Children's Games

01/06/2026

https://www.compassion.com/blog/international-childrens-day/

30/05/2026

06/05/2026

Summer is near and it is just about the right time to plan your summer activities.

Children's Games COM"PLAY"TITION system is simple and effective way to create fun event for your members and to promote your club/school!

Join us

29/04/2026

25/03/2026

For several years, we have observed how inconsistent refereeing can negatively influence the quality of competitions, particularly when they involve young children.
To clarify, this statement is not intended to criticize any individual referee or umpire, but rather to highlight that, in many cases, current competition structures are not appropriately adapted for children.
In pattern-based disciplines (such as tull or kata), determining a winner is often challenging. In many instances, decisions appear to be based more on identifying who performed “less poorly” rather than who demonstrated clear excellence. At this developmental stage, many children have not yet refined their techniques sufficiently to allow for objective and consistent evaluation. As a result, referees are often left with significant subjective discretion, which can lead to decisions influenced more by personal perception than by measurable quality.
At the same time, competition organizers frequently face difficulties in securing highly qualified referees. This challenge arises from multiple factors, including financial constraints and limited regional availability of experienced officials. Consequently, it is not uncommon to see junior competitors—or, in some cases, even parents—serving as referees. Under such circumstances, maintaining a high standard of officiating becomes understandably difficult.
These issues often lead to frustration among children, coaches, and parents alike. Explaining competition outcomes to young participants—particularly why they lost or why another competitor was deemed better—can be especially challenging when the criteria are unclear or subjective.
For these reasons, we at Children’s Games strongly believe that martial arts competitions for children should be designed differently—making them more appropriate, transparent, and understandable for participants, coaches, and parents. Tasks and evaluation criteria should be clear, objective, and measurable, with results that are easy to interpret.
The Children’s Games “Let’s Play Martial Arts” initiative is a competition concept specifically designed to create an enjoyable, relaxed, and engaging experience for children, as well as for coaches and parents. By encouraging children to demonstrate their skills in a playful yet structured environment, this approach maintains the competitive element while fostering motivation, enjoyment, and long-term interest—without generating unnecessary frustration.

23/03/2026

For several years, we have observed how inconsistent refereeing can negatively influence the quality of competitions, particularly when they involve young children.

To clarify, this statement is not intended to criticize any individual referee or umpire, but rather to highlight that, in many cases, current competition structures are not appropriately adapted for children.

In pattern-based disciplines (such as tull or kata), determining a winner is often challenging. In many instances, decisions appear to be based more on identifying who performed “less poorly” rather than who demonstrated clear excellence. At this developmental stage, many children have not yet refined their techniques sufficiently to allow for objective and consistent evaluation. As a result, referees are often left with significant subjective discretion, which can lead to decisions influenced more by personal perception than by measurable quality.

At the same time, competition organizers frequently face difficulties in securing highly qualified referees. This challenge arises from multiple factors, including financial constraints and limited regional availability of experienced officials. Consequently, it is not uncommon to see junior competitors—or, in some cases, even parents—serving as referees. Under such circumstances, maintaining a high standard of officiating becomes understandably difficult.

These issues often lead to frustration among children, coaches, and parents alike. Explaining competition outcomes to young participants—particularly why they lost or why another competitor was deemed better—can be especially challenging when the criteria are unclear or subjective.

For these reasons, we at Children’s Games strongly believe that martial arts competitions for children should be designed differently—making them more appropriate, transparent, and understandable for participants, coaches, and parents. Tasks and evaluation criteria should be clear, objective, and measurable, with results that are easy to interpret.

The Children’s Games “Let’s Play Martial Arts” initiative is a competition concept specifically designed to create an enjoyable, relaxed, and engaging experience for children, as well as for coaches and parents. By encouraging children to demonstrate their skills in a playful yet structured environment, this approach maintains the competitive element while fostering motivation, enjoyment, and long-term interest—without generating unnecessary frustration.

18/03/2026

Where competition meets play, ComPlayTition is all about building skills, confidence, and joy in a positive, supportive environment. It encourages young martial artists to challenge themselves while having fun, learning teamwork, and celebrating every step of their journey.

Because for kids, the best competition… is one they love to be part of.

02/03/2026

As martial arts instructors, we consistently speak about the profound benefits martial arts offer children. We describe it as a pathway to holistic development — improving physical fitness through strength, coordination, and balance; sharpening mental focus; and cultivating discipline. We highlight increased confidence, emotional regulation, self-defense skills, and the development of social competence through respectful, structured training environments.

Martial arts provide a safe space for children to release energy while building essential life skills that extend far beyond the dojo.

And yet, despite this broader vision, our primary focus often remains on sparring and combat as the central pillars of both training and competition.

Why must it always return to fighting?

Is combat the only — or even the most effective — vehicle for delivering these developmental benefits to children? Could martial arts evolve into something more child-centered without losing its essence? Can we “play” martial arts in a way that preserves its philosophy and rigor, while adapting its methods to better suit children’s developmental needs?

These questions are not about diminishing martial arts. They are about strengthening it.

Children are not miniature adults. Their cognitive, emotional, and social capacities are still forming. When training models are heavily combat-oriented, we risk narrowing the experience to performance and competition, rather than growth and exploration. A child-adapted approach could maintain technical foundations and discipline while incorporating structured play, cooperative drills, creativity, and scenario-based learning.

Play is not the opposite of seriousness; it is the language of childhood. Through intelligent, intentional play, children can develop timing, coordination, awareness, resilience, and self-control — all without the pressure or intensity that constant sparring may impose.

The question, then, is not whether combat belongs in martial arts. Of course it does. Combat is part of its history and identity. The real question is whether combat must dominate children’s training — or whether it can become one element within a broader developmental framework.

Perhaps the future of children’s martial arts lies not in removing sparring, but in reimagining balance: preserving tradition while prioritizing developmental science; honoring combat roots while embracing child-centered pedagogy.

Useful reading: https://www.amazon.com/dp/953469701X?ref=sp_email

25/02/2026

By prioritizing play in the martial arts, we can cultivate not just skilled martial artists but well-rounded individuals prepared for life's challenges.

From the "Teaching Martial Arts Through Play" handbook by the Children's Games founder