Inside a colourful tent in Nairobi, children aged 18 months to about 12 years do flips, splits, backflips and tumbling during a rigorous session of gymnastics.
The sport develops physical agility and coordination. And sport enthusiast Patrick Owuor thought it a good idea to train children.
So he started what he calls Gymnast Kids’ Studio, which is located at the Chinese Cultural Centre.
Experts say children from the age of two years should exercise for at least an hour every day, which for kids can simply mean playing and being physically active. But Owuor has taken it to another level.
Through gymnastics, Owuor ensures his little trainees get that one hour of exercise they need every day.
Dealing with children can be tricky at the best of times. Expecting them to take instructions is a tall order.
Nevertheless, eight years ago, Owuor decided to impart the knowledge and skills he acquired from his training in China by starting the gymnastics studio.
He was driven by the urge to nurture young talents in sports, including gymnastics, which he believes is the mother of all sports.
“We think it is only adults who need to keep fit, but that's not true,” Owuor says.
“Children, too, need to exercise, and that is one of the reasons why I started this gymnastics studio.”
GAINING POPULARITY
Owuor started the business back in 2011, and he says through him, a lot of Kenyans have come to know about the sport and are loving every bit of it.
He himself got trained professionally at the age of 13, when he went to China for two years. Starting the business in Kenya was difficult, but he is thankful he never lost hope.
“When I started, not many people knew about gymnastics, let alone the fact that children, too, need to hit the gym. So it was a challenge trying to convince people,” he says.
“I had to do free classes for a while to demonstrate what gymnastics is all about.”
Gymnastics in itself is a sport that involves exercises that require balance, strength, flexibility, coordination and endurance.
During classes, the trainees get to perform dive rolls, backward rolls, front and backhand spring, back and front flips, twist trampolining, vaulting, splits and back flips, just to mention but a few.
Experts say the movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest and abdominal muscle groups.
The sport can also correct improper body posture. Certain activities, such as walking and stretching, help to improve one's posture.
Another surprising benefit of gymnastics is improved confidence and judgement, which can greatly help make your child less nervous around people's criticism.
Gymnastics can help your child increase coordination and balance, therefore enhancing body awareness and movement.
If they do gymnastics for long, they will be able to use different parts of their bodies in different ways.
WHY START YOUNG
Children are more flexible, with stronger ligaments, tendons and joints, meaning early participation in gymnastics can improve flexibility and prevent growth defects and fatigue.
Participating in gymnastics also helps improves bone health and wellness, and this helps prevent severe health problems in future, such as bone fractures and bone loss.
Participating in gymnastics also helps burn calories tremendously. If practised consistently, it can promote steady weight loss.
Children, too, do have stress. Gymnastics can help them reduce depression, anxiety and tension.
Gymnastics improves circulation of blood as well, and helps maintain a healthy growing environment for the body.
For a child who wants to venture into the world of athletics, gymnastics would serve as a perfect stepping stone.
“Gymnastics is an additional class that children take to complement their sports and dance training, because it helps a great deal in coordination and flexibility and stamina,” Owuor says.
“Although most parents enrol their children for gymnastics for the athletic skill and the fun of it all, a good number of them enrol their children to train for athletic careers in future, such as swimming.”
As a child engages in gymnastics, they get to improve on their social skills and their ability to take instructions and execute them as well.
Owuor tells us there are activities for children as young as 18 months as well, who make up part of his class.
But their training is less demanding, as they are only required to learn how to walk and coordinate their limbs.
“Most children nowadays learn to walk through the help of baby walkers, which is very wrong because it messes up the baby's coordination,” he says.
For kids who are about 18 months, the studio has walking blocks, which the kids use for stepping up and down, and walking steps, which are more like small stairs, just to help the baby learn how to walk and climb things.
There are cheese mats for the young ones, which helps strengthen their thighs as they climb and jump off from the other end.
The studio also features hand-turn blocks and a gymnastics floor, which helps toddlers learn to absorb impact by bouncing repeatedly on the floor without hurting themselves.
The children also engage in activities that involve a lot of running, which helps strengthen their limbs.
Owuor says children who train with him get to participate in national competitions and win awards, such as gold and bronze medals. This boosts their morale to continue with the sport, as well as help them realise their talent in athletics.
WHAT PARENTS THINK
Parent Chris Karanja says enrolling his two daughters for the classes is one of the best decisions he’s made.
He says when he was signing them up, the youngest was four years old while the eldest was seven, and three years down the line, he does not regret that choice.
“Thanks to gymnastics, my daughters can do a lot of activities and things that other girls their age or even a little older cannot do,” Karanja says.
But signing up your child for gymnastics alone is not enough, he says. A healthy diet should accompany the exercise, so it doesn’t go to waste.
It is also important for a parent to accompany their child for classes, Karanja adds. This helps them know their strengths and weaknesses and help them work towards improving.
“The class is more of a competition. Children find pride in being told they are doing the right thing and being cheered on, and just having a parent around during the classes helps boost their courage and confidence, which will lead to them performing better,” he says.
If you would like to sign up your children for classes, you can go to the Chinese Cultural Centre on Washika Road, Lavington, or call Patrick Owuor on 0723 390722. Classes are available even during holidays and weekends.