laneyg

That is a great story! I'd be proud of my son for an attitude like that - you're a great dad! Now they DO punch and kick pads and bags. Not people. (Yet?) So is this a good sign? I'm a little nervous because I am so new to to the world of Martial Arts, I think they could very easily dazzle me with words on the way they do things. But you're right, we will follow our gut! I know what you mean. And I sort of feel like my son really could get into this and take it seriously. He has really good focus in class and I can tell he enjoys it and tries his best. That's one of the reasons that I might be worrying a little more than maybe I should be! We signed a year long contract so we have until next August, and I suppose we will just see where we're at at that point. I this year will be enriching and fun for him in the mean time. Thanks so much!

We recently enrolled our 5 year old son in the Tiny Tigers program with "Karate for Kids" with the ATA. We pay $80 a month and the instructor is very good with the kids. My son loves him and the in the last couple of months, we have really seen our son's confidence level go up. They work the kids hard and I can tell it's a good workout for him too. However, I recently stumbled upon the term, "McDojo" and feel fairly certain we are at one. There are upgraded classes like the Leadership program or the Black Belt Club, etc. The kids move up in belt rank about every 2 months. I think a 10 year old kid could be a black belt easily. This never seemed quite right to me even before I learned about McDojos. They had belt testing last night and every kid passed. Even the ones who laid there like a slug. Now I can SORT OF understand in the Tiny Tigers program - maybe moving everyone up to build confidence or something. I'm not sure when the kids are moved to the next program if the testing is harder. I hope so. So, in the Tiny Tigers, there are white belts and green belts and "camo belts??" all learning the same moves for testing. Again, I hope this is not what older students do. Wouldn't a higher belt want/need to be learning different things than a lower belt student? We actually love the school. As I said, the instructor is great with the kids and they are learning. I think just like in regular school, the kids who have parents who push them to do well, will do well. The kids who's parents allow them to just lay there won't get much out of it. But.... maybe this is fine for our 5 year old son. It's getting him active and building confidence and it's fun. Are we going to regret it when he's older and really doesn't actually KNOW martial arts? What age will a “good” school even accept a student? Is 5 too young? What are your thoughts on this? Thanks so much!