What is the best age to start your kids in martial arts?

Question

I love all martial arts and have been teaching my son Karate for 3 years he is now 7 and i am teaching him Ju-Jitsu my wife doesn't like this and says we should wait until he is older to learn JuJitsu what do you think?

Answer 1

I started Ishinru karate at age 9 and stopped at 14. I feel it's never too early, especially if children are being taught the respect and discipline aspects which goes hand-in-hand with karate. Just make sure you don't teach your wife, or you could really have a heck of a fight on your hands, LOL.

Answer 2

4

Answer 3

It's an individualized answer. Children right up until they are adults will have such a varying degree of attention span and the ability to behave that it's tough to give you a concrete answer. As a teacher though, I cannot imagine teaching a child that is not potty trained or can't even tie his own shoes. If they aren't old enough for pre-school, they probably could stand to wait a year. Some parents look to get their 5 year old into classes either because they think it's the silver bullet to solve their ADHD/behavioral issues, or because they are afraid their child will be "left behind" by their peers if they don't start right away. These are ludicrous notions. Also, most (50%) of kids don't stay a whole year and 95% percent of them (maybe moreso at more exclusive schools) will not reach black belt. This usually has nothing to do with the school itself, but of other factors (kid loses interest, other activities interfere, moving away, etc.). Add to that how much classes are (whether or not they decide to go that day, you still have to pay), how fast your kid grows out of things, competition fees, belt tests, etc., it is a very big financial investment into something your kid might not be that serious about. I don't mean to discourage any parent- far from it. Some kids really benefit from the structure and discipline. But generally, I do see a marked difference between kids older than 10 and younger than 10. Kids older than ten do better at belt tests, have longer attention spans, and as a result stay much longer. Kids younger than 10 get frustrated quicker, are generally too small to do good technique, and are harder to keep focused. I've noticed as a teacher that those who start later overall do better. Kids that started at 6 and somehow survive until 12- we end up having to reteach them EVERYTHING because they either learned wrong (usually from other kids), or forgot their stuff as soon as their belt test was over. I would say that a parent may start their kid at any time, if they don't mind them piddling around for the first couple of years. But if you're expecting them to "go pro" or become a black belt, you might get your heart broken. I'll quickly answer your other questions. The form is not important to kids, unless they are old enough to get online and read commentary from others. It's far more important to go to a good school. I generally disapprove of small children studying multiple arts. Most adults don't do that well. Stay in one art for a year and see if they will commit to it first.

Answer 4

People do the best learning in the first few years of their lives. After this, the ability to learn and retain information reduces with age. Ideally, if you want to start your children in a martial arts program in order to get the maximum benefit from it, you should start them before they are five years old. If you have a choice, a child should be taught some simple movements and exercises (suitable for such young children) as soon as they have the motor coordination to be able to learn them--at 2-3 years of age.

At 4-5 years old, a child is better able to perform similar movements to an older child, and should be taught basically the same movements in a way that makes it fun and easy for a kindergartener to understand. These movements can be modified so that such as young child can perform them, but the core of the movement should be the same.

Teaching a child the basics at this stage in life (and it should be the basics--a four year old won't be able to perform a complicated form, pattern, kata, whatever term you use, or execute a technically perfect kick) will provide the basis to allow him or her to vastly improve those movements later in life. When a child first learns to read, he or she isn't able to do it very well compared to an older child and the material has to be kept very easy, but if you try to wait until a child is older to teach him or her to read, even though he or she may be much better able to grasp the concept of what s/he is doing, that concept will be more difficult to teach, and the person will not be as able to progress later in life (i.e. take on more difficult material).

It is never too late to begin an education in the martial arts, but the longer you wait, the less solid this foundation will be. In addition, the earlier you start a child in the martial arts, the more ingrained the routines will become (e.g. discipline, exercise regimen) and the more fit the child is likely to be later in life. For example, the more jumping a child does, and the earlier he or she starts, the more developed the leg muscles will be for the purposes of jumping, not to mention the fact that bone density will increase leading to a stronger musculo-skeletal system overall. Also, while weights should not be used until age 16, there are a number of body-weight exercises that children can do that can be of termendous benefit.

At this age (and even at your child's 7 years of age) the most important thing to focus on is keeping the program fun, educational and, above all, safe. While a child can profit greatly from the matial arts, no one likes to see the little ones get hurt or have something happen to them that would be detrimental later in life.

I have to admit that I am not overly familiar with Ju-Jitsu, so I am really commenting on the martial arts in general. I would assume that the concern over starting a child in Ju-Jitsu so young relates to bone and joint health. This concern is fairly valid. When dealing with throws, takedowns, locks and so on, you need to be certain that the muscles, bones and connective tissue are strong enough to be able to perform the activities safely. The upside is that children have remarkably flexible joints and a great deal more supportive strength that you would expect. Children are also much less prone to injury than adults overall and are much better able to heal. Conversely, because they are still growing, you have to ensure that children don't engage in any activities that could affect the growth and development of those joints.

Not knowing Ju-Jitsu well, I will have to leave this in your hands. Evaluate the art and decide whether or not there is anything in there that may affect the development of a child. If there is, could you still teach the art while saving those parts for later? If not then you may want to save the Ju-Jitsu until your son is older. If there is nothing of issue then go for it now. Again, the most important points are to make the program fun, don't do anything too complicated until you think your son is REALLY ready and above all, focus on safety. This should make for an enjoyable, educational experience that can greatly benefit the both of you.

Answer 5

Around 4-5

Answer 6

I think that for a kid that young, karate is fine, but jujitsu is indeed way too tough for a little boy. The grappling techniques could be too hard on him, remember that his bones and muscles are not strong enough, yet. If he were trainning and sparring with other kids, maybe, but he's doing it with you, an adult. Besides, I think is not wise to take up two different styles of martial arts. First let him master one, like karate, Let him become an expert, then he can take up another style.

Answer 7

I agree with your wife, I wouldn't put my 7 year in a grabbling martial art like ju-jitsu. If he wanted to do martial arts, I would have him take shotokan or takewondo, many have after school programs. I would also make sure that the class consisted of only students his age and size. When he gets older, then you can teach him ju-jitsu.

Answer 8

A very similar story exists in my family too.
I am a ju-jitsu teacher myself and started teaching my daughter when she was 6.Of course the same arguments with my wife continued for about one year bu practice proved it safe.
Of course safety is always the highest priority particularly for soft hearted mums and I understand it.
Here is my advice for you:
Since she is familiar with Karate,she is aware of kicks,punches blocks etc..this is very helpfull.Start teaching her get away and skiping technics,remember that any body can through a kick/punch but Ju-jitsu teaches you how get away from it.Although learning this will help her in the future in fighting bigger/stronger guys,one needs to make sure that she satrts her training with people in her age and weight.
Locks and hold downs can be left for later years if she decides to continue.
More importantly is to choose a master who also teaches spritual teachings side of the art too,this will help her in future life greatly.
Although she may know the technics,she is to young to transfer full power to her muscles becaused they are noyt as strong as yet and she will later learn how to fully trasfer this power to different poins of her body.My advise:
Find a good master who has training experience with kids and you are done(depending on which part of the world you leave in it may be difficult to find such masters because not many people support such activities at this age.
Goodluck
I include my email address for further queries which will be gladly replied too: [e-mail]

Answer 9

age 5 they need to be able to follow directions and have some focus

Answer 10

It is good for them. Instills self confidence. People with good parents and self confidence will probably not use their art to harm others.