Mum of two Charlie Hughes runs green family lifestyle blog Sophia’s Choice. She shares her experiences of martial arts for children with Yarn Magazine.

Before meeting my husband, my only real experience of martial arts was having watched the Karate Kid aged 12 and attending a “self defence” course at school where I gave my best friend a black eye. I suppose it proved that the techniques worked, however I’m not sure my friend was too pleased by the experience.

Since then I’ve often toyed with the idea of learning a martial art properly, particularly as I’ve watched my husband’s own journey with martial arts over many years. I’ve come to realise that there’s so much more to it than just self defence and, in our modern world, learning a martial art can definitely offer our children many key benefits which will set them up for life.

Read more