[Closed] Best martial art for a child?

Brazilian jiu-jitsu or failing that Judo.

My Karate club starts them at 5. My kids started at 5 and 7 and after 3 years both are doing well, especially the younger one.

It all depends on the dynamic of the particular class though, our club was originally the school club.

Are you going to do it with him?

110% brazillian jiu jitsu. There's no striking and victories/losses count for nothing as you can get beaten by anyone at anytime. Happens to me all the time.

Make sure it's a gi school though. No gi schools teach leg submissions and I've heard a lot of horror stories about peoples knees getting torn apart due to over excited idiots.

The type of art is the second question. The first is what's the sensei like. Unless you have dreams of your offspring becoming ufc of the world, then of all the great stuff to gain from martial arts, the ability to beat people up is the least of it.

Find someone who teaches respect, discipline, control etc more than techniques and you've found the right place.

^ correct.

Our original Sensei was the kids' head mistress. She's 4th Dan.

onza dog

The type of art is the second question. The first is what’s the sensei like.

This is partly true, partly false. My brother in law runs a youth boxing club. He's a brilliant coach, really knows how to engage with and motivate kids to compete well and instill confidence and discipline in them. He's also teaching them head trauma and making them diet like supermodels. So with all the best of intentions, he's hurting his students.

Find someone who teaches respect, discipline, control etc more than techniques and you’ve found the right place.

The thing is, grappling arts self select for respect, discipline and control in a 100% organic way without having to force it with ritual, ceremony or shouting. Also, they might spend a lot of time training, and you might spend a lot of time travelling/watching and money so it might as well be on something that is effective and useful.

Find someone who teaches respect, discipline, control etc more than techniques and you’ve found the right place.

And this is exactly why I want him to do one. He’s got so much energy it needs focussing and I think a martial art will be good for him...

Not knowing much about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I'd say Judo.  In these times of ubiquitous recordings throws, grappling and restraints  look far, far better in terms of "witness perception" than any strike, no matter how justified the strike may be in the circumstances.

This came home when my son was attacked by the local chav hero as his mates recorded it on their phones. He rode a punch to the face and a kick to the knackers before he closed in and threw him with a simple hip throw. The hero spent three days in hospital and had to have surgery to a broken arm and elbow. The phone footage was seen by the police who immediately sided with the big lad who was clearly seen with his arms folded up until the time he was punched in the face, before defending himself with a single effective move. It went in his favour that he gave first aid and called the ambulance while the hero rolled on the ground still threatening him. Mrs Scape told me off for shouting "Ipon!" when I first saw the footage.......

Agree it's as much about the instructor and the non-martial aspects.

I'd suggest judo. I took martial arts up in my teens for 10 years or so, and learning how to fall properly has proved invaluable as I've moved on to cycling....

Agree on Judo.  I found it immediately good fun (I did it from aged 8 - 12).  Also very useful for defence and ability to fall which comes in very handy.

My 6 year-old boy has been doing Muay Thai kickboxing for a year and loves it.

He'd been suffering at the hands of a bully at school and whilst Mum, Boy, School and I went down the official protocol route (when the school eventually recognised what was happening) we also decided to get him doing a martial art. Aside from the generic physical training and conditioning, as striking forms of MA go Muay Thai is the most effective and most efficient. He knows to only use it defensively outside of classes.

The psychological benefit comes not from knowing that he can fight, but from not being particularly intimidated by the threat of being hit. He can block, parry and guard against most punching and kicking attacks. Sparring is really confidence building.

All in all, I'd highly recommend it. Plus the kit is fairly cheap - a pair of thai shorts, gum shield and a pair of boxing gloves are all that's needed. About £40 in total.

Judo does have a reputation for being very well organised and geared towards youngsters in this country.  I believe Sheffield might also offer some aikido options. While it often comes in for some stick for being very traditional and true to its roots, and therefore not as effective in a defensive situation it does have some benefits.

O'sensei believe in using martial arts for personal growth so it does tick all the boxes previously mentioned about respect, control and discipline. In regard to its efficacy, it does take longer to be proficient than most other martial arts but it gives the mind just as much of a workout as the body. I always found it particularly interesting.

Was also taught to Tokyo riot police and Sensei Joe Thambu used to work some of the roughest doors in Australia and proved how effective good aikido could be used to control a situation with what appeared to be fairly innocuous actions.

As mentioned above, nothing hits an adversary quite as hard as the ground.

everyone will claim there is the best so the real question is what do you want them to learn - self control, respect, or the ability to  defend them self ? Decide on that and then pick the club

I would avoid the MC Dojo types and my favourite clubs are where a wizened old man does the lessons for £4 and does it for the love. I think that matters more than the exact art you learn as all are effective against someone who knows nothing and no art imeans you will never ever be beaten*

* BJJ is the closest but in the real word its not that great n the streets and not much use against multiple opponents

Krav Maga. It’s a tough world out there...

Thanks all. On the basis of a) it’s pretty local to me and b) the classes get excellent reviews, particularly for kids and just to get him going, I’ve gone for K1 Kickboxing.

First class is Tuesday- he’s *very* excited!

My kids started Taekwondo at 5 and 7 and are now 12 and 14, we just wanted them to try different things. They are now competing and winning at National level as black belts. I just asked them why they keep doing it and they said it was fun and has always been fun. Find a club that makes it fun and welcoming and they will want to come back, i don't think it really matters which martial art it is. But I think it helps that Taekwondo is an olympic sport because it gives them something to follow, and they have also met Jade Jones and she really made an impression on them

What's the one where you learn to backflip across the playground?

Gymnastics.

I agree wholeheartedly with junkyards comments about mcdojo. Not to say all martial arts businesses are bad but it's a lot easier to stay true to what you're doing when you only have to cover a few quid for the village hall rather than make enough to pay your mortgage.

onzadog

I agree wholeheartedly with junkyards comments about mcdojo. Not to say all martial arts businesses are bad but it’s a lot easier to stay true to what you’re doing when you only have to cover a few quid for the village hall rather than make enough to pay your mortgage.

Sorry mate, you're both talking tripe.

Well jimjam, you've got us both there with that well reasoned discussion.  I'll remember not to offer the benefits of my personal experience when it's relevant to the discussion if I see you on any other threads.

Sorry for being terse but I just don't think I have the time or the energy to get into it, especially since it's a thread about children's martial arts and the op has answered it himself.  Your comments about Aikido and Junkyard's "insight" about BJJ in the streets are so misguided and show such a lack of experience and knowledge that I can't span that gap, and "McDojo" is completely irrelevant here in any way shape or form.

If you're online this evening and you still feel like debating it we could start a new thread or just pick this one up at a tangent since the OP's needs have been met.

Your apology for the terse response it appreciated and accepted.

Might be interesting to continue the discussion. I'm curious to know how my comments based in my experience can show a lack of experience. I'll accept that my experiences will more than likely be different from yours but I don't see why they should be any less valid.

Pick a martial art and be a dick about it. It’s the law. 😉

Stinks of testosterone in here.

Considering taking my kids to a Karate class, chosen purely because it's walking distance from the house.

See which one their friends go to as well. Our 3 local Karate clubs a full of other school kids that they know and members of their Cub pack.

Krav Maga.

It seems to be the mcdojo martial art of choice currently. I also suspect any good teachers would probably have a minimum age for it.

For kids as others have said the teacher is very important (true for adults as well for even more important for kids). Plus also need to see what the kid likes. Most people prefer one range or another and best to start with that.,

It seems to be the mcdojo martial art of choice currently. I also suspect any good teachers would probably have a minimum age for it.

I was joking...

I started my son in Karate 3 years ago at age 6 and he is on track to be a black belt  by the time he is 12. Karate has given him self confidence and he has learnt that if something’s worth having it’s worth working hard for!

Now that Karate is an Olympic sport he has his sights set on being an Olympian 🙂 I think that choosing a martial art which has lots of exposure is a good idea. It’s good for the little ones to see it on TV and believe that it’s ‘cool’ to do it.

But yes- starting him in Karate is possibly the best decision I’ve ever made on his behalf . I joined up a year later and it’s possibly the best thing I’ve ever done too. I wish I started years ago. We are on track to get our black belts at the same time.  That will be a proud day in the Geologist household .

It's worth looking at the club's competition results.  Make sure you find the actual governing body for the sport because there are a lot of "World Champions" out there whose World Championship consisted of a half dozen clubs.

It will end up with you driving half way across the country every other weekend but kids like winning trophies and having a close knit team around them makes it much more likely they'll stick with it at least until their teens and maybe beyond.

Stay away from any club that doesn't compete because they are 'only concerned with self defence'.

We are on track to get our black belts at the same time.  That will be a proud day in the Geologist household .

Us too. The four of us (including Mrs Spider) got our 4th Kyu back in February. I'm hoping that we'll hit 1st Dan together in about 3 years, but there is a lot of hard work ahead between now and then.

Depends what you are looking for? A sport? Something to occupy him/practice some self discipline? Self defence?

The teacher will normally make or break it.

I would go see a couple of classes that are close/affordable/convenient times and see what you think of them.

Some care is required, learning locks/joint manipulation is great, but can have serious consequnces if done wrong, or a the wrong time (eg kids showing off). Also take sparring and/or grading ability with a pinch of salt depending on the training, it is not uncommon to see black belts get seriously hurt by somebody who has been trained to hurt people rather than score points. Sport fighting and fighting to win are very different.

Martial arts? If you can't take him down with just a good old fashioned punch to the throat you're doing something wrong.

it’s a lot easier to stay true to what you’re doing when you only have to cover a few quid for the village hall rather than make enough to pay your mortgage

Interesting point Onzadog. I don't necessarily agree; I think that you'll (mostly) get better kids classes at a dedicated martial arts gym, with proper equipment, accredited teachers and a range of capabilities so that you can see a progression of skills across different age groups. In my neck of the world there are currently several 'village hall' type kids self defence franchises, Bodgy Jr. has been to a couple of them. They seem to offer a strange mix of self defence and 'motivational' confidence building stuff, with very little actual accreditation other than their own internal progression. Plenty of running around though, but I can take the boy to youth club if I want him to play dodgeball. At least one of the clubs was positively dangerous, encouraging the kids to do kicks and punches without even having shown them how to do it. Lots of noise, lots of run around games and lots of expense with constant gradings and kit upgrades. Ultimately, I trust the guy with a dedicated gym and a reputation to maintain above the cash-cow franchisers. I guess people just have to do their research and choose prudently.

My 6 year old went to Taekwondo for a couple of months but he was the youngest there by a year or so and sometimes struggled. He now goes to kickboxing with kids his own age and loves It. I think a lot depends on the teacher and the dynamic of the club/class.