02/09/2026
KIDS HAVEN'T CHANGED… BUT CHILDHOOD HAS.
Think about how many of us grew up.
We climbed trees.
Rode bikes.
Played football in the street.
Balanced on walls.
Ran around until somebody shouted us in for dinner.
Nobody called it “developing coordination” or “building body awareness.”
We were just playing.
But all that movement gave us thousands of little opportunities to practise balancing, falling, catching, jumping, reacting, solving problems and figuring out what our bodies could do.
Childhood looks a little different now.
There are more screens.
More time indoors.
More time sitting.
More structured activities and, for many children, fewer opportunities to simply move and play.
We're not anti-screen at Varney's.
Technology is part of children's lives and isn't going anywhere.
But we do think children still need opportunities to move, play, struggle a little, succeed, interact with other children and learn what their bodies are capable of.
And that's one reason our children's classes might sometimes look different from what people imagine a traditional martial arts lesson should look like.
Sometimes we're playing games.
But there's usually a reason behind the game.
A game might be helping children practise balance and coordination.
Another might require them to listen and react quickly.
Another might involve taking turns, working with a partner or dealing with not winning.
Another might simply give a nervous child an opportunity to succeed at something and think:
“I did it.”
That's also why we don't expect the same thing from a 4-year-old that we'd expect from an 8-year-old.
They're at completely different stages of development.
Good teaching isn't just knowing what you want a child to learn.
It's understanding how that child is most likely to learn it.
So yes, we teach martial arts at Varney's.
But particularly with our younger students, we're also trying to create opportunities to develop:
🥋 Coordination and movement
🥋 Focus and listening
🥋 Confidence
🥋 Social skills
🥋 Resilience
🥋 Independence
And if we can develop those things while they're laughing, moving and asking:
“Can we play that game again?”
We think that's a pretty good use of a martial arts class.
Because sometimes they're doing far more than just playing.
They're learning.
