Family martial arts classes - benefits

Kacey

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A friend of mine (another TKD practitioner) sent me this story:

Martial arts have become a family affair—for moms, dads, and children of all ages. Today, almost half of the sport's 6 million participants are kids between the ages of 6 and 17, and women comprise one-third of the student body, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. There are hundreds of styles of martial arts, such as kick-heavy karate, wrestlinglike jujitsu, and judo, in which an opponent may be held or thrown. Each delivers a great workout and is good for self-defense. But those aren't the only reasons families sign up.

Pretty general, but some good information nonetheless.
 

fireman00

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the dojang I go to is very family oriented; even if the parents don't take classes they are very involved with coaching and reffing; which makes for a very close knit group.

I think most of the older folks like it as they can go full bore when training or make modifications as they/ we get older and things start to creak, groan and rebel.

The younger folks like TKD with the jumping,leaping, spinning kick

All age groups love it because of the friendships that develop.
 

still learning

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Hello, Most parents sign there kids up for ONE reason only! So they can defend themselves from BULLIES and RAPE. They want their kids to be able to fight back.

OK: results, kids gain confidence,fighting skills,make more friends.

Parents take their kids because they love and care about them. This is good. If parents sign-up too even better!

Also the Instuctors/Sensi makes good role models too! Anytime you can help a child/others improve themselves...great for the whole families.

We (Instuctors) love to see the parents stay and watch, become involved with their kids.

The more parents can be a part of the kids everyday lives...(need good parents/parenting) the more the kids will grow up to be a better/stronger person.

PS: MY kids are in the High school Wrestling and Judo team. Yep! my daughter is wrestling too, so far we never miss a match......and my son and I have been doing Kempo since he was 5 years old.

When parents become involved in their kids everyday lives...families grow closer and stronger. Kids gets great ROLE MODELS in return.

............Aloha (give love to your kids 100% all the time)
 

jdinca

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Our school is exceptionally family oriented. Quite often, the parents will bring the kids in to start. Within six months, the parents are on the mat too. Just as often, it's a parent/child duo from the beginning.
 

bluemtn

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The dojang I attend is very much family oriented. If the parents don't join the classes, they're always "roped" in somehow. For example, they end up helping with judging in a school tournament, and from the sounds of some of them, they help with a little bit of training- encouragement wise... It seems like the parents learn right along with their kids. I've seen a lot of parents wind up taking it up a few months later.
 

IcemanSK

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A sister school recently started an "over 30" class for all the parents of the kids who have sat & the waiting room watching their kids. It was pushed by the parents & it's for the parents. It's really successful & a lot of fun for instructors & parents alike!
 

SFC JeffJ

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My wife and I didn't intend for our school to be family oriented, but it became that way after several children signed up, and their parents, instead of just watching from the sidelines, decided to participate in the training alsongside of their children. Heck, just recently, we had a grandfather sign up along with one of his grandsons, and they were a great addition to the class.

Jeff
 

PictonMA

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My wife and I very consciously promoted a family atmosphere when we opened our dojo just over 2 years ago.

We allow (and encourage) parents to train alongside their children, we offer large discounts for families to make it affordable for more than one member to train.

We built a nursery / play room for our two daughters and allow other kids to be their supervised while their parents train.

We wanted an environment that we were comfortable with our children being in and the result is a dojo that very much feels like a family affair with brothers / sisters / fathers / mothers / husbands & wives etc training along side one another or in their individual classes.

It's a bit more work but I think it is worth it in the long run - both for the viability of the dojo as a business venture and for the long term impact of these families having a shared hobby / passion / healthy lifestyle.
 

tellner

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It depends what you mean by "family oriented". There aren't any kids in the Silat classes. The youngest are Guru Plinck's twenty two year old daughter and her husband. But students' spouses train for free. There's always someone to help take care of kids when parents are in class, and pretty much everyone there is extremely family oriented.
 

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