Kids in karate

[Trukinjp13]

We have been pondering having the little ones take karate. What age did y’all start your kids? Or for those that are in karate and have no kids what do you think? Two 4 year old twins. (Boy/girl) 7 year old boy. Mainly looking at the 4 year old boy. Would like him to learn some control and patience.

By the way. These are not my kids. They live with me and I help take care of them. They have a amazing mother and a loser father who lives on the other side of the country.


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[blues]

My nephew started when he was about 7 as I recall. By the time he was a pre-teen he was already winning all sorts of competitions at reasonably high levels. (Unlike his stupid uncle (who he wanted to emulate) who didn't start until he was in his twenties.)

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[Robinson]

Being from an Okinawan karate background, we never stressed tournaments or trophies which can of course give kids a sense of accomplishment. For that reason, we tended to start kids a little older and they were never promoted to adult black belt status until at least 16 years of age. The training was oriented more toward adults, though some kids were permitted to attend and train.

I think if you want to get younger children involved, find out about the school and make sure they have a program that is geared toward kids. Most of them are these days, so that shouldn't be a big problem.

I do agree with what BaiHu posted about good habits below.

[BaiHu]

We have been pondering having the little ones take karate. What age did y’all start your kids? Or for those that are in karate and have no kids what do you think? Two 4 year old twins. (Boy/girl) 7 year old boy. Mainly looking at the 4 year old boy. Would like him to learn some control and patience.

By the way. These are not my kids. They live with me and I help take care of them. They have a amazing mother and a loser father who lives on the other side of the country.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkI teach 4 and up. PM me if you'd like and we can talk. 4 years old is an awesome age to begin. Good habits need to start ASAP.

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[Trukinjp13]

The school in town here had a very dedicated kids program. So I am angling that way. Just curios on what people with experience thought. I never did karate. But had a few friends who did. One of which drastically changed his anger issues after.




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[Trukinjp13]

I teach 4 and up. PM me if you'd like and we can talk. 4 years old is an awesome age to begin. Good habits need to start ASAP.

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I could not pm you. Think the box is full, thanks.


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[BaiHu]

I could not pm you. Think the box is full, thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkSorry. Just fixed it.

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[blues]

Being from an Okinawan karate background, we never stressed tournaments or trophies which can of course give kids a sense of accomplishment. For that reason, we tended to start kids a little older and they were never promoted to adult black belt status until at least 16 years of age. The training was oriented more toward adults, though some kids were permitted to attend and train.

I think if you want to get younger children involved, find about about the school and make sure they have a program that is geared toward kids. Most of them are these days, so that shouldn't be a big problem.

My dojo was Shotokan, (Sensei Alex "Plus One" Sternberg), and most of our in-house tournaments were with the other Okinawan style dojos of Sensei Tom La Puppet (Brooklyn) and Sensei Chuck Merriman (CT) who were all students of George Cofield at one time. Occasionally we would participate in AAU tournaments at the state level but primarily kept it among the three dojos.

I don't remember any of these dojos having students who weren't at least in their late teens at the time (unless they held classes for children at other times and locations).

[Duces Tecum]

Kids are probably more likely to get into a grappling-type fight than a striking. Might start with a strike, but doesn't usually stay there. And then there's the young girl . . . as she grows up she might get more confidence from a grappling background.

You've probably already considered BJJ, but if it were my decision that's the way I'd go.

[Robinson]

My dojo was Shotokan, (Sensei Alex "Plus One" Sternberg), and most of our in-house tournaments were with the other Okinawan style dojos of Sensei Tom La Puppet (Brooklyn) and Sensei Chuck Merriman (CT) who were all students of George Cofield at one time. Occasionally we would participate in AAU tournaments at the state level but primarily kept it among the three dojos.

I don't remember any of these dojos having students who weren't at least in their late teens at the time (unless they held classes for children at other times and locations).

Huh. I know of Chuck Merriman -- a fellow Goju practitioner if I remember correctly. We had a young adult black belt who moved to the East coast and I think he trained at Merriman's dojo for some time.

[ford.304]

My daughter (almost 6) is in BJJ. She loves it. One thing I like is that the kid's classes spar every day. She's gotten used to taking and holding a position, and to the incredible frustration of being stuck on the bottom. I don't know that her particular teacher is doing much for the "instilling discipline" side of things, but oh man it is making her emotionally stronger.

My experience from watching her class is that 4-year-olds can barely follow the directions, but 5-year-olds will eventually learn to (and after a year, the kids in her class are doing *real* jiu jitsu, if that makes sense. Some of their guard passing looks better than mine). Anything older than that, yeah they'll do great. Get them into a class and doing whatever martial art you pick and they think is fun.

Just, if you go the competition route, keep things fun. It matters a lot more whether they're still enjoying training at 12 or 16 than it does whether they executed everything properly in a tournament at 7. I'd vet the teachers pretty strongly for whether *they* encourage that kind of attitude.

[Gun Mutt]

I've got a 1yr old son and I can't wait to get him into his first martial art. The Gracie BJJ school that I attended had kids classes that looked fantastic. The instructor teaching it very much from the Gracie self defense viewpoint and always coaching the kids as to when and why to escalate a position or action...I wish I'd been there as a tyke.

[vaglocker]

I vote for wrestling and/or Judo. Probably easier to find a local wrestling club than it is to find a quality Judo club depending on where you live.

[Dismas316]

I had both my boys do taekwando at 5&6 and they both became black belts 4 years later. A few thousand dollars later and hey, they have a black belt, could they apply any of it today, not a lick. They are now 17 & 18 and couldn't do one kick/form. Total waste of money. Did it help with discipline, maybe, but they got that from playing football and baseball.

If I had to do it over again, I would absolutely get them involved with BJJ, 4 years of that and they would have very little worry regarding self defense at any age. I believe if they just did it a year or two and quit, they still would take away a much more valuable skill. I can't really speak for Karate and some of the other disciplines but knowing what I know now, ( I do bjj/ Mauy thai, I would still start them in bjj. If you watch some of these little kids who do this, they are some bad little crumb crunches not to be messed with by kids their own age. Just my 2 cents.

[Trukinjp13]

Thanks for all the info. I am more focused on getting the 4 year old in to something that will help teach him some self control and discipline. They are both damn smart for how little they are. He also has a very hard time focusing on certain things. But if he is interested he picks things up very very fast. I would also like him to have something that will stick with him for life.


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[BaiHu]

Thanks for all the info. I am more focused on getting the 4 year old in to something that will help teach him some self control and discipline. They are both damn smart for how little they are. He also has a very hard time focusing on certain things. But if he is interested he picks things up very very fast. I would also like him to have something that will stick with him for life.


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You've got the right attitude. Getting them on the straight and narrow is the best thing-it'll help for all avenues of life. I cleaned my box up more and sent you a PM. Sorry for the screw up-I owe Tom some money ;p

[AMC]

Another vote for Judo here. Over a hundred year track record of teaching youngsters in a known program. BJJ/MMA schools can also be good....but can also be bad. And they generally cost a lot more. Both my kids (son and daughter) have done Judo, and are also now in a Boxing gym. For kids, I think these are good starts.

[Totem Polar]

Huh. I know of Chuck Merriman -- a fellow Goju practitioner if I remember correctly. We had a young adult black belt who moved to the East coast and I think he trained at Merriman's dojo for some time.

I believe that’s right. I remember Merriman’s name from as far back as the 80’s.

Aside from that, some great advice here from folks who’ve been there. I’ll only add that—for these purposes—I don’t think the style matters anywhere near as much as the teacher and the school environment. Any TMA will work for instilling confidence, discipline, focus, perseverance and fun, if the right attitude drives the training. Yeah, I wish I’d done BJJ back when Royce was making his point in the first UFCs. But my Goju-Ryu training, friends, and mentors probably saved my life and MADE me the man, teacher and performer I am today.

Hell, I’ve got a step nephew on the spectrum who does TKD, for pete’s sake, and it’s worked miracles for him because his teacher is a personal development/goals sort of guy. He just turned 16 and tested for his adult black belt after starting at maybe age 7 or so. Everyone involved credits his martial arts experiemce as a major positive in his development.

Just get ‘em going with a *killer* teacher. They can always jump over to BJJ at 8, 10, 12 or 14...

JMO.

[Surf]

Started my son at age 3.5 in Tae Kwon Do for a couple of reasons. One is due to the fact that is how I started and second that was the only school who took 3-year-olds.

From what I have seen through the years and the development of MMA, is that a lot of the "Art" or personal development side of things is lost in the MMA realm. It is more pure sport and combative than art. I get that, but at a young age, my child's development other than just fighting was the important part. I also understand that fighting or self defense naturally builds confidence. Now this is not a blanket put down on any martial art and child development is subjective to the school/instructors, but at age 3-4, I am more concerned about developing my kids in the area of personal development of the mind. Fighting or self defense while important, is secondary in the younger developmental years. So a school/art form/instructor was hugely critical in my decision. It was the instuctor, his philosohpy and track record with kids that was first. Second was that he just happened to be a former WKA champion, 7th Dan TKD, 9th Dan Kajukenbo that produced some great kids on the tournament and fighting side of things.

It took my son until age 12 to get his black belt, and coming from an old school era, I almost felt that was too young. It wasn't his lack of skill or maturity, but perhaps putting in the time and paying dues, or maybe a crusty dad. I cannot stand dojo's these days that just hand out belts at testing because everyone is a winner and unfortunately this is very prevalent. Sorry but if a kid under 10 is getting a black belt @ 4 years of training, I don't know what to say and yes we tour the tournament scene and see some AMAZING young fighters.

Now when it comes to pure self-defense and fighting, I fully acknowledge the shortcomings to say a stand-up art like TKD, however, the discipline, agility, leg strength, kicking speed/power is not to be messed with when you add in a solid ground game. Judo, wrestling, jiu-jitsu are all awesome arts and I dabbled in all of them and I am eager at having my son cross training also. He shoots great, great martial skills, but most important is that he become a great human being and at 4 years old, it is hugely critical on who you pick as a instructor, more so over the art form.

Just my thoughts.

[PT Doc]

My son did karate from age 5-7. It was great for concentration, learning body control and basic strikes /kicks. He gave it up to play lacrosse and is starting his 4th season. He started Jits at Straight Blast Gym a few months ago and loves it.
After his first couple of times rolling and getting smashed, he said on the way home, "My karate looked cool, but it didn't help me at all."

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[LSP552]

My grandniece started Shotokan at about 9, and is a brown belt at 12. It’s been great for her development and discipline. Only downside is it won’t be long before I have to stop picking on her..:D

[blues]

My grandniece started Shotokan at about 9, and is a brown belt at 12. It’s been great for her development and discipline. Only downside is it won’t be long before I have to stop picking on her..:D

My nephew in the image I posted on the first page was one of those children everyone in the family seemed worried about...was he just slow? developmentally challenged? Will he have problems later on?

Well, just goes to show that we shouldn't be so quick to judge a kid's abilities by his sticking to his own schedule.

He received scholarships to multiple Ivy League schools but decided on U. of Maryland as it had the courses he was interested in. He did a number of internships with major Fortune 500 corporations and now at 26 is knocking down a multi-six figure salary and owns a condo in Georgetown.

Not bad for "maybe" developmentally challenged. And to think, he could've followed in my footsteps, (the supposedly smart one in the family), and thrown all that away. ;)

Honestly, getting back to the crux of this discussion, I think that the values and discipline learned at an early age in any good system, proffered by a good and caring instructor, far outweighs which particular system they study at that juncture. Nurturing (and safety) is everything.

[Jim Watson]

A friend teaches Tang Soo Do.
He is reluctant to take children under six.

[afi1]

My 6 year old daughter has been taking American Tang Soo Do for about a year. The level of discipline and self control that the instructors instill in the children is nothing short of amazing. They will have a room full of 20 plus kids age 6 and up, all sitting quietly with eyes fixed on the instructors, respectfully listening. If they get out of line- pushups. She has really taken to it, and looks forward to going to class. It seems like we're there every time the doors are open. It can be expensive, but it has been money well spent.

[The Apprentice]

I started my daughter in bjj at 4 she is 5 now is actualy retaining technique. The 2 big reasons for going with bjj were thats what I train, and I think grappling builds a lot of mental toughness. Teaching patience and problem solving is what I hope she is learning at this point techniques are secondary. Another added benefit is that your not teaching them to hit. I understand that martial arts stress that it is for self defence only but I think teaching them how to contol their opponet with out the need to hit is more PC in school like settings.

[Mister X]

My dojo was Shotokan, (Sensei Alex "Plus One" Sternberg), and most of our in-house tournaments were with the other Okinawan style dojos of Sensei Tom La Puppet (Brooklyn) and Sensei Chuck Merriman (CT) who were all students of George Cofield at one time. Occasionally we would participate in AAU tournaments at the state level but primarily kept it among the three dojos.

I don't remember any of these dojos having students who weren't at least in their late teens at the time (unless they held classes for children at other times and locations).

Do you find the training you received to still be relevant for self-defense today, at least a portion of it?