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smckeown
Yellow Belt
Joined: 06 Jun 2007
Posts: 44
Location: MA
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 Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:12 pm Post subject: Trying to get my daughter into karate |
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Any tips on getting a 7 year old girl into the martial arts?
I have tried taking her to a school that specializes in kids.
She was super excited about it for 2 weeks prior to going and would not stop talking about it but as soon as we got there she became extremely shy and did not want to participate in anything.
Perhaps she is just a bit young still, but I have read several posts about members with younger kids who are training.
Any helpful suggestions to get her more interested are much appreciated.
Thanks
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Scott
http://www.pressurepointkarate.com |
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Montana
Orange Belt
Joined: 18 Apr 2007
Posts: 189
Location: Formerly Montana, now Spokane, WA
Styles: Shorin Ryu Matsumura Kenpo & Kobudo
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| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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| I taught children for around 20 years (I no longer do this) as young as 6. In my experience, kids between the ages of 6-8 (any younger and you're just babysitting IMO) can either get excited about it and do pretty well, or be a waste of time. I'd say she's not really interested...pull her out and wait a couple of years and try again if she shows interest. You should NEVER force a child to go to that sort of class if they really don't want to. |
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lordtariel
Black Belt
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Posts: 1709
Location: Oregon
Styles: (Past)Judo, Yang Family Tai Chi, (Current)Shito-Ryu Karate, Kobudo(Tonfajitsu)
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| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Montana wrote: |
| You should NEVER force a child to go to that sort of class if they really don't want to. |
Definitely. Talk to her, see if it's the martial art she's not interested in or if it's intimidating to her. She may just need a little time.
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There's no place like 127.0.0.1 |
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smckeown
Yellow Belt
Joined: 06 Jun 2007
Posts: 44
Location: MA
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| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the replys.
I would never force her to do anything. I stayed there the entire first class with her and talked to her afterwards about it. I think she is a bit intimidated about there being only one other girl in the class.
We havent been back to class again.
Every now and then she sees me practicing something and asks about it so I know there is some interest there.
I am just looking for any helpful suggestions to "fan the flames" of her interest.
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Scott
http://www.pressurepointkarate.com |
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DWx
KF Sensei
Joined: 17 Jan 2007
Posts: 1169
Location: UK
Styles: Tae Kwon Do & Yang family Tai Chi
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| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:13 pm Post subject: |
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My younger sister started MA when she was 8 and was a lil put off by her first couple of weeks too. I made her stick at it and helped her outside of class, she has now been training for 4 years. I would recommend talking to your daughter and encouraging her to be excited again. She may have felt daunted by the other kids, especially if she doesn't know anyone there and she's the only beginner.
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"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it." ~ Confucius |
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bushido_man96
KF Sensei
Joined: 31 Mar 2006
Posts: 12964
Location: Hays, KS
Styles: Taekwondo,Hapkido, SCA Combat, and I research Medieval Combat
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| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:32 pm Post subject: |
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Montana has some very good points. It also may be that she is just a little scared, and it will just take a little extra time to get her into it. Maybe you could work with her a little bit at home, and see if that sparks her interest.
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Success is where preparation meets opportunity.
www.chiefswarpath.com |
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marie curie
KF Sempai
Joined: 18 Oct 2005
Posts: 1020
Location: PA, USA
Styles: Ko Sutemi Seiei Kan Karate, Kajukenbo, Kodokan Judo, Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu, Olympic Tae Kwon Doe
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:13 am Post subject: |
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When I started (at 11, quite a bit older) my mom and I had a deal, that she would allow me to (pay for) an activity that I was in as long as I would commit to 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, if I really didn't like it I could quit, but kids have short attention spans, so it's not always the best thing for them to get to start and stop activities based on what they think about it "today". Just MHO.
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You suck-train harder.......................Don't block with your face
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
-Lao Tzu |
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dragondad76
White Belt
Joined: 06 Jun 2007
Posts: 13
Location: Penn Yan New York
Styles: TKD
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:08 am Post subject: |
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| my daughter is 7 years old and she has been in ma now for about 6 months. She is doing very well and I am helping in her class at times so it makes it that much easier to keep her excited. I really think that taking a active roll in it if possible is a very strong way to insure that they remain interested. |
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smckeown
Yellow Belt
Joined: 06 Jun 2007
Posts: 44
Location: MA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:56 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for all of the great tips.
Now that she is out of school for the summer she may be looking for more things to do.
I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks
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Scott
http://www.pressurepointkarate.com |
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ninjanurse
KF Sensei
Joined: 13 Feb 2003
Posts: 3956
Location: Upstate NY
Styles: TKD;Shotokan;JuJitsu;Tai Ji
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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Sounds like a normal reaction to me. Some kids will be watchers and should be encouraged by the instructors to participate by choice until they gain confidence. Pretty soon they'll be jumping right in like they own the place!
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"A Black Belt is only the beginning."
Heidi-A student of the arts
Tae Kwon Do,Shotokan,JuJitsu,TaiJi |
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on the post.
