thoughtful, joyful, and compassionate. Our program will also include a bit of “homework” or “tasks” to focus on between classes to reinforce the understanding of the teachings.
These teachings have proved to be invaluable in the personal lives of our teachers and our program is designed and intended to be a way to share and give back to practices that have been so meaningful to us.