Martial Arts for autistic kids - is it therapy or does it promote violence?

About 2 years ago, I bought a punching bag on a whim, put it up in the garage and promptly forgot about it. We only realised it was being used when the kids asked for some boxing gloves to protect their sore hands - they would regularly go into the garage, put on some loud music and punch away when frustrated! So, the question arises, is this good for them, or does it promote violent behaviour?

According to The Autism Service UK, individual sports are great for a child with autism, particularly martial arts such as karate, capoeira, judo and jiu-jitsu. But they don’t recommend martial arts as a sport if your child is aggressive or cannot control themselves. 

Focus, discipline and fitness are some of the main components of martial arts. The sport allows children to combat any stress and anxiety that they may have. With martial arts having plenty of repetitive movements, it means that the child can build and develop new skills at their own pace.

Research on the subject

The 2025 study "The impact of physical exercise interventions on social, behavioral, and motor skills in children with autism: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials" focused on research studies on many types of physical activity, not only martial arts, and provides a good summary of the overall importance of movement activities for kids on the Autism spectrum.

They found that normal physical training and exercise games did not show significant effects on flexibility and cognitive control in children with ASD, while in the case of martial arts interventions, older kids showed significant improvement in flexibility and cognitive control, younger kids had significant improvement in motor skills and coordination, and there were significant enhancements in social skills in preschoolers.

Science Direct reported in their 2021 study, "Mixed martial arts training improves social skills and lessens problem behaviors in boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder" that parent-reported social skills would increase and that parent-reported problematic social behaviors would decrease after a MMA training intervention. They state that martial arts training involves teaching participants strategies to enhance self-regulation (e.g., meditative breathing, mindfulness practice) and provide the opportunity to practice these strategies in a naturalistic setting with the support of adult instructors. As part of the study, participants regularly practiced reflecting on their own behaviors and modified problematic behaviors in order to adapt to the social setting. The researchers found that their results were consistent with past research that found improved self-control, such as controlling one’s temper and inhibiting rigid/impulsive behaviors, among children with ASD after receiving only eight hours of martial arts training.

Similarly, the 2023 study, "Boxing as a Therapeutic Intervention for Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Preliminary Study" published in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy found that parents reported that since starting the boxing program, their children showed marked improvements in following new activity instructions, making eye contact with the boxing instructor, responding to praise, and turn-taking. Parents also reported that their children were involved in afterschool activities, were more able to connect with friends, were comfortable engaging in social activities, and
were more comfortable playing with children on play dates and around other children.

A Personal Experience

In the article, Martial Arts and the Autism Spectrum: the Challenges and Benefits of Martial Arts for Autism, Holly Worton explains her own experience with martial arts as an autistic adult. She also explains some of the ways she has overcome the challenges of doing martial arts as an autistic person:

Multi-tasking:
Practice, practice, practice. If your school has special classes where you're just sparring, make sure you go to those, even if it feels scary. The more sparring I do, the better I get at it. This is obvious, but I put it off for several months.

Literal thinking:
Remind yourself that you need to throw fakes when you're sparring. You can write a little note to yourself and put it in your kit bag.

Cognitive flexibility:
I hate to say this again, but it's going to be a theme here: practice, practice, practice. The more people you spar with, the easier it will get to take on new tactics. You'll have to develop different strategies for different people.

Working memory:
Practice, practice, practice and you'll get better at remembering combinations—even if they're different every week.

Difficulty interpreting body language:
Practice, practice, practice. As I said earlier, the more people you spar with, the better you'll get at this.

Spatial awareness:
Practice, practice, practice. Just the act of going to class every week for years has helped massively with my spatial awareness.

Auditory processing issues:
For each grade level, I've recorded an audio of myself calling out the instructions for the line work, exactly how the teachers do it during a grading. I play it for myself and practice the line work at home. If I've heard the instructions over and over at home, I'm more likely to understand what they're saying during the actual grading. If your particular type of autism comes with a photographic memory, that's fantastic: you can read through the syllabus and have a clear image of it in your mind for the grading. Remember: you can also ask the teacher to repeat the instructions if you need to (I often forget that I can ask for help).

Sensory overload:
This is something that I've just gotten used to. When you're in a group class, it might be difficult to get accommodations for any sensory issues because whatever changes are made to the class environment will affect everyone else, too.

Unexpected things:
Learn what to expect, especially for the gradings. If your school offers grading practice, go to it. It will give you an idea of what the gradings are like. At my school, there's a big difference between the colored belt gradings and the advanced gradings, so I actually attended one of the weekend grading courses without needing to grade. It was a lot of work, but I was better prepared for my next grading.

New places:
In the end, I just had to do it. I set myself a deadline to sign up for a class, and I went. But I did a lot of research on the school before my first class: I read through the whole website and got a feel for what it might be like. If the school you're thinking of going to has a family class, you can go there for the first time with other family members. For example, my school has a Saturday class for both children and adults.

Avoidance behaviors:
This is another thing where I've just had to force myself to do it, whether it's going to normal classes, sparring classes, gradings, or an interclub competition. For me, setting deadlines really helps. For example: By the end of July, I will have tried at least one Fight Club class. 

Executive planning:
I've developed a lot of strategies to deal with my executive planning issues. I have all my kit in one bag, I have my uniforms in one place, and everything is ready to grab and go for class. You might want to have a checklist of all that you need.  

Benefits of Martial Arts

With that in mind, here are 8 martial arts benefits for neurodivergent kids:

1. Focus on Individual Growth
The first benefit of martial arts training for neurodivergent kids is that, unlike team sports, the focus in martial arts classes is on individual growth and improvement. The pressure of competing with other kids may be too much for many kids who aren’t neurotypical and martial arts classes allow them to build physical skills without stress.

2. Repetition Can Reduce Stimming
While you might think that the repetitive motion required to learn martial arts would encourage stimming, it can actually have the opposite effect because it fulfills the need for repetition and teaches kids how to control their movements.

3. Muscle Memory
The basic movements of martial arts are known as kata, which incorporates the foundational movements of both offensive and defensive action. Learning these movements creates muscle memories based on repetitive actions and that can be helpful because autistic kids can build new muscle memories that may reduce stimming.

4. Focus and Attention
Kids who are neurodivergent may struggle with focusing and paying attention, both in school and at home. Over time, martial arts training can help kids improve their focus because it encourages them to concentrate on one movement or one concept at a time. Physical activity, particularly activity that brings the body and minds together, can do a lot to improve concentration and help kids in other areas of their lives.

5. Achievable Goals
One of the biggest stumbling blocks for kids with ADHD is that big goals with lots of moving parts can be overwhelming. In the face of something that feels like too much, they may shut down. In martial arts classes, each big goal–such as earning a new stripe or belt–is broken down into small and achievable chunks. Learning new skills one at a time makes it easy for kids to work toward a goal without overwhelm.

6.  Safe Social Interaction
Some neurodivergent children may struggle with socialization because they feel awkward or anxious. Meeting other kids in a martial arts class may remove some of that anxiety because everyone in the class has a common bond. That makes it easy to break the ice, start a conversation, and make a new friend!

7. Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence
When neurodivergent kids feel like the other, whether it’s in a classroom or on the playground, they may struggle with low self-esteem. Learning martial arts helps by building confidence and self-esteem. Each time your child learns a new skill or earns a new belt or stripe, they’ll be growing in confidence.

8. Mutual Respect
One of the core tenets of martial arts training is respect. In our classes, students learn the importance of respect and self-respect. What that means is that all kids, whether they are neurodivergent or neurotypical, learn to treat one another as equals–and that can go a long way toward building friendships, improving confidence, and increasing self-control.

 

The bottom line is that learning any martial art can be beneficial for neurodivergent kids because it provides them with an outlet for their energy, an opportunity to learn new skills, and a chance to build confidence and make new friends.