is it ok to start martial arts at the age of twelve?

Question

Is it safe and easy, cause i heard u should get used to backflips and stuff when u r young

Answer 1

Its fine. There are people who start it at age 5 and others as adults. Backflips? doubt you will see that too much. Unless you are exceptional you will be using martial arts as a means of excercise and an activity. You don't have to worry about competing with Jackie Chan any time soon.

Answer 2

first of all, yes it is ok to start Martial arts at your age, but the younger you are (like say 6yrs old) the better for you to"grow in your martial arts training.

But there're people that start in their late 30's, 40's, 50's plus and still do pretty well.

second: whoever told you that "getting used to backflips" was completely off the page and WRONG, which means they had absolutely NO CLUE as to what they were talking about.

In Martial Arts there's no acrobatics needed, even disciplines such as Wushu don't require you to know about acrobatics or be a world class gymnast.

if you want acrobatics or Gymnastics, then a gymnastics class is what you want to go to.

Just Make sure you find a martial Arts school that you want to study at and take some trial classes to see if you like it and how the instructor(s) teach the class.

What matters is that you feel comfortable in the classes (and like the classes) and feel comfortable that the instructor (and the instructor's TEACHING style and not the discipline itself) can properly teach you self defense without the "smoke and mirrors" .

Here's some guidelines on finding a good school:

First of all, what YOU need to do is research local schools by looking in the phone book or internet search engine to find out if there ARE any Martial Arts schools in your area.

Second, if you can find at least 3 schools that interest you, watch a few classes at each one and decide which one out of those 3 schools that interested you the most.

Third: find out if they have some trial classes (up to a weeks worth to help you make a decision, hopefully without being hassled to join or sign a contract to join the class), and if you find that you like the school, then enroll in the class.

You just need to find a Martial Arts School that will provide a safe, "family like" environment for you and that the instructor(s) are going to help you become the best Martial Artist that you can become.

The discipline you may wind up studying DOESN'T MATTER because there is NO discipline that is better than another, because they ALL have their strengths AND weaknesses

The instructor should also like to do it more for the teaching aspect rather than the "making money" which it is a business to make money after all; but it should not be the only reason for teaching the discipline.

The biggest problem you should worry about in finding a school is being aware of schools that're a "McDojo's" or "belt factory" type of school.

These schools do a lot of boasting; particularly about how soon their students make their 1st degree black belts. A prime example of this: having several "young black belts" that're usually 9 or 10 yr old kids, which should be a rare thing to see unless the child started learning the discipline when they were 4 yrs old, or promising that as a student you’ll be making your black belt in about a year’s time (the average should be between 4 to 5 years or better) which often means that they have a high student turnout rate. This is a Red Flag

They may also try to get you to commit to (by signing) a contract, usually one that's 6 months long or more or try to get you to pay down a large sum of money for that kind of time period. This is a BIG red flag

And don’t be fooled by these schools telling you about how many tournaments or competitions their students have entered and placed in or won a trophy, which is NOT a necessity in Martial Arts. Tournaments/competitions can be good to test your own skills at point sparring but again, it’s not necessary because they are the LEAST important aspect to concern yourself with in Martial Arts.

Long story short, these schools will basically "give" you your belt ranks every few months as long as you are paying the outrageous fees per month, and you won't really learn self defense.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

12 is a good age to start. I accept students from 5 on up. I've had students over 60 (I turn 59 the end of the month.). Backflips aren't part of most Martial Arts, they aren't very practical in a fight, but they look good on screen & in demos. Find a good school & get started!

Answer 4

Yes it is ok, actually this is probably the best age to begin MAs. By the way, don't listen to that tard thunder2s, if you take a good MA, it has to have competition, the "don't worry you won't have to compete with Jacky Chan any time soon" makes me laugh as Jacky Chan isn't a goddamn fighter, he's an actor, and knows it pretty well. What are "backflips"? Sorry I think I was wrong about you, I guess you're one of those pùssies who's gonna take an eXtreme MA class? I'd rather do dance instead.

By the way, you can train in MAs just as mean of exercice and activity, but don't deny the sparring goddamnit. Nor the competition. I think I'm a bit drunk.

Answer 5

12 is a GREAT age to get started. if the art you choose has you doing backflips, don't sweat it....i'm sure the teacher will have you doing stuff before backflips to help prepare you for them. good luck with your future martial arts career!

Answer 6

I have students from ages 3 to 63 and those are not limits. It is absolutely safe for you to begin at 12.

I don't teach backflips.

Answer 7

Sure, but I don't think there would be much backflips... I take aikido, and it took me a while to get used to the forward rolls, but overall, it's completely fine... There are adults who start, and they have it harder than you, trust me..

Answer 8

12 is a great age to start martial arts training .

Answer 9

any age is good the younger the better.go for it and become great i may watch your moves some day.you never know.a kid i used to train with won the bronze the first time and the silver the second time in the olimpics.Mr.Donovan Rider from Orangeburg,S.C. dreams do come true for those that can make them happen.tko

Answer 10

Definitely. I started when I was 5. I'm 14 now been doing it since, it's so fun, and it's absolutely safe.