Kenpo?

BluesBerry

Hi
Im sending 2 children 10 and 8 to kenpo the have yellow and orange belts and really enjoy it
Im just looking for advice as Im a bit confused now
Im after reading an old thread from 2006 and a lot of people said kenpo was not effective in a real life fight situation, well thats what I took from it and Im looking for advice I want them to go have fun but at the same time learn a skill that will stand them in life to be able to defend themselves and reading that thread some people said it was a waste of time.

There is a judo club nearby that they have shown interest in also and I have been thinking about sending them to that as well as kenpo but would that be confusing to them would children be able to separate the two different styles of fighting or should I wait till they are older maybe they are too young

They enjoy kenpo so much that I will never stop sending them but I want them to have skill they can use also if god forbid a situation ever arose and they needed to put what they learned into practice

Would it hurt to send them to two different classes?

dyl10

I don't know a whole lot about children and martial arts, only that I briefly did one as a child and do one now.

I think as an 8 and a 10 year old, you should leave them at what they enjoy and let them play/take part in whatever sport they want.

I did less than a years worth of boxing as a child (a sport considered relatively poor for self defense) and I definitely don't think I needed more than that.

From a non-martial arts/my own moral perspective, knowing how to punch someone and knowing how to run away is quite enough for a child or teen.

The Shane

I did Kenpo for a few years, got to Brown belt, did a lot of teaching of kids. Left it then when I got interested in MMA and sub wrestling and such. I've been around a lot of the arguments from early on when the MMA community and the older for want of a better word more traditional styles argued over efficacy and street readiness.


I've even seen a fair few fights and assaults and all of this leads me to believe that training to be a world class mma fighter is probably your best bet in terms of self defence. Aside from that and especially with respect to children then training in a club that allows free play, a bit of tussling and through these things develops balance and coordination and an appreciation of not getting in fights is second best.

I'm not trying to bash a style or anything but go to the Kenpo class and see how much activity there is for your kids, how engaged they are and how much they get to fight/play with/against each other and compare that to the judo class. Whichever one has them more active go with that. All in all I'd be more concerned about having to fight a rugby player than most martial artists.

If any of these places start talking about or showing "lethal" techniques kids then ditch them. You'll end up with a kid poking someone in the eye or throat or worse thinking they're a bad ass and getting in stupid fights.

Shane, The

antybots

Hi,

Personally, I wouldn't make decisions based on things I read on the internet. For every opinion you read, you'll find the exact opposite opinion somewhere else. My own opinion is that it takes a lot of hard, pressure-based training to prepare for self defense. You have to ask yourself if you want your kids to train that way and are your kids willing to put in that kind of hard training?

If your kids are happy doing what they are doing then my advice is to leave them get on with it. By all means, send them to judo if they want to go, but I think you should leave the self defense thing to the back of your mind until they're a bit older.

truebluesac

hi blue ,

i studied kenpo for many years and then moved to MMA . i found that my stand up fighting was at a very high level . and just really had to work on my ground game .

as for self defence i was a door man for years and worked some hairy pubs and clubs and never had any problems holding my own even with mutiple attackers .

i belive for kids that a good instructor is the key . 1 that motivates the kids and gets them goin . also 1 that keeps their interest for the wole class .

fighting at young ages is good as they get used to hittin and being hit . (obiously not overly hard ) . so any MA where they fight regulatly and get good 1 on 1 interaction is a good base for the future

ps I am still involved in Kenpo since retireing from the mma circuit and teach kids regularly . I am not sayin that kenpo is better than any other style but i belive its the instructor that makes the difference and ho they interact with the students . so if the kids are enjoying it and they are fighting somewhat . leave them there

yomchi

Hi OP, I always try not to get invovled in threads where the parents send baby's to learn how to 'fight' so to speak. If the kids are enjoying it and having a good time learning social skills and the club is sport based where they will be improving core skills and motor function well then that's where they need to be irregardless of the style.

Scrapping on the street or in school is part of growing up as is taking the odd hiding every now and then. If it happens, it happens at least they will have their Kenpo training to look forward to on bad days.

Darren Mahony

Hi there
I just thought as a Kenpo Instructor I'd add my 10 cent. Most of the guys already hit the nail on the head. The most important thing is the Instructor and how active the kids are kept. In Kenpo as in Judo and all MA's there are good and bad instructors. If a kid is going to a completly sport based club but the Instructor is good then thay will still learn skills that they can use to defend themselves, if they are going to a completly self defence based club but the Instructor isn't great then thay probably won't learn much to defend themselves with.
If the kids are getting a good balance of activity, sparring and self defence and gaining discipline and confidence as well as having some fun then they are in a good club and I'd leave them where they are. If you think they are not getting this and it can be gotten elsewhere then I would think about moving them. This is not one type of MA versus another, it just boils down to a good Insrtuctor giving well balanced and delivered classes.

Regards
Darren Mahony
EKKA