should young kids do a martial art?

BlueDragon1981 · Red Belt

3 years of age. I don't think so. Maybe watch it, but not take class. The limit on age in the dojo I attend is 7. They are even hard to teach sometimes because low attention spans. A lot of it probably depends on the child. They are all different and unique. (I have one that is almost 2 and another that is 8 months) My kids will be taking karate. I will probably not let them in class until age 7 but my give some home lessons before that time if they want to learn it. That is the key if THEY want to learn. In my current dojo I have a feeling we are just babysitting some kids for 2 hours. If they don't want to learn it then their is really no point in teaching them it.

LeaF · Black Belt

Children may start training at my dojo around the age of 4. I definitly can agree that they are really just being babysat, and don't really want to be there. We get a lot of little kids in who think karate is all about making loud noises and swinging their arms around, when they find out differently they tend to loose intrest very quicky. I do believe though for the ones that stick it out it is great. We have a couple kids training who started at four and are now 6, and a huge improvement is quite obvious. Although I do believe martial arts are one of the greatest things for young children. They might take a year to learn how to do a kata, or have a low attention span in class, but one area that I see almost all the students improve in is displine. These kids are much more displine then a lot of others their age. They learn how to follow instructions, and behave at a very young age, which their parents love but it is also something that they will carry throughout their entire lives. It is much easier to learn something like this when they are young, and I believe martial arts training is a great way to do this.
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kicker · Black Belt

I think that three is way to young to start Martial Arts. 5-6 is alright but they should just be taught basics and not do anything that well get them injuried, and as they get older to learn more things.

gheinisch · KF VIP

My Hanshi feels that 3 yrs. is way too young to start a Martial Art. He'll take no younger then 12. He doesn't have a problem with teaching the very young some basic techniques for escaping or defending thier selves against an abductor,attacker etc. but feels it would be to dangerous to teach some of the more destructive techniques. He say's "would you give a gun to a five yr. old and send him on his way?" I hope the answer is no. Kids that age don't have a full understanding of what Martial Arts is all about (other than what they see on Power Rangers) and how it can seriously hurt someone in an instant. That's my opinion, I know some may disagree.

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"If your hand goes forth withhold your temper"
"If your temper goes forth withold your hand"
-Gichin Funakoshi

rb · Green Belt

5 or 6 is alright if they have a concept of respect which kids have none of today.

monkeygirl · KF VIP

There's no way we would make a 3 year old spar or teach him/her how to hurt someone. We teach them things like how to throw a punch or kick, and then we have a talk about only using them in class.
We do that for about 5 minutes, and then after that it's mostly games. Instead of playing Duck Duck Goose, it's Ninja Ninja Dragon. Red Light, Green Light becomes Ninja Freeze. We mostly teach focus, attention, respect, good behavior, so that they will be ready for real MA some day. The most important thing, though, is just to have fun.
The closest we ever come to self-defense is teaching kids how to scream for help. We have Leadership Team become "attackers"...they sneak up on the kids. The kids then have to turn around and shout "STOP!" as loud as they can. Since that can make them sound like brats instead of kids in need of help, we also teach them to yell "You're not my Daddy/Mommy!" But that's as far as it goes.
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1st dan & Asst. Instructor TKD 2000-2003

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kenpolifter · White Belt

Being a black belt myself I have started on my son at 20 months. It may a little young to some of you, but he does know the difference between front and back kick. I figure if it's good enough for Brandon, it's good enough for Joshua. Call it conditioning if you will, but I think it will be very benefitial to him when he gets older. Oh and the right left thing, forget it.hehe
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He who hesitates, meditates in the horizontal position....Edmund Parker

King of Fighters · Green Belt

I dont think that children should start learning martial arts at a really young age. I think the earliest they schould start straining is age 7, but personally i dont think they should start until they are like 9 to 11 because at that age they wont have short attension spands and they will be able to under stand what martial arts are all about. You dont have to start young to be good though, Bruce Lee didnt start taking Wing Chun until he was 13 years old, when you think about it that is quite old compared to all the kids that start when they are like 6.

kenpolifter · White Belt

I'll have to tend to disagree with you there. Most children do not have the attention span, you are right, but it all boils down to the parents. All childrens attention span is not off and some can even take in good info as early as 3 or 4. This can set the habit for later. Will they learn alot? Probably not, but they will learn Disipline, Self Disipline and confidence. Which are all needed for later in training and life. Just my .02
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He who hesitates, meditates in the horizontal position....Edmund Parker

Withers M.A.A. · Brown Belt

I think if they are just doing tumbling and basic kicks for a 20 minute class or so it isn't bad. Much longer than that though is a waste of time. It is good to teach them body control but really nothing more
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2nd Degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and Tae Kwon Do. 1997 NASKA competitor-2nd place Nationally in Blackbelt American Forms. Firearms activist!

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