Self Defence for 6 year old

leuler

Anyone here know what the best discipline would be for learning a 6 year old self defence. It is just to get him started, not for fighting, but for self defence, would Judo be best or is there something else.

Black Swan

We have instructed 6's in the past, but they typically are not physically or mentally ready for self defense. Given these limitations, 6's can improve their fitness, strength, flexibility, balance, attention span, and discipline. Some may gain a bit of automaticity for a few basic moves after many repetitions, provided that they are properly motivated and reinforced. Some playful instruction for this age group should be included in the curriculum, because it's fun for them, and they keep coming back for more.

The MA discipline for this age group is not as important as the ability and motivation of the instructor teaching them. Shop around. Observe this age group being taught at various MA schools.

cowzerp

Judo seems good for kids as does most grappling arts, most martial arts at that age I find to be lost on kids though.
From a self defense point of view I think martial arts will have no benefit till 9-10 or so, even then it will be minor.

I'd get him doing everything available to build confidence, football, Gaa, the best athletes tend to have built coordination doing many activities growing up.

At 6 fun is the key

youllneverknow

They are 6 they dont need self defence they need a sport. Kids will fight and then 5 minutes later they will be friends again.

I coach kids from 6 to 13. and i must say the 6 year olds are the most disciplined.

My club is Kyuzo Gym and we teach them Brazilian Jiu Jit Su which is a grappling art.

yomchi

I agree with the posters above, a kid should not be learning self defence at 6 years old. They need a positive sporting environment that encourages participation, motor skills (agility doesn't become a focus until closer to 9) co-ordination and balance. Like what was said also, it's really important to get a club that has the right person teaching the kids at this age.

We have a Little Kickers programme which is taught by one of our black belts who is a primary school teacher - the class is a blast, feel free to drop in and check it out.

Red Star Sport Taekwon-Do
Unit 8 Tolka Valley Business Park
Ballyboggan Road
D.11

SorGan

leuler wrote: »

Anyone here know what the best discipline would be for learning a 6 year old self defence. It is just to get him started, not for fighting, but for self defence, would Judo be best or is there something else.

confidence is all you need to stand up for yourself in the early days, grab some sports based martial arts youtube vids and see if anything grabs his/her interest..

laoch na mona

plenty of children do tkd

leuler

Many thanks to all the posters for their replies. It would seem the main thing at his age is to help him gain confidence in his own ability. I will check out the local sports and just let him enjoy playing.

Gluteus maximus

Any martial arts Summer camps for 6 - 7 year olds out there? Dublin or Cork?

Cork24

Little ninjas is based in cork good for little ones they train in Taekwondo

Judo is also great for them if you don't mind traveling one of the best clubs in cork is in macroom

Alot of training done their is A+

da mo

In short, the best sport for him would be the one he's most motivated for.
I've had many benefits from starting Judo at age 6: learning to fall, interact, confidence etc.
At the moment I'm instructing kids from 5 up in kung fu. For some of them it is about fun, for others about learning, and a percentage of them benefits in 'self-defence' even at young age (say 7y).
It all depends on the child, the key really is motivation. You'll see from his reactions if it's the right sport / club / teacher for him or not. If they're motivated, they can go far and benefit a lot. There's no use in pushing them one direction or another, in my opinion.
Also I notice a big change in concentration when kids are 7 or 8 years of age, this in relation to your words 'discipline' and 'learning'
Hope this helps