I was an instructor for the kids program for a while & really had a hard time keeping the kids attention when they were under 6. Don't know what type of changes they went through when they were at home but you could watch their attention and focus change the more they were in class. It could have been that they were getting older or just more into what they were doing. Either way they seemed more responsible and better able to focus.

FYI - I'm a 3rd Dan in Shotokan

Marmentrout,

I don't have kids, but I started in TaeKwondo when I was 14. I trained for 10 years and got to the level of a second degree black belt.

I think it was the single best thing I ever did as a kid because it taught me self-respect, integrity, self-confidence among many other things. Self-defense was secondary to the whole "art" of it.

My advice ... first, see if your kids are interested in it. Second, find a school and teacher that really "teaches" the art in Martial Arts. Anyone can teach a kid to kick and punch, but it's more than that. A lot of schools after the "Karate Kid" movies became all about teaching kids to "fight" for tournaments, etc and the idea of the "art" was left out.

I trained under a Korean instructor. He taught us how to count and speak in Korean (commands for class) We had to learn forms and their meanings. We had to learn Korean history about TaeKwondo.

Learning martial arts should be a long term process (many, many years to get to black belt). Many of schools today are all about testing, testing, testing and promoting up through the belt ranks as quick as possible. Why? One, it makes the school more money (you pay for the belt tests) and the more you test then they make more money and you (or your kid) feels that they are moving ahead quickly. Americans tend to have a pretty short attention span and they want immediate gratification. I know schools that you could get a black belt in a year! That's crazy. Getting a black belt should be like getting a degree in college ... four years minimum. There is a lot to learn and there is a lot of responsibility that comes with each belt rank - especially black belt.

Good luck. If your kids are into it, I think you will see them grow a lot in the process. Beyond the mental aspects, the stretching and exercise will help them for years to come.

Dennis

Very good observation ... about the testing. Our oldest little guy started when he was 5. Our goal was more focus but a side benefit was the exercise and "fun" time in class. I am not a big fan of the testing, but for the younger age kids they do tend to focus on moving up in belts. I've watched the next age group and this is where they seem to get into the art side of Taekwondo.

Our youngest will probably start soon since he and his brother practice on each other in the house :).

Once we get some sanity and free time (i.e., both kids in school full time), I plan on starting. I've had some boxing, wrestling, judo, and unarmed combat training but never more than the basic stuff. I like the idea of discipline, fitness, and self-defense.

drn92

I was an instructor at my school for about 5 years. We had two programs, one for the little ones call KinderKarate (7 and under) and then a Youth program (7-16).

The kinder class was more geared towards very simple techniques with a emphisise on fun and fitness. We didn't test in that program but if the kid was being repectful to staff/parents teacher etc they would recieve a stripe on their belt. The would also lose one if they didn't behave etc. The one thing that I noticed that as the child stayed witht he program their confidence grew as did their ability to focus on a task. We did a lot of cool stuff to keep their attention and changed activities often.

Once they moved up to the youth programs things got a little more focused and the task became harder. We tested here but in our system anyone under 16 could not really recieve a true black belt. A black stripe was awarded once they fullfilled all the requirements but had to test as an adult once they were over 16 years of age.

There is one student that has stuck in my mind for the past 12 years. The kid had been abused physically and mentally for years. He was finally adopted by his grandmother and she didn't really know what to do with him. He was so withdrawn that basically he would sit in a corner with his head down. She brought him to our school to see if maybe he would participate. The first few months he sat in the corner. The next few months he would watch out of the corner of his eye. Pretty soon after that he started working out with the class and in the end was leading the class.

ke

One warning on martial arts as an adult... I did a couple years of taekwondo in college. I think I got up to 5th cub which is between green and blue. If you attend a strict and disciplined school, your instructor will probably demand more time and dedication as you progress. At the time, I stopped taekwondo cause I wanted to swim and run and not feel guilty about it. I also wasn't into the increased emphasis on sparring. Basically I was young and didn't want to feel pressured into giving up things I enjoyed.

Anyway, that internal struggle between tri and martial arts could be a few years down the road. Also, taekwondo is pretty impractical for self defense. I might recommend hapkido for that.

I have seen more schools than I care to count that operate in this way. Martial Arts is a long term study. I have seen many black belts that had only been **learning** for a very short time period. Some as little as 6 months. Just not possible. Funny how they never got in the ring and would only compete in Kata's.

I preffered a traditional school. My first school didn't even hand out belts. Everyone was a white belt. Granted there were only 6 of us in the "class" and we trained in a dudes basement. We becamed very skilled and belts didn't really matter. LOL sounds like I was in the Karate Kid movies but the point being we were not in it to impress other but to learn the ways.

1. What age did they start?

My daughter started Tae Kwon Do just after she turned six. She's been involved for about 15 months.

2. What changes did you notice after they started/were in it for awhile?

Nothing dramatic, though my jaw did drop the first time she called me "Sir." I do think her martial arts training/education does a very nice job of reinforcing values and traits that I think are important: respect, integrity, hard work. For that alone, it's worth the expense.

You people who put your kids in martial arts training are flat crazy. How do you expect to be able to beat your kid if you're getting them trained up to be a lethal weapon? Good grief.

Even so, Mrs. Vitus and I are thinking about it for our five year old. She's thinking about some tae kwon do class at the gym, I'm thinking about an aikdio studio down the road.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

That's a cool setup.

I took Goju Ryu in junior high (6th - 8th) and thing that we did not like about Tae Kwon Do was how they seemed to have so many "black belts" that were 3rd grade and under. [This was during the Karate Kid Craze]

It never made sense to me how so many 9 year olds could master that art of karate.

I like the "non-testing" part, or having 3-5 stripes on the white belit, or even having stripes on the yellow belt.

Sometimes it seems that kids "have to" move up a belt if the instructor wants their parents to re-enroll them for another quarter-season-year-etc.

This is an interesting thread. My 4yo son is Power Rangers crazy and was thinking about karate lessons for Christmas, but I was concerned about disrepecting the art of karate, b/c he primarily would be playing around. I, personally, think he would really enjoy the kata (I did). I also felt the kata really helped with my focus, breathing, and balance that I used in other sports.

Really, I would just be looking for him to learn physical balance, control (physical and mental), learn some technique on movements ... but I wouldn't really want him to test for a belt, but earning stripes or something for practice, attendence, behavior, would be cool with me. I should talk to the instructor and see what they think.

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

I started studying Tae Kwon Do (Ji Do Kwan) when I was 11, and earned my 1st Dan black belt when I was 15 (back in '75). I've since stayed with it and have attained a fairly high level up the black belt rank structure.

Studying as I did, with native Korean instructors, gave me a solid discipline base for everything else I've done throughout my life. I can't recommend it highly enough, provided the quality of instruction received is there.

T.

A lot of TDK dojo's that I had dealing with were like that, I am sure many were not. They would set parents up on bank draft and testing seemed to always be a renewal away. Our dojo was pretty traditional in a lot of ways. We did it on a month to month payment. We didn't make it madatory for each kid to buy our gi's. We did have a rule that only white was acceptable except for Fridays. We only tested when the student was ready. We had many test that were only for one or two students and those were as needed not scheduled.

The little guys and girls were rewarded on a as warranted basis. We would do a lot of stance work, punching and blocking skills and a few of the basic Kata's.

Not a parent...but have been in martial arts all my life.

Definitely stay away from the schools that tries to pump out black belts or promise a black belt in a time period (and $$$ usually). My recommendation is to look for a school or teacher that will explain to you in detail what's involved.

Just like triathlons...it's a lifestyle.

I actually highly recommend dance or gymnastics to younger children (less than 10)...they develope all sorts of balance and coordination during that critical period using their whole body that they can utilize in whatever sport or activity they choose when they get older.

Just my $0.02.

D

All great observations! I really think that kids need to have fun while they are working out. Don't be afraid to sit in on a bunch of classes before you take your kids.



One other thing, Just because an instructor has won x national titles, and is such and such black belt doesn’t make them a good teacher/coach. Find someone that deals with kids well, has a good balanced workout with fun things thrown in. Just because an instructor has a big belly, don't write him off as an unsuitable coach or bad roll model.



My preference is; Pay as you go on a monthly basis, no black belt factories, unlimited sessions. You can find this type of setup in smaller gyms.



Promotion/testing is pretty much a necessary part of the business. it’s a way of making money for the business and also allows the teachers to identify who should know what, and what the students can do.

Very true. Sosai Mas Oyama was a bit wide in the belly as he got older but that dude was seriously a bad ass. He fought bulls back in the day killing several.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to meet him before his death. I had hoped to travel to Japan to train with him for a month. I did how ever train with a guy that new him well and lived with him for several years.

Nice article about Kyokushin and Mas Oyama

http://www.uskyokushin.com/sosai.htm