With sport having proved both anecdotally and scientifically to be a helpful way for students to clear their minds after a long day of education, smaller karate clubs have been eager to increase student participation. Just like with other sports, karate teaches many vital life skills that could be a struggle to obtain in this day and age. As in wider life, to be successful when it comes to karate, one needs to develop discipline and strong focus. This could be really beneficial for students, especially when exam season comes around. The time away from school work gives them a time to take a breather and forget about the demands that education brings. Participation in any sport is associated with lower levels of stress, benefitting student’s mental health and achievements at school.

Aspiring law student, Ms Mackow, from London says,”karate has helped me to become more self-confident, become mentally and physically stronger and be more disciplined when it comes to balancing social life and school work.” Taking part in karate could help one to become more disciplined when it comes to school work, for example when knowing that they have somewhere to be, students may have a more determined mindset as they know the consequences of not getting the work done before they go out. That consequence is a long night doing work when they get back from their sports club.

The Sleep Foundation found that 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise or 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week has been associated with reduced levels of daytime sleepiness. This just highlights that those children who do take part in this level of sports will consequently have higher levels of concentration at school as they have reduced levels of tiredness. So, not only does participation in sports increase discipline outside of school, it could potentially increase work and achievement levels during the school day, stressing the importance of students taking part in sports outside of school.