I want to start my 5yr. old boy in Martial Arts. Any suggestions?

Question

What should I look for in a Martial Arts place? There are so many kinds of martial arts, not sure which direction to turn. He loves doing moves he sees in cartoons, he needs to learn when to fight and when not to and the respect aspect of martial arts really appeals to me. Thanks a lot for your help! Appreciate it!

Answer 1

I teach Karate, but it's not up to me to tell you that Karate is right for your son. Alot of people will say Tae-Kwon-Do or Karate is best because thats all they know.
Picking the right Martial Art for your son is as important as picking the right school. Get the yellow pages out and see whats available in your area, then learn more about what each art does. Take your son to watch some beginner classes at some of the dojos and see what interests him.
If he starts in something that doesn't interest him or gets a bad teacher than he may give all martial arts up for good and that would be a shame.
A good teacher will tell you that it takes time to learn the art and a black belt is not the end, it just means that you've got the basics down and can more on to harder (funner) things.
Some that I would recomend are

Karate - Punching and kicking, teaches blocking and avoidance as well as attacks

Tae-Kwon-Do - alot of kicking and yelling (keeps young ones attention)

Judo - locks and throws (may be too young for this)

Aikido - locks and throws in a non violent way (very good non violent self defence art)

Kung-Fu - good for show, does very well at tournements.

Boxing is very good if he wants to attack, martial arts is good if he wants to attack and defend, but what every school should teach is how to avoid the bad situations all together.

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 2

Tijutsu/ninjutsu. It consists of grappling, strikes, locks, etc. The philosophy is what seperates it from other 'sport' martial arts ie: karate, jujutsu, kung fu. It's for real life situations and they do teach dirty tricks like eye gouging, attacking the groin, using anything available as a weapon. There are no rules in a real fight so good dojos won't teach like there are. A good dojo will also teach to only use the skills when absolutely necessary, but when that time comes then whup some serious ***. There are spirtual aspects to it as well and he will have great confidence and usually when kids start learning young they respect it and make the best practictioners regardless of the type of art. Boxing is effective as well, just remember the teacher is very important for all arts, he/she is the one who sets the philosophical tone. Those who abuse it should get kicked out, I've seen it first hand.

Answer 3

Try put him in either judo or brazilian jiu jitsu. Those two usually allows kids to grapple with eachother and it is fun. It is very very important that your son have fun because if he doesn't really do what he want to (which would be testing out technique) he will start try use it on other people at school or not enjoy martial arts at all.

Majority people who do martial arts that get in fight usually are the one who have things to prove and never spar. So that's why sparring is very importat, it's better to do it in controlled enviroment against someone else who is willing to take and give some than go out on playground and pick a fight.

If he still don't want to grapple after a few classes. Try Muay Thai, boxing, Shoot boxing, or san shou. they are striking arts and they also do sparring.

Or even better, put him in wrestling. It usually is free and assoicated with school :-)

Answer 4

Go to the class and see the children's training program, how well the class is handled, do the teachers treat them nice and do they have a good understanding of handling kids at such tender age. Some of the techniques may look tough, but when executed properly they wont hurt.
Which MA to choose is a subjective part, but u can try n look for a Aikido dojo for example, the art isnt about brute strenght but more about learning to develope a good sense of respect for others (which many MA also focus on), learn how to absorb the impacts frm falling n being thrown, and since hes still young, his body is more flexible and can learn n perform better than many of the adults. When hes older, can try other arts as well, like Karate for example, to develope strenght in the punches and also speed.
The other thing to take care of is to teach him not to use the techniques on his friends when playing Power Rangers! A good training program will help your kid develope a strong sense of respect towards all living things and teach him discipline.
Good luck!

Answer 5

Tae kwon do best form of martial arts around.

Answer 6

To Shin Do, a modernized version of ninjutsu, because it teaches real-life situations, and it has a very good program for children called "Mighty Dragons", after he is older, the Sensei willl move him up to a higher level class.

Answer 7

I'm no expert but since he is only five start him in a begginer class. Make sure that you and your son feel comfortable with the teachers and place you take him thats what counts! and make sure you know about the schedule!

Answer 8

put him in boxing its a good thing to kno and also when he grows up he will kno how to defend himself as with martial arts u just do some kung pow stuff. boxing teaches you respect and self essteem

Answer 9

any of them are o.k. the instructor will also teach when to fight and when not to.look in your local newspaper&phone book for these place's and check them out.

hiiiiii--yaaaaaa

Answer 10

I hope your kids doesn't stop growing in height!