Our children’s program is a great extra curricular activity for girls and boys ages 5-15.
What separates a good martial arts school from a great one? A great martial arts school should be a major influence and driving force for kids to learn to develop good character, become focused students, good citizens and eventually leaders in their communities. At Playa Vista Martial Arts we have developed a strong moral code of conduct that the kids follow. We are a school that is a safe haven and healthy atmosphere where the kids can learn, grow and flourish. We incorporate character building lessons and leadership lessons into our kung fu curriculum.
Martial arts is great exercise, it helps to build strength and stamina, while also increasing self-esteem. Classes at Playa Vista Martial Arts are FUN. It is not a competitive environment because each student is aiming for self-improvement, it isn’t about becoming better than another student. Members of the PVMA family enjoy seeing their fellow students improve. While they are busy having fun and becoming part of a great community, our program also tackles some serious issues.
We offer regularly scheduled group classes for kids. Conveniently located near the Howard Hughes Center, sharing a parking lot with Dinah’s Family Restaurant, we are a great location for families from the West Los Angeles neighborhoods of Westchester, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Ladera Heights, and Playa Vista to improve their fitness, health, confidence, and safety while enjoying a fun and supportive class.
The following is some of what we address, but we do not flood them with this information. We discuss things at age appropriate levels and are happy to hear from parents about specific areas of concern.
It is not enough for kids to know how to be able to use self-defense skills. They need to learn the verbal skills of knowing what to say, the right time to say it and how it should be said. We have a comprehensive anti-bullying system which has a continuous 13 week program in which the kids learn how to deescalate a situation with a series of word blocks, redirection of behavior and understanding the psychology of the bully. They learn to use a these verbal skills before they ever have to get physical. This is in effect using their “Kung-Fu”. The meaning of Kung-Fu loosely translated is “working man”. It refers to the occupation of an individual. So you could say that a Doctor’s Kung-Fu is the medicine he or she practices, an attorney’s Kung-Fu is the law that he or she practices. For kids it is being a good student, a good son or daughter, a good sibling and in this case a good student in “anti bullying”. Please check our Anti-Bullying section for a more comprehensive description of the program.
The other approach kids learn at Playa Vista Martial Arts is how to deal with adults who might try to kidnap or abuse them in a variety of direct or indirect ways. It is not possible for kids to go toe-to-toe against an adult, so it is imperative that they learn techniques to “escape and distract” their wood be kidnapper or attacker. This can mean when physical contact is made or preferably before physical contact is made. We teach kids how to identify a child predator and the lure’s that they use. One example is the lost puppy scenario. This is a common lure the child predator will use with children. They will approach them and ask them to help them find their lost puppy. We teach the kids that at no time does an adult EVER need the help of a child. Another area of awareness the kids learn is something as simple as walking down the street. We teach them when walking on a city street the student should be walking on the far side of the sidewalk away from the buildings. If you are walking next to the building you don’t have time to react if a child predator is watching from a few hundred feet away hiding behind a building. They can grab the child very quickly before anyone knows that some has happened. By walking on the far side of the sidewalk away from buildings the student has time to see if anyone is there in alleys or doorways hiding. It gives them a chance to run to safety. It is important for children to learn the area’s of vulnerability that exist in the real world. At Playa Vista Martial Arts we feel we are closing this gap of vulnerability.