The Benefit of Taking Martial Arts as an Extracurricular

Taekwondo, as well as other martial arts, provide students with invaluable skills besides the obvious physical defense. Learning any of the martial arts provides you skills you can take into your personal life. Plus, just as any extracurricular does, studying a martial art shows you enthusiasm for learning outside of the prescribed curriculum.

Increased Attention

The ancient arts that make up the martial arts all require an increased attention span. Martial arts require acute attention to learn moves, notice enemy attacks, and also creates an overall heightened self awareness. These skills will help you in your studies and everyday life, not just on the sparring mat.

Learning Discipline

In order to learn a martial art, you’ll need a fair amount of discipline. This discipline comes from the hours dedicated to learning the fundamental moves, but also are enhanced from the improved body and mind awareness you gain. It takes a lot of discipline to train hard only to get knocked down. In the beginning it may be very hard to want to get back out on the mat, but with a newfound sense of discipline, you’ll find yourself out on the mat and trying new things outside of your martial arts classes.

Time Management

With any extracurricular, time management is a skill you absolutely have to have. Without it, you’ll suffer in either school or in your progress with the extra curricular you’ve dedicated your time to. Pushing yourself to learn how to allocate time to certain tasks and assignments will help you in all areas of your life.

Stand Out On College Applications

All of the skills above, as well as learning a martial art like taekwondo, will help you when it comes to college applications. These skills allow you to stand out from the crowd. They show that you are willing to learn new things and put yourself in unfamiliar situations. Additionally, excelling in a martial art is something few people actually commit time and effort to. This will help you stand apart from other applicants and helps you tell the story of who you are. This is important to college admission offices because they receive an immense amount of applications every year. If you’ve dedicated yourself to school, and then went above and beyond, you make their choice a whole lot easier.