Age

[shoshinkan]

interesting variation on this subject.

In my mind something like

0-14 if you teach to this age group, it cant be full karate

14-18 cadets great age to begin training proper

18 plus adult

I dont think karate is good for children under 14 on the whole, it has some benefits but I think they are better off doing school and kicking a ball around. Obviously sport karate may be ok to younger students, but teaching under 10 year olds is surley madness?????????

14-18 is a great age to get into karate IMO and obviously over 18 (in UK) gives full adult status, which I think is important when you look at karate as a whole martial art, including morales and safe practise of rather lethal techniques.

However i did help in class last night a couple of rather cute 8 year olds, did they learn anything - proberly not but it was fun for 10 mins.

[Menjo]

Actually I was wrong my dojo starts classes as young as 8, because we have beginners classes once they complete that and if their 9 then they move on.

[kenttiensankari]

7 is the agelimit here. There are own groups for kids aged 7-10 and 10-12. They mostly train kihon and kata (not bunkai). So they can do the basic things pretty well when they join the adultgroup.

[Sam]

we have a 6 -12 then 12 to adult....

[darkness]

At my dojo the kids class is from 7-14.

[Sam]

14's quite old for "kids" .... how does it work out at your dojo?

[lokeil]

i have personnaly started karate at the age of 5, but i think i was the youger in my dojo.

but as you can see, i am always here 15 years after (i had begin shotokan at 5, and goju ryu at 9, but really begin to work goju ryu at the age of 14)

[Sam]

thats cool - all depends on the kid though really....

[darkness]

14's quite old for "kids" .... how does it work out at your dojo?

Fourteen is technically the maximum age, but there doesn't seem to be any kids older than about twelve. I don't know why, unfortunately this seems to be a quite common event eith regards to sports at that age though

Edited July 5, 2005 by darkness

[shoshinkan]

7 is the agelimit here. There are own groups for kids aged 7-10 and 10-12. They mostly train kihon and kata (not bunkai). So they can do the basic things pretty well when they join the adultgroup.

Fair point actually, i can see some benefit in that. I hope to teach again soon and might consider a junior class of some description - I do take karate far to seriously alot of the time!