Martial Arts For Kids - Which And Why

Do kids belong in martial arts?

There are a lot of martial arts options available for kids, and it's common for kids programs to financially keep the doors open for martial arts schools. Neither of those things means that kids belong in martial arts, nor that the available programs are well thought out or actually appropriate for children, but only that there is a demand for the classes and a supply to meet that demand.

The question of whether or not to enroll one's kids in a martial arts program is one that parents should consider carefully, and it's not something to take lightly. The goals and realistic expectations of various arts in terms of self defense is something that I have discussed in an earlier post, but those goals and expectations should be very different for children. The only way the adult goals really affect the child's goals should be for their childhood training to form a solid base for later adult training, as very few people are thinking of self defense as a primary reason to put their kid into a martial art.

Parents should carefully think about what their goals are as well as what their child's goals may be, when sending their kids to a martial arts school. These goals should drive the decision to train or not train, and if so, where to train.

To answer my own question; yes kids belong in martial arts, but where they should be training is highly dependant on goals.

Let's talk goals

Full disclosure: I am not a parent, but I have taught kids Kung Fu and Judo. Here are some goals that I commonly heard from parents:

• Find a physical activity that the kid will want to do

• Find something we can do together as a family

• Find a place for the kid to make friends

• Keep them safe from bullies

• Have them live out my dream of being in the UFC

• Teach them discipline

Physical Activity

Wanting your kids to be involved in physical activities is basic good parenting. Kids need exercise and if yours finds martial arts appealing that may be enough to get them interested.

When it comes to success in sports, I think that the sooner that children learn hand eye coordination and develop their spatial awareness, the better, so my suggestion is to get them into some sort of gymnastics program as early as possible. Gymnastics programs are one type of activity suggested by the pediatricians at healthychildren.org for children 2-5 years old in their guide to sports and ages, along with swimming, and running.

The benefits of getting an education in tumbling will be felt through any physical activities the child will encounter throughout their life, and if you follow my advice and put your child into Judo, being comfortable with tumbling will help them advance quickly and avoid injuries. Some gymnastics schools start as young as three years old, and I wouldn't start a child in Judo before five or six years old depending on the kid.

Judo is an excellent choice for kids because it is a controlled environment for their natural desire to roughhouse. Of course, not every kid is going to like to roughhouse, but in my experience it's an instinct that kids, especially boys feel, and some form of wrestling can be a great way for them to blow off energy that might get otherwise channeled into acting up. It's also good that Judo's most dangerous techniques (chokes and arm locks) are not allowed for children, and get phased in for teens, allowing children to focus on the wrestling aspects first.

When it comes to exercise, while Taekwondo, Karate or Kung fu provide good exercise, there's something about wrestling with another person that is more tiring than striking. I think it has something to do with having resistance through an entire range of motions. I do know that my caloric needs jumped when I switched from Kung Fu to Judo, and I was very active in my Kung Fu training.

Family Activity

I had families as members of my kung fu school, and currently train with several families at my dojo, and in my experience, when parents do martial arts with their kids it can be a great family bonding experience and often the parents are surprised at how much value they get out of their own training.

One nice thing about Judo for families is that while size and strength will always be a big factor, junior is probably at dome point going to be able to overcome the size difference and get the best of their parent in groundwork before they can do the same in standing randori (judo sparring.) That can be a fun rivalry for a period and be something that the kid and parent both enjoy a lot.

This applies as well or better to siblings, who can be great training partners for each other, and again in my opinion, it's easier to work around size differences between training partners in a grappling art versus a striking one.

Make Friends

When it comes to making friends, most martial arts are going to do just fine in this regard, I don't think that Judo has any particular advantage. It's important that the dojo be a good one and maintain a positive, safe and fun environment. If the place is run by good instructors and the kids are friendly that is a good sign, so trust your gut as a parent with this one.

Bullying defense

This is admirable, but often misguided as most martial art schools don't have dedicated anti-bully training and some may even be teaching dubious techniques or at least not reinforcing the realities that size and strength bring to the table. I don't claim to be some sort of expert in the matter of anti bully training but I think the following things are true:

• Kids that have self confidence are less likely to be bullied

• If the bullying gets physical, kids who do Judo are used to using their techniques against resisting opponents, and having to deal with size differences, kids in less "interactive" arts (I'm talking about sparring) may never have pressure tested their techniques.

• In today's zero tolerance to violence schools, a kid who responds to an attack by wrestling the attacker to the ground and pinning them is going to look less "violent" than the one who kicks the attacker in the head.

I'm not going to trash the currently available anti bully training available, as I have no idea if they are well thought out and effective, so if protection from bullying is your main goal you may want to investigate them further. I'm just suggesting that a kid who takes Judo is getting the tools to be resistant to bullying.

Future UFC champion

Obviously vicariously living out your own dreams through your child is bad parenting, but for the sake of this discussion we're going to focus on the fact that many of the great martial artists in history started as children. In my opinion a future fighting champion should initially train in some form of wrestling as a child.

Depending on where you live, pee wee wrestling may or may not be available, but where wrestling is not available, Judo usually is. Give your future warrior a solid base in grappling before they learn any striking. As to when to start the striking training, that depends a lot on the kid. I feel that striking requires a bit more understanding of the repercussions of a fight than wrestling does (for young children.)

Only you know when your child is ready to learn how to punch and kick another child and understand the moral implications of that act. As to which striking art to choose, again your location is going to matter as pee wee boxing also doesn't exist everywhere, but it's probably the best option to start with. Assuming there is no quality youth boxing program available, then I would suggest the best local striking option if a decent one can be found. Both Taekwondo and Karate have had strong showings in MMA recently but they came out of hard hitting schools, not strip mall black belt factories.

Once they are a teen, the future champ needs to be in a quality youth MMA program if they are to have a shot at the UFC title and earning that elusive parental approval.

Discipline

While it is true that martial arts training can be a part of teaching a child discipline, this has been by far the most frustrating goal that I encountered as an instructor. Discipline begins and ends in the home, and if there is none there, then all the martial arts in the world are not going to help.

That being said, if the parents are doing their job at home, Judo can be an effective learning tool for many aspect of one's life (as was intended by the founder) and particularly the lesson that if one is in an unpleasant situation, panicking won't help, but staying calm, relying on one's training, and looking for solutions can help. I can't decide if the most important lesson taught by Judo is to stay calm in rough situations, or how to fall down without injury, but both are great lessons for kids to learn.

Judo also builds discipline in that there are no shortcuts to skill in Judo; randori (sparring) and shiai (competitions) are direct physical feedback on one's skills and improvement, which in itself can help build a better understanding of oneself.

Informed decison

I hope that you now have the information that you need to assess your goals, and if martial arts are right for your family, a good idea of what to look for in your local area.

Now get your future Judo Olympian or UFC champ into the dojo!