Martial Arts & Kid's With ADHD Part 4

This series of articles on martial arts and kid's with ADD or ADHD is based on my 20+ years of teaching children with this disorder. That is the main reason for the title of the articles, it is not just what martial arts will do, but also other approaches to use that will work with martial arts training.

I had a parent recently telling me about their child's learning disability. Do you see a problem here? Remember back to when you were in school. Do you recall who the 'dumbest' kid in the class was? It was obvious to the kid's in class, the teacher and the child having the problems. But yet, through all this negative reinforcement, someone thought that this child might improve. GOOD LUCK! The situation must improve first!

A child with attention deficit disorder does not have a disease, they are not suffering from a learning disability, they are simply distracted. These children, who have above average intelligence, also have a better connection between the right and left hemispheres of the brain than do other children. Therefore they receive on a continuing basis more information from their non-conscious mind than most people do.The sad part is that the education system and doctors don't know what to do about this (even if they understand it) and will subscribe drugs to stimulate the conscious mind, thus 'dumbing down' the unconscious mind, helping (supposedly) the child to focus. WRONG.

Our educational system works with what can be called 'explicit learning'. It is focused on learning using the left side of the brain, memorizing and calculating with the information provided. Children with ADD or ADHD thrive at learning in a way that is 'implicit'. Actually, that is the best way for everyone to learn anything, but that ability has been silenced by our eductional system.

What are example of implicit learning? Learning to walk, crawl, run and talk as an infant. All the rules of your primary language are learned this way. Right/Wrong, manners, much of the day to day behaviors you have were all learned implicitly.

Martial Arts instruction is an implicit learning method. This would apply to about 90% of the materials. This is a reason why martial arts is so very beneficial for children with ADD/ADHD or other similar conditions. There is one catch at this being successful! We need to work on the child's self esteem,becuase they are often being confronted by parents, teachers and piers about their alleged learning disablilities!

My final bit of advice for this article. Children will always live us to the expectations of their parents. How high are yours? If your child is not excelling is life, raise you expectations!

Some Great Information

I just posted 2 excellent PDF files on our website about Martial Arts training and children with attention deficit disorder. Check them out!

http://www.adhd.thepeacefulwarriors.org/articles-addadhd/65-adhd-and-martial-arts-training-can-it-help

ADHD and the Mozart Effect

ADHD and The Mozart Effect

The Mozart effect can refer to:

A set of research results that indicate that listening to Mozart's music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as "spatio-temporal reasoning;"[1]

Popularized versions of the theory, which suggest that "listening to Mozart makes you smarter", or that early childhood exposure to classical music has a beneficial effect on mental development;

With this being said imagine what the possibles are for kid's with attention deficit disorder. Could we use classical music to help calm the mind of a child with attention deficit disorder, and help them focus and therefore do better in school and life in general?

It has been reported than when Albert Einstein was trouble, or confronting an problem, he would often pickup his violin and plan along with Mozart. This would calm his mind and help to find the answers he was search for.

What affect does certain kinds of music have on the human brain? First let's look at the different brain wave patterns;

There are four categories of these brainwaves, ranging from the most activity to the least activity. When the brain is aroused and actively engaged in mental activities, it generates beta waves. These beta waves are of relatively low amplitude, and are the fastest of the four different brainwaves. The frequency of beta waves ranges from 15 to 40 cycles a second. Beta waves are characteristics of a strongly engaged mind. A person in active conversation would be in beta. A debater would be in high beta. A person making a speech, or a teacher, or a talk show host would all be in beta when they are engaged in their work.

The next brainwave category in order of frequency is alpha. Where beta represented arousal, alpha represents non-arousal. Alpha brainwaves are slower, and higher in amplitude. Their frequency ranges from 9 to 14 cycles per second. A person who has completed a task and sits down to rest is often in an alpha state. A person who takes time out to reflect or meditate is usually in an alpha state. A person who takes a break from a conference and walks in the garden is often in an alpha state. Classical Music, like Mozart will induce an Alpha Wave state in the brain.

The next state, theta brainwaves, are typically of even greater amplitude and slower frequency. This frequency range is normally between 5 and 8 cycles a second. A person who has taken time off from a task and begins to daydream is often in a theta brainwave state. A person who is driving on a freeway, and discovers that they can't recall the last five miles, is often in a theta state--induced by the process of freeway driving. The repetitious nature of that form of driving compared to a country road would differentiate a theta state and a beta state in order to perform the driving task safely.

The final brainwave state is delta. Here the brainwaves are of the greatest amplitude and slowest frequency. They typically center around a range of 1.5 to 4 cycles per second. They never go down to zero because that would mean that you were brain dead. But, deep dreamless sleep would take you down to the lowest frequency. Typically, 2 to 3 cycles a second.

When we go to bed and read for a few minutes before attempting sleep, we are likely to be in low beta. When we put the book down, turn off the lights and close our eyes, our brainwaves will descend from beta, to alpha, to theta and finally, when we fall asleep, to delta.

Now, what would happen if we were to bring the ADHD child to an Alpha state, using music, when they needed to complete a task (homework is a good example.) Children with normal brain activity will product Beta Waves when they are engaged in an activity. ADHD kid's will produce more Theta Waves, which is why they tend to drift off more easily that other children. The ideal learning state, a state were the non conscious mind is absorbing the most information is Alpha Wave state.

Now, this is only a theory, I will do more research and make amendments to this article as needed.

Martial Arts and Kid's with ADHD Part 3

In our last article on the Martial Arts & Kid's with ADHD we talked about increasing lung capacity through underwater swimming. I hope everyone has given this a try. Reading about it is great, but action must be taken to get results.

Let's take a look at building intelligence and focus at the same time. Now, it really does not matter if your child is ADHD or not, in fact you can do this to build your intelligence also.

The brain does not record information they way we first thought it did. Science now knows that memory was created for survival, not school or career. Our memory is an intricate web, very similar to the internet. We all know how hard it is to find thinks on the NET. If Google or Yahoo have not indexed it, it is impossible to find. With memory, something of interest is easy to retrieve and reconstruct, if it is not of interest, then it is very hard to locate.

Your unconsciousness mind is were memory is stored. All sensory input is woven into the web or your memory. Some is very deep inside. Your conscious mind edits this information for your attention. I deletes 99.9% of what comes in.

So your child goes to school, they are filled with energy (when I was a kids this was expected) and are taught things that in real life are irrelevant and uninteresting to them. They hear or read the information and delete it from the conscious memory, because it is boring!

This deletion is instant! That is why an child can forget what you said to him or her 2 minutes ago.

How do we overcome this is the real question. No drug with do this for them either!

Ok, here goes, have your child list on a piece of paper all the letters of the alphabet. List them vertically on the paper. Beside each letter your child will write a word, form a specific topic list, that corresponds to the letter. This will build associations in the brain for the topic, the letter and the word. This is will trigger other thoughts related to the topic and thus what happens in the mind is exponential! Do topics that your child likes at first, then slowly more to other topics that are school related.

How does memory work? Here is a brief explanation. Imagine you are holding a 15 inch flashlight in your hand. You are in a room that has no light at all, and you are looking for something is a file. The flashlight is your conscious mind, the darkness is your unconsciousness mind.The problem is the dark room is approximately 11 square miles in size and your flashlight is 15 inches long. See the problem?

The random thoughts that are constantly flowing into the mind of a child with attention deficit disorder are not only remarkable, but the way we all should be! They just don't have the tools need to tap into the unlimited potential. This exercise will build these tools! Drugs just numb the mind, they don't increase the ability to use this amazing gift!

Here is a sample of the exercise I am talking about. I am using martial arts terms for this one.

A -Aikido
B - Budo
C - Combat
D - Discipline
E - Elbow Strike
F - Front Kick
G - Grapple

The list goes on till Z. Try to get your child to do one list per day, then 2, then 3. The results in a month will astound you!

Yours in building strong, focus children,

Master Art Mason

Interesting Information Video

Here is an interesting video on Attention Deficit Disorder

Martial Arts & Kid's With ADHD Part 2

In the last article I discussed the idea of underwater swimming to increase a child's focus. This is especially beneficial for a child with ADD or ADHD. So, why exactly does this work? First, think about a time when you are really trying to focus on something. What happens? You guessed it, you hold your breath!

Anytime someone focuses intently on any object they hold there breath for a few seconds. When they begin to breath normally again, their attention does dwindle, but it is still there.

Having someone swimming underwater holding their breath will increase lung capacity substantially. Also, the act of holding your beath while swimming underwater in of itself will increase attention and focus.

For more information on this topic check out this book by Dr Win Wenger called The Einstein Factor

So, how does the martial arts help kids with ADD/ADHD? First, it provides physical movement, along side of work that requires focus. The need for focus starts small and builds over the months and years to follow. Martial Arts also provides a disciplined environment, with set routines that must be followed. Let us also not forget the built in goal setting that our belt system provides.

One of the most important things that needs to happen in the life of a child with ADD/ADHD is for things to be routine and consistent. This is also very important at home. Rules and boundaries must be set, and held to consistently. This is the same for punishment. All punishment must be consistent and then must be reinforced with positive afterwards. When a martial art school and parents work together, a child with ADD/ADHD will thrive!

If you would like some parenting tips on bringing up strong focused children, check out my book called; Children Don't Come with an Owners Manual.

Your in building strong, focused children,

Master Art Mason

Martial Arts & Kid's With ADHD Part 1

Almost every doctor who deals with child or adults with Attention Deficit Disorder will agree that martial arts, if taught correctly, will help kid's or adults with ADD/ADHD, but why?

Well first any parent who has ever talked with me about this problem knows that I am apposed to drug use unless the child's safety is at risk. Drugs are a band aid solution at best. So, why does martial arts training work? Well it is a combination of exercise (aerobic) and having to focus or concentrate on what you are doing. What his means is that lung capacity and focus have a direct relationship.

It has been show that intelligence can be increased in any person, if the proper learning steps are taken. Unfortunately school in the traditional sense will not accomplish this. If you look at history you will see many examples of this phenomenon in action. Albert Einstein is one such example. As a child he was considered to be mentally retarded, horrible in math, and a waste of teaching resources. So what happened? How can I help my child to become an Einstein or can i?

Now I am not saying here that martial arts alone will turn an ADHD child into Einstien, but it can be one giant step toward the goal of curing the problem. Back when I was in grade school the average class size was 30. One teacher handled the duties day in and day out. In this class there was one or two very smart children, and there was always one who was looking at failing the grade each year. Everyone else fell into the 'average' category.

Currently researchers are looking for the reason that ADHD is on the rise in children in North America. They are looking at environmental factors as well as food etc. But they are missing one very important item, that is lifestyle! Today children are far more sedimentary. They play video games, (which does stimulate the mind) and watch TV (a huge waste of time). They do not however play the physical games that I did as a child. Now I know what some of you are thinking, your child plays soccer, hockey, karate and other activities but is still struggling in school. The reason is simple, the physical and mental must be put together in a proper sequence to see a result.

In the martial arts, and again I must say if taught by a professional martial arts instructor, the physical and mental are combined together, then we see growth in the child's mental capabilities.

Now here is an interesting experiment you can do with your child. If you have a swimming pool at home or access to one, this summer play this underwater game with your child. Take a golf ball or any other item that will sink to the bottom. Play a game to retrieve this ball from the bottom of the pool. Work at having your child swim underwater for longer and longer periods of time. This will very quickly increase your child's lung capacity. Retrieving the ball, as a game will also engage the mind. When the game is finished sit down and do some mental activity with your child. Anything, like a board game, reading etc. Over time you will see an increase in your child's focus during normal everyday activities.

Try this for July and August, you will be amazed at the difference in September.

In part 2 of this article I will explain more as to how this works. In the mean time parents, pay attention to how you breath when you are focusing to accomplish a task. Look for changes in your breathing pattern.



Yours in raising strong, confident children,



Master Art Mason
Founder: Art Mason's Peaceful Warriors' Martial Arts Institute

Are your children in danger?

Attention Deficit Disorder can affect far more than just classroom participation at school. It can affect how safe your child is on a day to day basis. The world is full of predators looking for an easy victim. Sadly, a distracted child is that easy victim.

So, what do you do? Lock your child in the house to protect them from the bad element? Certainly not! You do, as parents need to arm yourself with the information needed to keep your child safe in today's world.

Check this website out; it is totally FREE and has a wealth of information to help you out.

Kid's Safe Canada - not just for Canada either!

Parents; resist the temptation!

Parents, you must resist the temptation! For a great part of the world school is now out. It is a relief at first for the parents having to deal with homework, lunches and getting your child off to school each morning. But if you believe your child suffers from ADD/ADHD you cannot just let them have the summer off!

As a martial arts teacher I do encounter those parents who actually believe that their child works very hard during the year and deserves to do nothing during the summer months. BIG MISTAKE. First instilling a good work ethic in your child by having them continue to learn and work a few hours per week during the summer is a benefit that will last them a lifetime. Second, if you are dealing with a learning issue, the teacher will not have the need to re-teach a lot of material, thus saving time and keeping your child growing!

Each child who takes the summer off from martial arts needs about 1 month to get back on track. If there is a learning disability present it takes longer!

Parents, enroll your child in a martial arts program this summer, or get them involved in some type of private learning activity to help them in their weak areas. Shut the video games off, and keep them learning! You will be amazed at the results you will see!

Master Art Mason

Attention Parents! Is your child safe?

Attention Parents! Is your child Safe?


Our world is becoming more dangerous by the minute. Children are being molested, abducted, murdered and hurt in our cities and on our streets. Is there anything that can be done to make our children safe, aside from taking the law into our own hands? Yes there is! Education is the answer. The more you and your children know and understand how predators work and think the better.

Surprisingly there are few groups in Canada and the United States that are really interested in helping children, until now. On Sunday June 22nd 2008 Art Mason's Peaceful Warriors' Martial Arts Institute launched their new information website called The Kid's Safe Canada Network.

This website is dedicated to providing FREE to the public information on how to teach your child to be "street smart" and avoid problems with predators, and even school yard bullies!

It doesn't matter were you live in this world, the information provided on this website will benefit you! Bookmark the site and visit often!

Go to http://www.kidsafecanada.net

If you register for this site you will be added to a mail list which will keep you apprised of workshops and seminars in your area.

Registration, like the website is totally FREE.

Yours in building strong confident children,

Master Art Mason
Founder: Art Mason's Peaceful Warriors' Martial Arts Institute
Founder: Kids Safe Canada Network

This Blog is busy

I host several blogs and many websites, all dealing with martial arts, children with different learning issues, bullying and marketing for martial art school owners. Of all the sites I have this is one of the busiest!

Back when I was growing up there was no such thing as ADD/ADHD. In a class of 30 there was typically one or two children who had poor grades and just did not get the work. There was however no 'label' for these children as there is now.

Since WWII psychologists have come up with literally hundreds of different ways to raise and teach your children. But sadly and obviously their ideas don't work! Doctor resort to drugs to control children's behavior after telling the parents that the child cannot do it themselves. What a pile of cr**!

Dealing with ADD/ADHD requires a solid foundation of behavior be set for the kids, boundaries set, consequences put in place. Once this happens learning and development come next! This is no where near as difficult as some would believe. I have taught martial arts to thousands of children with amazing results, all using this simple idea.

Parents, there are a lot of resources out there! Some good, some great and some bad. Here are a few links that will help you. Don't be afraid to spend a few dollars to increase your education on these subjects. Parenting is an important task, likely the most important one in your life. Your education needs to continue also.

http://www.thepeacefulwarriors.org/adhd.html

http://nomanual.thepeacefulwarriors.org/

At these 2 links you will find some amazing information and resources. Join the mail list at the first one if you do nothing else!

Martial Arts and Kid's with ADHD

How does the martial arts help a child with attention deficit disorder? Follow this link to read more on the subject. You will be very surprised at some of the information you will find here.

Yours in raising strong, confident, focused children,

Master Art Mason

Children Don't Come with an Owners Manual

Dear Parents;

Are you are frustrated with trying to be the perfect parent and raise the perfect kids... I understand. I've raised three kids of my own and I've made a many mistakes along the way. However, thanks to my experience with the principles taught in the martial arts, I was able to instill inside my kids a sense of ethics, morals, self-esteem and confidence rarely seen in other kids their age. As I was raising my family, I was also helping hundreds of other children in my martial arts school learn "character" through these techniques.

I've created the most effective tools, techniques and strategies any parent can use to build stronger, happier, healthier kids. After 20 years of raising my own (and hundreds of other kids)... I've written down my system to share with other parents looking for a better way to insure their children's success.

After all, isn't it true you feel responsible for you children's success or failure? Now, we know we shouldn't feel that way, but we do. Parents will do whatever they can to give their kids the opportunities they never had. We can't help it. It is human nature to feel obligated to give our kids 110% of ourselves.

Although it looks like a book, it is really an "Owners Manual" that you wish your children had come with on day one. A step-by-step guide that makes child-raising brilliantly simple by taking you back to the basics. You'll gain universal and timeless strategies that guarantee wonderful results.

Can a book like this help if you have a child with ADD/ADHD? Most assuredly! This book will help you establish routines and boundaries your child needs to help them cope with attention deficit disorder!

For more information please follow this link;

Yours in raising strong, confident children,

Master Art Mason
Founder: The Peaceful Warriors' Martial Arts Institute

The 10 Warning Signs of Low Self-Esteem

“People don’t often understand just how damaging having low self-esteem can be! People with low self esteem are often go unnoticed at school and at work because they do not do anything to stand out. They don’t ever go for the goal or even try to make the sports team.”

“Low Self Esteem Sufferer’s are often the target of bullies at school as well as at work because they “bullies” know they won’t give them any hassle or a hard time and will be “easy” victims who will quickly bend to their will!”

The 10 Warning Signs of Low Self-Esteem:

1. Walking with head and eyes down focused on the ground instead of Straight ahead.
2. Shy and Reserved around new people and situations
3. She does not ask questions in school or at home
4. Hard for her to make friends
5. Poor Hygiene
6. Lack of Goals and Ambition
7. Struggles to get out of bed
8. Fails to believe she can do anything meaningful or worthwhile, so she never even tries!
9. Does not try new things in fear of looking foolish and failing
10. A Victim of a Bully!

These are just SOME of the warning signs of Low Self-Esteem you may be seeing in yourself or your child. You do not necessarily show all of these warning signs, just one is enough to suffer from Low Self-Esteem.

To discover how to raise your or your child’s Self-Esteem call us at
(519) 962-9820 and learn what you can do to become or help your child become a STRONG and CONFIDENT person!

http://www.thepeacefulwarriors.org