How do I pick the right kind of martial arts to get my sons invovled in?

Question

I have two sons they are very young yet but I figured I should start looking around. My sister told me there was an article not to long ago matching the child's personality traits to the specific marital art that would suit them best. I would like to know more about this. Perhaps someone knows of this article or can shed some light on the subject. thankyou

Answer 1

From many years of experience I would highly recommend Taekwondo for any child, teen or adult. It not only teaches the physical aspects of martial arts (ie kicks, punches, blocks & self defense) but also respect, perseverence, self-control and many other life skills. check out the link for americas largest martial art organization: www.ataonline.com
be sure to ask a lot of questions when going to the schools like "what do the children learn in class? are the instructors certified to teach children? is it explaind to the children that martial arts is only for self defense and not for showing off? can parents stay and watch class in the school?" and any other questions that come to mind.
good luck!

Answer 2

Finding the right teacher is much more important than any particular style of martial art. Especially when you are dealing with children.

Go visit a few schools and watch how the classes are conducted. Most schools also allow you to try a lesson for free. See how your children enjoy it.

Don't be distracted by awards or trophies or photos of celebrities on the wall. There is no denying Mike Tyson was once a great boxer, but would you ever want him coaching your kids?

Once your sons are older and if they seem like they are getting serious about pursuing martial arts further, then you might start to look for teachers who are stricter and really are among the best at what they do. Until then, look for someone who is going to instill discipline and respect in your children, all the while keeping things fun and enjoyable.

Answer 3

Don't be fancy. I took my son to Aikido (10 years old at the time) and it was just waaay to complicated for him. I now have him in Karate and he will at least have fun and learn in class now. While he likes to wrestle man to man with me, grappling just didn't interest him too much, so martial arts like Judo were out of the picture.

If I were you, I would keep it that simple for now. Karate is straight punches and kicks. A lot of positive re-inforcement for kids because the kata's are simple.

If rolls and falls and grappling are more their thing, than Judo is simple enough also for kdis to learn.

Most importantly, take them to SEVERAL dojo's. First lesson is always free, and after they have seen several martial arts, only then should they choose. BTW, don't sign up for a year either. In my opinion, you should consider your sign up the next trial, and don't do it longer than 3 months, no matter what deals the sensei offers. They may realise that they would rather go back to something else, since they will be talking to their friends about it, and may realize afterwards that there friends have been doing something else.

Answer 4

Our society is really off the mark when we talk about fat. Today fat is anything over 7% body fat. 20 years ago it would have meant an eating disorder. That aside, if a person wants to decrease their body fat any increase in activity will do, and no body type disqualifies anyone from doing any martial art. A large person will have an obvious advantage in any physical encounter, just as quick people have their advantages. Each traditional martial art has subsets of techniques and stratagies that can be exploited by different body types. You are just like anyone else. Find an art that appeals to you and give it all you got! Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Before choosing a particular martial art to enroll your sons in, you really need to think about why you are considering enrolling them. Once you have figured that out, then I agree with what someone said in an earlier answer and take your sons to several different schools so that they can be exposed to different styles to see if there is a style they take too.

In addition to that you need to consider the qualifications of the Instructor. You need to evaluate whether the instructor teaches from a competitive stance or from a more traditional point of view. It is also important to find a school that emphasis-es the history, culture and philosophy of that art. Ultimately it will be up to your sons because unless they are truly interested in learning and practicing, they ultimately will gain nothing.

If you really want some great information on Karate here is a great site. On this site there are training maxims from Hanshi Hohan Soken and great advice from my Sensei Hanshi Kise

Answer 6

When I was looking for a school, I kept a binder of the different attributes, pros and cons. Some examples:
*Physically comfortable setting - clean, well lit, mats on the floor not wooden floors (IMO)
*Emotionally comfortable - no stupid intimidation tactics and certainly no outright abuse (unf. it happens)
*Reasonable cost
*Teacher who are good with kids!
*Teach a style your kids can use for self defense

No. 1, the you and kids should be feel comfortable. Meaning, they should like it and not be too intimidated by the teachers, and you shouldn't have any red flags go up.

For ex, I once had a MARRIED teacher who was seeing two of his students. They were moving up and up in their belts and it didn't seem to be based on their performance in class. When their relationship(s) came out, it was clear how they'd advanced. Beyond the fact that it was disgusting and made it very tough to respect our instructor, it was VERY unfair to all the other students who paid good money but wouldn't progress like sensei's girlfriends.

As an adult, you mgiht sense things like that that your kids wouldn't notice at their ages.

Some schools are considered too militaristic and even cultish. I say, Sensei worship is not a good thing. A healthy respect and admiration are good though.

All I can think of now.

Answer 7

I took my then almost 5 y.o. son to different karate schools. I asked for his input and he didn't like the TKD and karate schools but lit up when I took him to a couple of Kung Fu schools. The schools he didn't like had too many kids doing kid things, almost like play karate. I'm sure they learn something. But the one KF school we saw had few students and great teacher /student ratio, did relatively complex things and, despite the lack of screams, was a really nasty system when a few techniques were explained to us. My son lit up and wanted this one. He's 12 now, almost a black sash (in karate would be a 3rd degree black belt), knows a lot of deadly hand and weapons techniques and is a very well-behaved honor roll student. He doesn't do soccer, basketball or other sports yet is very athletic.

I'm not saying take Kung Fu, there are a lot of good schools no matter what style. I'm saying that you make sure that your kids' interest will remain high. Good luck on your quest for a good school.

Answer 8

Here are some things to consider...
- You want to find an art that THEY are interested in. If they loose interest, then they will not have fun and want to drop out. You've wasted your time and money and they may not want to take another art.
- You want an art that they can use to actually defend themselves later on. Some arts are just for show and tournaments (Kung-Fu).
- Some arts are not for young children (5-10) Like Aikido, Brazillian Ju-Jitsu, Judo.
- You want to find a school that has experience teaching children.
I would suggest going to different schools in your area and watching classes with your boys. You should be able to tell if it interests them. Kids classes should have games as well as training, to keep their attentions. We use fun races up and down the floor and play a gam called Sensei Says (Simon Says) to help them with terms.
Watch out for schools that want to charge more than $100 a month for each kid or want you to sign a 1 year contract. If the school is too flashy then they probably charge too much.
I would suggest Karate ot Tae-Kwon-Do for young boys. My 11 year old is about to test for his black belt in Karate. Karate will help in true life situations, Tae-Kwon-Do won't, but is good for younger kids with short attention spans.

Answer 9

Please do yourself and your children a favor, do not look for a style. instead look for a good instructor and school.
I would never claim that one style is better than another, that is nonsense and anyone that tells you otherwise is biased by thier ego.
here are some rules for a good school:
-ask for proof of linage (America has no official standards for martial art teachers so research the instructors linage. if he does not share it with you there is something wrong.)
-never sign a contract, this is crap and a money making trick.
-never pay for a belt test. this is also money making crap. rank is earned never bought. (belts only cost about $5.00 on eBay if you want buy one)
-never pay an "entry" or "admission" fee, this is money making crap.
-if you are not allowed to observe several classes from the "sidelines" then something is wrong, turn around and leave.
-if you are not allowed to take a couple of free classes then something is wrong with the school.
-if the head teacher does not make him self accesible to the students, than something is wrong.
-if there are children with "black belts" on something is wrong. children are not capable of being black belts, their bodies have not fully developed yet.
-never study somewhere that teaches several different styles (like karate/ tae kwon do. this is like saying you drive a volkswagon taurus, it does not exist. Karate is from Japan and has been used in actual combat where as Tae Kwon Do is a sport developed from people watching karate in Korea hundreds of years later. If the teacher is a karate/ Tae Kwon Do teacher than he most likely jumped from school to school never mastering a single style.)
-observe the genral atttude of the students, they should be respectful and happy. if they are running around like hooligans, something is wrong.
- if classes are seperated into ranks something is worng, you should be observing and learning from the more expereinced not kept hidden from them.
-promotions should be slow, quick promotions are for American egos.
- the techniques they teach should be form based not strength based ( strength leaves you when you are tired, form does not.)
Also, please keep in mind that Tae Kwon Do is NOT a martial art. It is a sport similar to boxing. It has never been proven in the mettle of war. If this is what you desire for your children, that is fine but you must at least know that on the front end. Please choose carefully, a negative experience could turn your children off on the wonderful world of martial arts for the rest of their lives.
Please print out my answer, take it into the schools with you, ask LOTS of question. Only except clear ,consice answers. Do not make a hasty decision.
Think about joining class with your children when you find the right school.

Answer 10

correcting the person before me, it's tae kwon do and it's not a style of karate but a style of it's own.

now that that's out of the way... all of the above is a good advice, but i think it's most important to see want style they want to learn as well.
ask them if they want to learn martial art, and if they say yes ask them what kind of style they want to learn. as long as they don't say ninjutsu you should be fine. ^^ if they don't know any style ask them to show you what they think martial art is and if they start kicking or punching then they were stating they want to learn striking art. (karate/taekwondo) if they start wrestling then you should look into grappling art. (jujitsu/wrestling) or if they start looking around for a stick to start a mock sword fight, stop them first and start looking for sword art. (fencing/kendo) just my two cents.