williamdd

I am really sorry this took me so long to reply! I wanted to say thank you to the first two fellows who replied, and got tied up, and then for some reason I didn't get any notices about all the other replies, but I was just blow away by all the feedback! This is a great, generous site and I really do appreciate all of the help and input. Thank you! To answer a few questions, I wasn't totally clear earlier. I'm taking the classes too, which may partly expain the $$. Our kids started in group classes. They're both adopted so, as with the fellow who mentioned special needs, they carry a lot of extra baggage and bring their own special needs as well. They've had emotional, social and learning difficulties in school. We really felt that karate was a good place for them to be.... for self-confidence, discipline, etc. In a group class, though, they just fell behind. Distracted, unmotivated, couldn't keep up. They did that for a couple of years. So, we figured if Dad was in there with them, it might encourage them, and I might be able to help them more at home. And it might be a good experience for them to do this with me. It's very difficult because, the truth is, they are often not motivated to do it on their own. A lot of times, I've really got to "take their hands" and help them through. I wish I could say that they should just make their own decisions and do what they enjoy. But honestly, given their ages and maturity levels, if I left it up to them, I think they'd be happy to sit in front of the tv all day. And complain about how bored they are It has a lot to do with their emotional make-up, which has a lot to do with the fact that they were adopted. But they really don't have a lot of "drive" for anything. That's something that I'm hoping to help them develop as they grow up. So, for now, me and my wife have decided that we are going to try to help them make good decisions. I'm hoping that one way I can do that is by setting a good example and doing my best in class with them. Everything that was said about the belts makes a lot of sense. Our Sensei has been telling us that too, but I'm not sure I really got it until now. My concern was about whether or not they could make it past a certain point, but I shouldn't worry about that. I think what I need to do is look at this as a time commitment, at least until they are young teens, and everything starts to get changed up again! Some of my confusion before writing this was because there seems to be a lot of programs in our area where the kids sign up and two years later, they're black belts. I see this sort of thing posted up on the walls where the kids go to school. The kids post their homework on the walls outside their rooms..... what are your hobbies: "well, I started karate last December, and now I'm a black belt". I'm told that there are a lot of programs like that; that it isn't unusual. I can't imagine that they learn a lot. But, what can I say; I'm a novice here! I'm just trying to get an idea here for what is the norm. Everyone's feedback has helped a lot. Our Sensei is also very much into physical fitness. My kids, not so much. Again, whether they want it or not, it's an important lesson to learn, at least to some degree. I'm trying to help them "get" this. But it can be hard finding a happy median. Again, thank you all very, very much! Sites like this are what make the web a friendly place

I have some questions about karate training in general. I have 2 children in karate, ages 8 and 10, whose interest seems to come and go. We have them in other sports as well, but they are not very athletically inclined; ie. not very competitive, not very motivated, not terribly gifted. We encourage them for other reasons; social, fitness, learning team dynamics. We are in a private class in Virginia, and they have made it about half way through the belts. The classes aren't cheap, so it's a financial investment for us, but we've started to question whether or not the kids will be able to finish. The instructor has told us that the lower belts are achieved pretty consistently, one after the other, but that the upper three or four belts require more time, and the time required to achieve each belt varies more person to person. As a parent who has never done this before, I don't understand a lot about the process. I'm trying to figure out if our kids really can finish, if they have the physical ability and maturity level to make it to brown or black belt. I want them to have a good experience, sense of accomplishment, and I'm worried about pushing them for the next couple of years (they've been taking lessons for about four years now) if it's not practical. I'm also concerned of course about the money spent (1 class per week; about $5000 per year), if they will only plateau near the top. My question is this. Most sports and hobbies, I think you can pretty well describe what will be learned, lesson by lesson, month by month, level by level, and what will be expected in order to advance. There's certain techniques in basketball, football, baseball, etc. Certain drills you need to do, rules you have to remember, etc. If you learn a musical instrument, you need to understand certain music theory, scales, read by sight, etc. Like these other things, is kid's karate (as opposed to adult karate) a sport where the next several levels/belts can be layed out for me, lesson by lesson, belt by belt, so I can try to figure out whether or not my kids will be physically and mentally able to finish the last few belts? Or is it more of an aesthetic sort of thing, where they either get it or not (which is what I'm guessing I'd expect more from adult karate)? Are there standards for achieving the different kid's belts that are recognized by all instructors, or is it different from one instructor to the next? If we needed to switch instructors, in order to find a class that was less demanding but more feasible for our kids, do their accomplishments carry over from one instructor to the next, or would they need to start out from scratch? And, how physically fit does a child need to be in order to complete a brown or black belt? Thanks for any help that you can offer!