Which art?

denn

Hi

My son, who is nearly 6, wants to join a martial art. I however have no real idea about which one would be best for him at his age. Im thinking of either kick boxing or kung-fu. Any opinions?

Dragan

Hey Denn, ask him what he wants to do.

I remember when i was a kid i saw "Best of the Best" when i was about 10 and all i wanted was to do martial arts.

A friend of mine used to see his Dad training and wanted to do it.

Another friend used to be bullied in school and wanted to do it.

What i'm driving at here is find out why he wants to do one and then find one that is suitable for him!!! If he saw Rocky and wants to box then signing him up for TKD may not fuel his passion!!

There bound to be a reason for his desire, there always is, and if you can nuture it the right way now then your setting him on a great path for the rest of his life.:)

dlofnep

Where do you live? What do you want out of the martial art? A hobby? Practical self defense? Somewhere to have a bit of fun and give him self respect or all of the above?

arybvtcw0eolkf

Ok I feel I can speak with the benefit of experience, and I also backup what Dragan has to say.

When my son wanted to start training I didn't automatically take him with me, although he'd seen me train. I took him around some clubs, and even like Dragan brought him out to Pat White's 'Best of the Best'.

He eventually followed me into kickboxing, although at a different gym because thats the one that 'clicked' with him.

He was the same age as your son, and still going strong now at 15.

Btw, it would help the people here to know what area of the country your coming from as some are better served with great kiddies clubs while other's less so.

cowzerp

Eveyone is different as stated by the lads but if he was my son i'd get him into kickboxing at an early age and get him to learn boxing in a few years and then learn a grappling art also-then mma could be an option or he might favour 1 of the above and stick with that, if he's going to do 1 i'd try make it benefit him so choose wisely!

Roper

I've said this before but it bears repeating I think.

At 6, the most important things are safety and fun. If you don't have that it doesn't make a lick of difference how interested a kid is initially, if they're getting hurt and not enjoying themselves then they won't have a good experience and won't want to go back. The "what" comes a distant third after those two.

Anyway, my own personal recommendation for kids of that age is my own club
No seriously post up where you're living and you might get more specific reccomendations.

denn

living in smithfield

denn

Hey Folks

Thanks very much for all the replies. Im livibg in smithfield, dublin 7. My son wants to join because he loves power rangers and the dare devil etc. He has so much energy its unreal and he loves playing fighting (as all lads do). I think roper hit the nail on the head-if my son was hurt in the first few weeks of his training I think he would be afraid to return-hes full of gusto but he also frightens easily enough. There is a martial arts centre just off manor street but I hear its quite expensive-however if its the best place for him then the expense wouldnt stiop me sending him. As someone who knows practicaly zero about martial arts let me ask what may be a silly question: as kung-fu or katate has more emphasis on forms and katas than kickboxing (I think) would one of those styles be better for a child as there is probably less actual fighting? (sorry if thats a silly question)

denn

Also whats TKD and MMA?

SorGan

not silly questions at all mate,
mma.. mixed martial arts
tkd ..tae kwon do
kick boxing is what it says on the tin..
karate/kung fu(?typeunkown) would give time toward forms/kata.
as a kid i enjoyed the forms and training in karate/tkd. and have pushed my nephew towards the same(6)
i never did kick boxing as a kid so..?

Colm_OReilly

Hi Denn,

Move to Firhouse, and have him join my club!

Barring that, from what I've seen from the kids at www.sbgnorthside.com they're well instructed in self discipline, the enjoyment of sport, are excellent skill wise and have a great family mentality in their club. Barry (Roper) also is a fantastic coach too. But I know essentially nothing about the geography of the North Side or how far you can travel.

Other avenues are judo or boxing clubs, which will have a sporting mentality. Whether they're child friendly or not I can't say directly. Rugby is also a sport which has a great junior coaching structure and a perfect avenue for him to play at a multitude of levels as he grows.

Colm
-Thinking both in and outside the box

cowzerp

Colm_OReilly wrote:

Hi Denn,

other avenues are judo or boxing clubs, which will have a sporting mentality. Whether they're child friendly or not I can't say directly. Rugby is also a sport which has a great junior coaching structure and a perfect avenue for him to play at a multitude of levels as he grows.

Colm
-Thinking both in and outside the box

Most boxing clubs wont take kids till 10 years of age-boxing training is very tough and not really ideal for young kids as its a lot about mental toughness-start boxing about 10-12 ideally-i'd say judo would be very good though..

Nothingcompares

There are two good kids clubs quite close to wear you live. KO martial arts at the end of grifith avenue extension and Staight Blast Gym in Baldoyle. You may try either or both and see if they suit himself and yourself.

Roper

Hey Denn,
We're not a million miles from Smithfield of you fancy travelling. Classes for your son's age group are at 5pm Tuesdays and Fridays (not on tomorrow though!).

ColinJennings

I'd recommend any grappling art. Be it judo, Brazillian Ju Jitsu or whatever is close. A striking art for someone that age can be very difficult.

With a grappling art you get to throw and fight people without the danger inherent in a striking art. And I did a grappling art (judo) when I was younger and absolutely loved it.

Xx iFight xX

I teach kids now and again (tkd), I'm only 18 but they seem to respond better to me than some of the older black belts. I would say the best thing is to have a good teacher. Any martial art is useless without one.

For young kids I would recommend Taekwon-do (ITF) or Kenpo. Reason being that they don't promote contact but work more on control. Don't bring them to a fitness club cause the prices are way too high and they are usually pretty bad

But again the Instructor/teacher is the most important thing

Edit: Colin, selling out your own MA, for shame.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Ok now that we know your in Smithfield we can move on from there.

Checkout Jon' from this forum, he teaches children TKD up in Cabra. I don't have his contact details to hand, but he run's a nutritian shop up in Phibsboro, almost opposite 'Pearl River' take away. You could drop in and chat to him there.

Some mentioned Judo as an option. Well you have Coolmine Judo club not too far away from you, although I'm not sure if they have a juniors club.

Really your spoiled for choice coming from Smithfield.

Cog

denn wrote:

Hey Folks

Thanks very much for all the replies. Im livibg in smithfield, dublin 7. My son wants to join because he loves power rangers and the dare devil etc. He has so much energy its unreal and he loves playing fighting (as all lads do). I think roper hit the nail on the head-if my son was hurt in the first few weeks of his training I think he would be afraid to return-hes full of gusto but he also frightens easily enough. There is a martial arts centre just off manor street but I hear its quite expensive-however if its the best place for him then the expense wouldnt stiop me sending him. As someone who knows practicaly zero about martial arts let me ask what may be a silly question: as kung-fu or katate has more emphasis on forms and katas than kickboxing (I think) would one of those styles be better for a child as there is probably less actual fighting? (sorry if thats a silly question)

Hi denn, if you live in smithfield, the Martial Arts Inc is the nearest club that offers a good kids program. It's just off manor street, so it's probably the one you're talking about. There's two programs that would suit your six year old, Little ninjas and Kickin Kids. Details are in the link below (towards the bottom).

http://www.martialartsinc.com/classes.php

I train there myself, and I've been around when the kids classes are on. It looks like they have a lot of fun, and I've never seen anyone get hurt in either of the classes. Considering I train nearly every day directly after these classes, that's significant. As for the price, I don't think it's that expensive, but I've never done a kids class so I don't know. I think it's around 15 or 20 euro for two or three classes or something. Even so, the place is clean and safe, there are mats which the children use and the instructors are very good, and seem to deal with the kids very well.

My advice is to try that out and watch at least part of his first few classes. If you're happy, great and if you aren't, find somewhere else.