Exercise enhances cognitive ability
In the Johnson’s TaeKwonDo & Leadership Academy Programs, our martial arts students receive a balanced workout in every class. Not only do they train the body, but they train the mind. The benefits of this type of training to a student’s health are clear. Our students feel and look better. They reduce stress from their lives and even perform better outside of the training hall-in academics and in the workplace.
As Illustrated in Spark a book by Dr. John J. Ratey, a revolutionary physical education program in a Naperville, Illinois school has transformed its students into some of the smartest kids in America. In 1999, eighth graders from this school took the TIMSS-a test focused on math and science. The kids scored 1st in the world in Science and 6th in the world in math. How can such an anomaly occur when United States youth as a whole rank far behind their fellow students from other nations? In fact, the United States places 18th in science and 19th in math. Well, the Naperville, Illinois school focused on a unique fitness program that gave the kids an edge on the competition.
What are the particulars of the Physical Education program? Well, the school opted for high-intensity aerobic activity instead of traditional sports. Children went through a brief warm-up, a one-mile run, and a cool-down. The only rule was that the students must maintain a heart rate of 185 or higher during the 1-miler.
This research provides additional evidence on the importance of physical exercise daily. When it comes to the martial arts programs at Johnson’s TaeKwonDo in Cary, our students enjoy their classes. Because of this, they are more likely to stick with their exercise program. When schools are doing nothing but pulling Physical Education Programs these days, we could look at the substantive evidence in Spark to fuel a revolution in the way we prepare our young people for life. Not only will students learn to live a sustainable active life-style, but they will perform better indeed.
