I've always known that teaching a child martial arts, like karate, is potentially good for their self-confidence so I figured I would try to get my daughter interested in taking a class when she was old enough. Now after reading all these posts on Mamapedia about kids getting bullied, I feel that much more strongly about it! My daughter is 4, is currently doing gymnastics, and she seems to have plenty of self-confidence already. She really doesn't let any kid push or boss her around and the few times it's happened, she's told them flat out to stop and they've backed down. But I'm thinking it would be good to try out karate or tae kwan do anyway, so she knows how to defend herself if necessary, and can hopefully handle a true bully if and when the time comes (especially one bigger or stronger than her). For those of you with experience in this, what form of martial arts would you recommend and what age would be a good time to start? What do you look for in a school or a teacher? My daughter is already doing preschool 4 mornings a week (Mon - Thurs), gymnastics Friday mornings, and currently a few other weekly activities spread out over the week for fall (and which will be done before Christmas, the preschool and gymnastics is during the whole school year). So I was thinking of waiting until she is 5 and in kindergarten. Any other thoughts? Thank you!
At my daughter's Karate dojo... they do not start kids until 5 years old.
Each martial arts school, will differ.
My daughter started karate at five, and I restarted at the same time at 46. I started at 30, trained for 5 years, then was out for 12 years then rejoined when my daughter started. I earned my Black belt last month and my daughter is a Red belt at age 9.
We train in Karate which is closest to Tae Kwon Do, and I personally like the physical aspect of that style. It involves a lot of kicking techniques. But I would suggest looking into the schools that are located in your area, check their schedules, and visit during a kids' class just to observe. The instructor should be strict, but appropriate for the age group, and allow a bit of fun during class, also. You want to be clear on the pricing and what is included and not included (uniform, sparring gear, belt exams, etc.). Understand options for class times and expectations for attendance.
I think five is a good age to start. I am a strong proponent of martial arts (as I suppose is obvious :-) It teaches physical and mental strength and focus, self-confidence and discipline. I want my daughter to not be bullied, to not bully, and to be able to say "no" and mean it. She was already a strong girl, before she started karate, but as girls grow up many lose that confidence.
I want any boy that wants to spend time with her to know that she is a Black Belt...
My oldest son is 4 and is doing loves his karate class. He just started a few weeks ago. But I will say, there are some kids in the class that cannot sit still and listen to the instructions and it ends up being distracting to the others. There is an age spread of about 3-7 in the youngest group Id say.
The way many of the martial arts classes are put together (in my area anyway), it seems that age is less important and focus/listening skills are more important. 5 sounds like a great age to start. She sounds pretty busy right now, and in my experience, when you sign up for karate they usually like a 2 or 3 day a week commitment.
We put our oldest in Karate when he was 5. It was such a good experience for him. It helped him in sooo many areas. I think 5 is a great time to start...helps them in their schooling. Our instructor even made good behavior at school a requirement for belt advancements.
Good Luck and best wishes!!
I think five is a good age to start them. Not only will it help their self-confidence and teach them how to protect themselves from bullies, but it will also teach them NOT to be bullies! Respect is very much a part of martial arts and as far as I'm concerned is the best reason to have a child study it.
See what the master says, the one my little guy will go to for tae kwon do will take them as young as three if they listen and follow commands, (he has a little girl in there right now who can keep up with everyone and has surpassed some yet is not quite 4) but some have a policy that they will not take them younger than 5. My guy is 2.5 and i don't expect him to be ready for at least another year - year and a half at the earliest.
I took my niece to a karate party at a studio when she was in kinderfarten. It seemed like a great time to start!
I've been connected with tae kwon do for nearly 20 years. My 3 sons are all second degree black belts.
What I;ve seen from helping out or just sitting on the sidelines is that 4 and 5 year olds are not generally ready. My kids' instructor most often recommends 6 years to start. But there are some parents that sign their 5 year olds up and honestly it's more likely to be a recipe for disaster/failure. Not that the instructor flunks beginners--white belts---very often. In the time I've been involved I've never seen it happen. But to take the current examples, in South Lyon and in Northville, there are a couple of N'ville kids that just can't button it! Chatterboxes supreme. That results in pushups. A lot, if they dont hunker down and pay attention. One kid in South Lyon, it takes very little to distract him, he keeps looking over to his parent, and when the kids are drilled on a movement, he doesn't get what he's supposed to do and just stands there. Not even scared, just ''DUH!!!". And that doesn't do anything for the child. If anyone were to test him right now, in the third week of class, he really would be a flunky.
Really really make some observations of your daughter. How easily is she distracted? Does she have an older sibling or cousin in it? Is she on the bossy side? Because if that shows up, there will be lots of pushups for not listening and doing as they're told. The gymnastics would/will be a great asset if later she does do some martial arts. If you'd like more information I can recommend this instructor. He's great with kids, makes it fun as well as instructional. He lives in Highland, but used to teach in Waterford. All 3 of my boys were Waterford's club sattelite students. Every Saturday we'd be there. Let me know. And good luck.
Just some extra thoughts: karate is used as a general term for various martial art forms, but is in fact a Japanese martial art in itself. Tae kwon do, at least the program my kids went through, implement forms/kadas, sparring, self defense, board breaking, and eventually weapon forms. All very choreographic and taught to learn self control and the difference between being the aggressor or the victim. If you want a good quality outcome, I wholly suggest 7 or 8 years old to start with. Why? Because 5 and 6 year olds are just learning classroom protocol and the art of listening and are still easily distracted. 7 and 8 year olds have a little schooling to their credit and know how to listen better. Too young and they'll get bored or not want to conform to the protocol and decide it isn't for them. And there goes a potential good student. A little more structure under their belt and you could have a top notch student.
If there;s an older siblng in the class, what I experienced with my kids is that the more exposure before participating is a plus. So if you know of anyone training, tag along and get some exposure. Then the seed has a chance to be sown.
At our dojo, as long as the child is potty trained and can sit through instructions and class, they can join. I've seen as young as 3 participating.
You sure you want that many activities?
If she's already pretty tough, she won't need it. I can't tell you when she should start though, 5 sounds reasonable. But she may not like it. I did judo at 6 and didn't particularly like it.
