Parents often do a double take when these sports are mentioned, fearing that a martial art will lead to serious social problems for their children because of their impulsiveness and aggressiveness. No techniques are taught until the children have learned to stop, listen, and think. Classe usually are small. The techniques are monitored carefully, emphasizing over and over that these are sports and arenot to be used for any aggressive play. Students who disobey the rules usually are expelled from the class.
Swimming usually is well suited to children with attention deficit disorder.
Swimming tends to be a fairly explosive activity in which impulsiveness may be an advantage. In general, swimming is highly recommended for children with motor coordination problems. As in swimming and soccer, endurance and stamina are improved, as is strength of all muscle groups. Other activities in which hyperactive children have been particularly succesful are diving, weight lifting, track and field, gymnastics, and, in some cases, tennis and golf. Tennis and golf, however, are difficult to learn and often end in frustration, which may bring out more of the attention deficit symptoms.