martial arts

[houseelf]

Any suggestions on what to look for in a martial arts class? We tried a community ed class two years ago and the instructor had little ability to work with kids. Are there any disciplines better than others?

Kelly

[DCJenn]

I'll ask Rick what he took.

Jenn

[MDPhDWife]

We put Isabella in Tae KwonDo at the beginning of this year. She really enjoyed it and I knew nothing about martial arts before that. I did a little research on the net to see what the differences were and they were big. Some are more combative than others, some are more focused on patterns and more dance like. It really depends on what your child is interested in. Some places have sparring other don't.

Most places I looked into offered the first class free so that may be one way of getting a feel for how qualified they are to work with children. I also did not consider any places that had contracts because I didn't want to commit her to something she just wanted to try out. The teacher at the place we chose was amazing, but it didn't take us long to realize Isabella didn't have the attention span for martial arts yet. She was 5 then and we decided we'll probably put her back in when she's 7 or 8. I think it's important for her to learn self defense skills. As it turned out DH got hooked during that time and he's at Tae KwonDo right now.

Hope this helps!

[PrincessFiona]

It probably depends on what you are looking for and the teacher (more than anything else)

Our older 4 are all in Kung Fu. I like it because our teacher includes relaxation exercises at the end of the class, focuses on teaching them respect and discipline and there is a lot of learning of routines....not just teaching punches and kicks etc.

I suggest you go and watch a few classes at a few studios before you decide.

There are many moms who have left our class after a few tries simply because they don't like the approach. They are looking more for a "good time" and...my kids have fun...but they have to be disciplined during class...and moving up with their belts is also dependent on grades at school and their behavior at home! Also, our kung fu teacher doesn't pass you on to the next belt on your first try. She makes the kids repeat certain things sometimes on several diff. days until the "get it." Its not a one-size fits all kind of a thing.

Kris