whats a good age for a child to start learning MA

[suicide]

3 - 4- 5 years old ?

 

[Tez3]

4

 

[Nolerama]

4.5 to be on the safe side. That first semester of pre school is super stressful

 

[Tez3]

4.5 to be on the safe side. That first semester of pre school is super stressful

Our kids start proper school at that age, parents love it lol! pre-school is up to four then primary school for the little dears

 

[Nolerama]

Our kids start proper school at that age, parents love it lol! pre-school is up to four then primary school for the little dears

So you're saying the kiddos in the UK learn the Death Touch at 7??

Wicked.

 

[just2kicku]

5 to 5.5 depending on their attention span. If not then 6

 

[Shinobi Teikiatsu]

I'm gonna have to say six or seven.

There should also be no belt rankings below the age of 12, because I've seen some 8 year old black belts get their asses handed to them, and I think it's really degenerative to the child if you make them think they have power they don't.

 

[Tez3]

So you're saying the kiddos in the UK learn the Death Touch at 7??

Wicked.

My Little Dragons are a secret band of ninjers, righting rights, wronging wrongs...er well maybe not!
My youngest students are 4, we basically have fun, learning to listen, to do basic kicks and punches, practising balancing, motor skills and hand eye co-ordination. Stranger danger too. It's really a prep class for the proper childrens class that they'll join when they are seven, they grade in junior grades and no one will get a black belt before they are 18, they can have a cadet black at 16 but it's very plain to all that it's not an adult grade.
As we are a 'fighting' club we are maybe a little more full on than many clubs. We teach the children grappling, Judo, BJJ etc as well as karate and MT skills. Two reasons for this, one, to enable them to go on and do MMA when older if they wish and secondly because they are mostly service children who will only be with us for about 3 before moving on, we like to give them tastes of as many different styles and MA customs as we can so they will feel at home in which ever style they do in their next club.

 

[Bruno@MT]

I agree on the no belt rankings below 12.

Anyway, 6 to 8 seems about right. I was a sempai in youth jiu-jitsu classes, and in my experience, 6 was really the lower limit. Not all kids are suitable yet.

Of course, my oldest daughter is 3, and she is always curious when I am doing stretch exercises. So I have started to make her do simple stretching routines regularly. NOT to make her more flexible, but rather that she retains her flexibility. I'd like for her to get into MA at some point (I'd like both of my daughters to be able to take care of themselves).

I learned that if you lose your flexibility, getting it back is a long and painful affair. If I can prevent them from losing their childhood flexibility, it'll be a huge bonus for them if they ever start MA.

My dream (which is mabye just that) is that in 5 years time, I will have advanced sufficiently that I can teach them myself.

 

[still learning]

Hello, If a child wants to learn? ....4 years and up? ....is OK...but is force to go to classes? maybe when they are older after 5 years old.

As a rule of thumb when teaching children? ...4 year old will have your attention for 4 minutes, a five year old- 5 minutes, etc..

Therefore any Instuctor will have to keep changing or keep things fun and exciting for the kids to be focus...on there training...than any age is not as important, if the kids are having fun too!

Some kids will need to be older? 50 and up?

...at our school we have except 4 years old....and many do drop out, including 5,6,7,8.teens, adults..etc

If a child wants to learn....any age?

Aloha,

 

[Thems Fighting Words]

Depends on the child and quality of instruction. I started when I was four but had to pass a test. I ended up as a live-in student due to my social situation and there was a lot of one on one. However, my eldest daughter is already ten but isn't emotionally mature enough that I am willing to teach her (also I lack the patience to teach such a youngster and my training is pretty draconian and would be considered child abuse). I've thought of sending her to other martial arts schools, but they have too many students and lack one on one time.

 

[searcher]

5 to 5.5 depending on their attention span. If not then 6

just2kicku-hit on the defining point when a child can start training. Their attention span. Some kids could go as young as 3 or 4, but I have seen some that were not ready at 8 or 9. Currently I ahve only taken one child under age 5, but the child was a prodigy. The kid could speak 3 languages and was going to skip 3 grades in school at the age of 4. He was not very common. I have parents ask me all the time if their 3-4 YO can start and I tell them NO.

I agree on the no belt rankings below 12.

As far as rank goes, why no rank below 12YO ? Is that the age you were when you started?

If they know the material are they can perform it at the level required, then they deserve the rank. I make it a junior rank at brown and BB, but they can test for adult rank at 16. I am just curious.

 

[geezer]

If they know the material are they can perform it at the level required, then they deserve the rank. I make it a junior rank at brown and BB, but they can test for adult rank at 16.

I think that your making brown and black belts a "junior rank" for kids is an important qualifier. Traditionally in my style (Wing Tsun), kids were supposed to be around 13 before starting. But then again, the traditional teaching methods were probably pretty dull... I have a friend who has successfully taught groups of kids as young as six a modified curricullum. And, personally, I find that some kids seem to be born grapplers. Depending on attention span, they could probably start learning wrestling or judo as young as 4.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I think another good question is not so much the age but...... will they stick with it. We all know kids and adults who start but then stop and lose all the benefits they would have had.

 

[terryl965]

We start them at 4 and for the most part they can preform at there level, remember a child is just that a child. Real training starts around 8 and goes on from there until they hit 15 ansd then it is time for a adult BB test and it is up to them on whether they pass or not.

 

[Shinobi Teikiatsu]

As far as rank goes, why no rank below 12YO ? Is that the age you were when you started?

Think about it this way. A child can start martial arts training at 3 years old.

Then at 9 years old they're a purple belt (I'm just grabbing a random color and saying it's pretty high up in rank) alongside the rest of the adults in their class who started at a similar time. Now, place that child and a regular flully grown man in a fight. The child is going to think they have excellent skills due to the adults next to them also having some. The fact of the matter is, even if a child is serious about their martial arts training, at any age before puberty they're still basically fragile children.

I'm not saying don't give them belt incentives, and some schools are doing the right idea by adding a special ranking system for children, but be sure they know that they're being trained TO train, not that they're learning what the adults are.

 

[arnisador]

I don't think you can engage the average child in serious, meaningful training until they're about 12 or so. But before that you can do a lot to keep loose and limber. Teaching them a few kicks at an early age will keep those muscles flexible; getting them in some grappling will help their confidence on the ground; encouraging them to move, bob, and weave will keep them from feeling they must always block a technique.

But in most arts I think that if you start one kid at 4 and another at 12 and both study diligently then there'll be little difference in their abilities by 18. Until their bodies change and they get all the benefits that come with it--most notably the physical strength and increased maturity and focus--it's more about keeping their interest in the arts than them being able to really appreciate how their adult bodies will generate power with these techniques.

 

[searcher]

Then at 9 years old they're a purple belt (I'm just grabbing a random color and saying it's pretty high up in rank) alongside the rest of the adults in their class who started at a similar time. Now, place that child and a regular flully grown man in a fight. The child is going to think they have excellent skills due to the adults next to them also having some. The fact of the matter is, even if a child is serious about their martial arts training, at any age before puberty they're still basically fragile children.

The same could be said for adults. All a belt is for is to show the level of knowledge that an individual has, not necessarily their fighting ability. I can have 2 adults that have the same rank and one will be able to out-preform the other.

 

[Gordon Nore]

I've no problems with kids training at age four or five, but it really should be a truncated version of training that older students experience. The little ones take well to the mats, and you can get them rolling and falling safely very early. If you're teaching them this young, it's really an activity -- which is fine -- and not martial arts training.

My HKD club operated through parks and rec, and we used to run a class for 4-5 y/olds. I think it was listed as 'little tyke' or 'tiny tyke' karate on the city's calendar or some such thing. It was very stripped down -- all white belts. The kids who moved on to the regular classes did not grade any faster than those who joined us later.

 

[Ronin74]

So you're saying the kiddos in the UK learn the Death Touch at 7??

Wicked.

Only after they've learned basic knife-fighting techniques.