Kids Karate !

[Safroot]

My daughter is nearly 5 years old and she has been attending karate classes for the last 3 months. She enjoys the classes and is always enthusiastic to go but I can hardly see any improvement. Last week we attended her grading, there were about 15 kids between 5-7 with white belts who have all passed the grading (which was just normal class) and got yellow belt although most of them were playing around and not concentrating in the class.

I know it's very motivating for the kids & that's what I am seeing with my daughter now but my question is :

When you should expect to see improvement with kids ? at what age ?! because if my daughter's case is a school issue I am more than happy to change the school but if that's normal I will stay in the same dojo for a while & reassess.

[catlike]

She's not even 5 yet, chill out and set your expectations lower. I think pushing MA at an early age is a good thing, but they have to be able to 'receive'. By that I mean really basic stuff; line up, stand still, stop fiddling with the belt, stop picking your nose AND THEN ... build MA on to that. I'll bet if she's in school they don't see too large improvements in specific subjects at this age.

I have a 5YO son, he's desperate to start Karate, but we visited once, and it didn't go well. His attention span is about 5 mins! So every now and then I get him in a (waaay too big Gi) and show him 5 mins worth of Karate. Just enough to keep him interested. When he's developed his attention span enough to listen for 30 mins, I'll take him to a dojo and see how he gets on.

Not entirely relevant to the question, but I think illustrates different approaches and expectations.

She'll be a black belt before you know it!

[Lupin1]

Martial Arts training has different goals for different ages. For kids under 6 or 7, the goal isn't to become technically proficient martial artists. The goal is to develop large muscle coordination, to teach how to be part of a class and listen to a teacher, and to instill healthy habits and a very, VERY basic knowledge of a small piece of martial arts.

Also remember that kyu ranks are basically made up milestones that each school sets different standards for. In most places, especially for young kids, a yellow belt is more of a motivational tool than a sign you have any actual martial skills. Our first three belts for kids are all technically "white belts", even though they're different colors. They're there more for motivation than anything else.

For now just let her enjoy the journey. Her goals for improvement are more related to her coordination, ability to stay on task and follow class procedures, and maybe the ability to know what a punch or kick are. She's building a foundation right now that she'll be able to build more serious martial arts skills on when she gets older. The point isn't to start building her skills as quickly as possible, the point is to build a strong foundation so that once she starts seriously working on those skills, she'll have something solid for them to stand on.

[Safroot]

His attention span is about 5 mins! So every now and then I get him in a (waaay too big Gi) and show him 5 mins worth of Karate. She'll be a black belt before you know it!

Thanks Catlike for the advice, sure I will try that video tip

[Safroot]

For now just let her enjoy the journey. Her goals for improvement are more related to her coordination, ability to stay on task and follow class procedures, and maybe the ability to know what a punch or kick are. She's building a foundation right now that she'll be able to build more serious martial arts skills on when she gets older. The point isn't to start building her skills as quickly as possible, the point is to build a strong foundation so that once she starts seriously working on those skills, she'll have something solid for them to stand on.

I will try to have more patience. Let's wait & see

[LLLEARNER]

In my observations...

My daughter started shortly before her 5th birthday. So I see the same thing. It is harder for her because it is not a children's class. The class is a mix of adults and kids of different ages. Kids classes tend to have more learning through using games and switching focus on shorter intervals. Kids just have shorter attention spans.

She has been praised several times about her ability to focus and pay attention by the Sensei.

Mostly I want her to be coachable and learn to work with long-term goals. It is easy for her to clean her room when an ice cream trip is on the line. But it can be harder for her to envision the next stripe or belt that may be months away.

It also gives us something to do together.

[Safroot]

Mostly I want her to be coachable and learn to work with long-term goals. It is easy for her to clean her room when an ice cream trip is on the line. But it can be harder for her to envision the next stripe or belt that may be months away.

It also gives us something to do together.

Same here Lllearner, I was just expecting little improvement but tbh never thought of the points you raised, I was focused more on basic techniques !

[LLLEARNER]

Mostly I want her to be coachable and learn to work with long-term goals. It is easy for her to clean her room when an ice cream trip is on the line. But it can be harder for her to envision the next stripe or belt that may be months away.

It also gives us something to do together.

Same here Lllearner, I was just expecting little improvement but tbh never thought of the points you raised, I was focused more on basic techniques !

I know what you mean. I have a pad that I use for her Kata practice. I run around her to be position for her next punch. I found this slowed her enough to actually make it into her stance before moving to the next.

I had to reset my expectations and adapt how to practice her skills.

Sometimes I feel bad when I correct her technique, but I also do not want to praise bad technique and have her learn it wrong. I just have to remember if it is good for her age.

[Safroot]

I have a pad that I use for her Kata practice. I run around her to be position for her next punch. I found this slowed her enough to actually make it into her stance before moving to the next.

I had to reset my expectations and adapt how to practice her skills.

Sometimes I feel bad when I correct her technique, but I also do not want to praise bad technique and have her learn it wrong. I just have to remember if it is good for her age.

That's a great idea but in my case myself is also a beginner ! and in a different style, I am doing Kyokushin & she is doing Shotokan and due to my lack of experience I don't think I will be even able to comment on her technique but at least I am working with her on basics now, like how to punch , how to kick, how to block, .....

[LLLEARNER]

I understand the struggle. Maybe talking with her Sensei could shed some light on what needs improving or how her kata should look. There are also several good youtube videos. Some of the better (in my opinion) look like old VHS tapes. The quality of instruction is great and they break to kata down really well even if the production values are not what we expect today. I will post links later.