Anyone taking martial arts classes?

**Patch** · 07-22-2009, 04:07 PM

My son & daughter, ages 6 & 9, had their first Tae Kwon Do class a few hours ago.
Anyone taking classes or have kids in classes? How's the experience been?

**RebootedCorpse** · 07-22-2009, 04:11 PM

My son has taken okinawan karate classes. I think it has been good for him. Helps him stay focused and develop coordination.

**Dave S.** · 07-22-2009, 04:18 PM

I'm taking Wing Chun, it's really good. But tough. It's very much about efficiency of movement, adhering to form, taking down attackers as quickly as possible and disabling them. Not really for kids.

TKD schools in the US are mostly what are known as McDojos. They are geared towards teaching kids some flashy stuff. It'll still help build discipline and coordination, as well as keep them fit. But it's not really geared towards practical fighting/self-defense. Mostly teachers tournament stuff. But at that age, you probably don't want that anyway.

**The Crushtacean** · 07-22-2009, 04:39 PM

I'm taking Tai Chi. It's been quite enjoyable so far.

**Patch** · 07-22-2009, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by Reborn Corpse

My son has taken okinawan karate classes. I think it has been good for him. Helps him stay focused and develop coordination.

It seems like it's going to be a positive thing. My son is soft-spoken and a little shy and shouting those "HAI"s could make him feel better about that.

Originally Posted by Dave S.

I'm taking Wing Chun, it's really good. But tough. It's very much about efficiency of movement, adhering to form, taking down attackers as quickly as possible and disabling them. Not really for kids.

TKD schools in the US are mostly what are known as McDojos. They are geared towards teaching kids some flashy stuff. It'll still help build discipline and coordination, as well as keep them fit. But it's not really geared towards practical fighting/self-defense. Mostly teachers tournament stuff. But at that age, you probably don't want that anyway.

Are you saying your kung fu is better than my kung fu?

This school doesn't seem like a McDojo so we're lucky there. I signed my kids up after we went to an open house and a Tae Kwon Do demonstration the instructor hosted. He used to be the captain of the Korean National team and helped fund the current team's U.S. tour. He seems extraordinarily good with kids and just had a student win two gold medals at the Jr. Olympics.

I like this guy.

**Wigner's Friend** · 07-22-2009, 05:07 PM

If they're in public schools, I'd suggest Krav Maga so they can learn to defend against knife attacks.

**hakubi** · 07-22-2009, 06:10 PM

As a timid child who eventually became a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, I can assure you that children do not simply become badasses because they know a martial art. The other kids didn't stop giving me crap until I had proven to be a good runner on the track/cross country teams(and was taller than the rest of those tiny bastards). But by that point I was almost in high school, when I'd quit taking lessons back in grade school.

Don't get me wrong, I would recommend it over soccer, baseball, or something like that. Just know that there are other factors involved in de-sissyfying your children.

**Patch** · 07-22-2009, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by hakubi

As a timid child who eventually became a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, I can assure you that children do not simply become badasses because they know a martial art. The other kids didn't stop giving me crap until I had proven to be a good runner on the track/cross country teams(and was taller than the rest of those tiny bastards). But by that point I was almost in high school, when I'd quit taking lessons back in grade school.

Don't get me wrong, I would recommend it over soccer, baseball, or something like that. Just know that there are other factors involved in de-sissyfying your children.

Making my kids badassses or "de-sissyfying" them isn't what I'm going for.

**EdNEMO** · 07-22-2009, 07:05 PM

I teach martial arts and in the past have taught kids. My biggest recommendation is to make sure what the school is teaching is what you are looking for. A lot of schools teach a lot of discipline and good exercise and almost no practical self defense. While others do the opposite. Occasionally you find one that does both.

As Dave S mentioned on here, Wing Chun is a great martial art to get your kids into. It is very fast, teaches excellent hand eye coordination and is heavy in discipline. Perfect for kids and frankly anybody. However it is ideally aimed at people with thinner athletic builds. Not that anybody could not do it, but their other martial arts better suited for larger people. Ones that take advantage of the extra weight and strength.

TKD is usually taught as a sport by people that are in a long line of people that have learned it as such. Occasionally you will come across someone who is a total TKD badass. TKD can be fast and powerful to someone who trains hard and knows what they are doing. But just be warned if anyone tells you high flashy kicks are going to save your butt in a fight, start taking what they are saying with a grain of salt. But if nothing else, TKD is a great starting point and the people teaching it are well instructed on how to teach kids.

**Pick The System!** · 07-22-2009, 07:05 PM

I take BJJ every week and it's been great - we have an adult class and a kids class at the place I practice. Martial arts is really a lot of fun - it's a great way to get/stay in shape and it also helps with discipline, overall respect and setting/achieving goals one step at a time.

Definitely a lot of fun. Any form of martial arts is highly recommended.