Martial arts as a path to mindfulness?

[mommyshoppinghabit]

I've heard about monks in the East being taught the martial arts as a path of awakening their presence in the now, of cultivating their minfullness. I am always looking for opportunities to instill this kind of foundation in my kids. For these reasons, I want to start me son in a martial arts class, but I doubt that the handful of karate centers around where I live even touch on mindfulness. They are just merely very expensive gym classes. Does anyone know what terms I can Google to find local resources. I tried Zen Buddhism but didn't find what I was looking for.

[merpk]

There are two kinds of martial arts, hard and soft. Karate is hard. Tai Chi is soft. Mindfulness is central to Tai Chi, and I believe all the other martial arts as well, but it might be harder to focus on it in the harder ones. You might want to find centers that will teach the soft kind to kids.

(While I studied Tai Chi for a short time before my kids were born, anything I know about it is through DH, who lived it intensely for almost 20 years.)

[anon_abroad]

Martial arts IS a path to mindfulness, but it all depends on the teacher. So if mindfulness is the aim it doesn't necessarily have to happen through martial arts. If you find a wonderful teacher, of any sorts, go for them.

[Bekka]

might look into aikido, which has ki (chi) training. It also would be "soft."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aikido

From the wikipedia article:
Ki
This was the kanji for ki until 1946, when it was changed to 気.

The study of ki is a critical component of aikido, and its study defies categorization as either "physical" or "mental" training, as it encompasses both. The original kanji for ki was 氣 (shown right), and is a symbolic representation of a lid covering a pot full of rice; the "nourishing vapors" contained within are ki.[49]

snip

Koichi Tohei's Ki Society centers almost exclusively around the study of the empirical (albeit subjective) experience of ki with students ranked separately in aikido techniques and ki development.[50]

(our aikido dojo is the virginia ki society)

[umsami]

I was going to mention Aikido too. Have a good friend who started as a kid and still practices. The local Aikido center here offers kids classes starting at 6... no idea how young your little one is, but you might want to give it a try. I think the price is reasonable.... $35/month or so. (That's reasonable to me, although I understand it might not be for others.)

DS1 did Tae Kwon Do when he was 4 or so, and it was not what I would call mindful at all. But it could be the teacher/sensei.

[mntnmom]

Even in "hard" martial arts like Kempo or Tea Kwan Do mindfulness IS a focus, if you have a good teacher. Unfortuantely, that is a big "if". Sit in on a class or two and see what you think. Address your concerns with the instructor. You might be pleasantly surprised. Or you might decide to find your mindfulness elsewhere. Good Luck

[Linda on the move]

It's a lot like a yoga class, the exact name of the class or where it is taught doesn't tell you if the teacher really "gets it" and can teach it to your child. Ask questions about mindfulness and watch some classes.

<<I doubt that the handful of karate centers around where I live even touch on mindfulness>>

There's no way to know without checking them out. I know an amazing yoga teacher who teaches at a Y in a small town.