How young is TOO young?

[G95champ]

If you don't teach them kata then you are NOT teaching them karate..... Sorry.....

[SandanPJ]

4 is the absolute youngest but that is rare... I would say 7 is a good age for them to really have a sense what is going on....

[Tal]

There is no definitive age that is right for everyone. It depends on the sensei, his style of teaching, the ages of others at the club, and most importantly, the mentality of the child.

 

If your son really has his heart set on it as you say, then it shouldn't hurt to give it a go. Make sure he wants to do it for the right reasons though. I know you can't expect a five year old to take things very seriously, but he should have a desire to learn, not purely just to play around doing kicks and stuff. You don't need to go to a dojo and pay $ just to play around.

 

Personally, I think for the vast majority of kids, 5 is too young. They simply don't have the maturity to learn MA effectively. I started karate when I was 7, and I think that was too young. I didn't really start learning until I was about 10. But as has been said already, it depends on the child.

 

Talk to the karate instructor about it and see what he thinks; he's probably more knowledgeable than most of us here.

[ramymensa]

I wouldn't teach a kid who is under 7 unless he/she is prepared to obey rules, to accept discipline and hard work. Karate classes are not a kindergarden, but there are also exceptional kids, very mature at an early age. The rule has got it's exceptions

[Shorinryu Sensei]

I used to teach kids, but don't anymore. To limited amout of time and space presently, plus I'm more into working with adults because they give me somebody to "play with".

 

I taught kids for many years however, and I have an Elementary Teaching backgroud. What I've found is kids 6-8 (I never took anybody younger than 6) might...or might not..be able to handle martial arts training from a "seriousness" standpoint. Sure, younger kids can "play" karate at any age, but I taught kids the same things (mostly anyway) that I teach adults and didn't use my kids class as a daycare. I would tell the parents that their son/daughter can try it for a couple of weeks, but if at the end of that time I felt they weren't mentally "with it", I would ask the the parents to pull them out of class. I won't waste my time on a kid (or an adult for that matter) that isn't there to learn, and I won't be a babysitter for them either.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

If you don't teach them kata then you are NOT teaching them karate..... Sorry.....

 

I agree. If you're going to teach them your chosen art, then teach them the whole art! Kids can handle learning kata just fine, but it requires more patience from the sensei (trust me, been there, done that!)

[ramymensa]

I'm with you on this and it's indeed a good idea. Do they want to try? Ok. let them for some time. Are they into it? They can stay. If not, no problem. Maybe in few years they can give it another try. I'll remember this when put in this situation.

[wado_lee]

it depends on the instuction some find it difficult because children have a short an attention span so they're training must be mixed with fun

[White Warlock]

I disagree, on principle. Training should 'be' the fun. Putting in opportunities for horseplay encourages inappropriate actions inclass that will eventually lead to injuries. Education doesn't have to be boring, nor should it be. Those that continue their education in one field or another, usually find themselves intrigued by that particular field of study... thus the encouragement.

 

It is important to present the arts in a palatable fashion, regardless of student age.

[wado_lee]

if you can get children under 7-8 to concentrate fo more than 30minutes youve done well then you need to break it up with a little frun and games we have nearly 30 children @ our school and you cant make it seem monotinus or you lose them