Anyone have opinions on martial arts for kids? My girl just turned 5 and she can use some mental discipline and some exercise and I've heard some good things. Just seeing if anyone else has experiences. Thx!
I was in martial arts when I was about 7 to 11. It is like being on sports team. It depends on who is training daughter, if it is a great sensei or master, then it will do wonders for your daughter. If it is something, like factory martial arts studio, then you might not see the same results. As youngster, it taught me perserverance. At first, I was really excited about it, then I got tired of it, after a few years. For some reason, I think it was good for building character. It'll give her something to do, especially after-school. But, I would say it is up to you and the wife.
Send her to Rex Kwon Do Dojo In all seriousness you should get her enrolled in some Tae kwon do. Definitely good for discipline and exercise which you're looking for but also self defense and self esteem. It's also nice to start her at an early age. Try to find a good old school Korean master. She will probably thank you later if she sticks with it.
My co-worker sends his kids (5 and 7) to jiu-jitsu. The 7-year old actually defended himself against a much larger bully. My co-worker said the important thing was to find a martial arts place where there were a lot of kids his kids age. He wasn't specifically looking for jiu-jitsu, but it clearly worked nicely for his kids.
look for a family-friendly one... there are some studios run by "competition" types of instructors, who are exactly the "rex kwon do" types, and there are some that are run by "discipline" types of instructors. the "discipline" instructors are obviously the ones you want for your kids, being that you're interested in just providing more structure and discipline. more miyagi, less cobra-kai. when we were younger, my dad took my brother and me to tae-kwon-do twice a week, and it was great... would you want to join? it would probably be fun for you too...
I did Karate as a kid and now teach Judo but I didn't start martial arts until I was 10 and even then I wasn't sure I had the discipline to fully appreciate it. In Judo we generally discourage kids under 7 from starting but I've seen kids as young as 4 doing it. My own impression is that there needs to be a certain level of maturity to handle martial arts and my experience with very young kids, under 9 is that they seem clueless about what is going on. Although I don't teach kids as I primarily coach at a university and sometimes at an adult Jujitsu school so other than what I see at tournaments during the junior competition I don't deal with kids in martial arts. My advice would be too wait a couple of years and try your kids out in sports like T-Ball and soccer where they will learn some rudimentary physical skills and non-contact competition before having them learn how to strike and grapple. When you think they might be ready try out several schools and different styles. As much as I like to see people come to Judo its not for everyone and some people are more comfortable kicking, some throwing and some choking. Also there are so many ways of teaching it would be good to find a dojo and instructor that you and your students are comfortable. Avoid National Karate, Taekwondo US or any of the other chain martial arts schools. Those places are belt mills and there is a reason why kids TKD has 50 belts before black as they charge you each time you promote and push people into promoting to make money rather than developing a good martial artists. Anyway I encourage everyone to get into martial arts but it takes maturity and dedication.
Don't sign her up for competition cheerleading. Expensive and the mothers are lunatics. j/k I think MMA is awesome for 5 year old girls. j/k Honestly, I signed my son up at 5 and he kinda lost interest. Some of the parents push their kids into becoming the next MMA champ. Trust me. I thought Youth Football was nuts. If you find a good dojo, it is very worthwhile for them and goes a long way towards discipline. btw... My son signed back up at 10 and I signed up with him. My toes got jammed so many times, I got numb from it. Go ahead... Knock the battery off my toe. I dare you!
I think it’s great to put girls in martial arts. It gives them self –esteem and best of all, when some high school punk tries to take advantage of her, she can take him out. I don’t want my daughter taking crap from ANYONE. Mentally or physically.
I think it's great. I took Kung-Fu, but didn't start until I was 13. I always envied the students that were young and starting. It will be great for her. Even if you wait a year or 2 it would still be good.
I love martial arts for kids! Hilarity always ensues. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/L2G1f0DlO9A&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/L2G1f0DlO9A&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Our 10 year old son is a 2nd degree brown belt in Kuk Sol Wan, and I highly recommend it. He has been going for about 4 years....from Tiny Tigers to now, it is great for his self confidence and he loves going. I could not recommend it more. DD
Are you set on Martial arts? I don't know how much of a tomboy she is, but you may want to try something more traditionally female for a couple of years. Ballet is awesome for flexibility and balance as well as discipline, but not as bad as some gymnastics on the joints. Plus she gets to dress up and look pretty.
i did i from when I was about 5 to 12, I was 1 away from my black belt, but I had to teach a bunch of classes to get it and I didint feel comfortable as a 12 year old I went to the White Horse Academy in the heights http://www.whama.com/
