MA for 4 year olds

[paisley]

I have a very active son who is well coordinated for his age and I am considering entering him in MA. My son is physically tough, he can get hurt without making a big deal out of it or crying, but he is still babyish too in that he does not want to be separated from me. Therefore, I was just wanting the opinion of people based on your personal experience or observations as to whether 4 is a good age to start or not. I would appreciate any thoughts. Thank you.

[John G]

Go for it, the social interaction, self-discipline, moral culture, self-esteem, exercise, goal setting and just the shear fun of it are all positives a good MA can provide your son.

 

Don’t be surprised or disappointed if he get bored with it after 4 or 5 years and wants to do something else, and don’t assume that he will be able to defend himself just because he has obtained a black belt by the age of ten.

 

It really depends on why you want your son to join a MA in the first place.

 

I wish, I could have joined a MA when I was younger, all we had back then was the boy scouts. (still cant tie knots)

 

Respectfully,

[monkeygirl]

Generally speaking (in my area anyway), you're not going to find actual MA training for a 4-year-old. You might be able to find a school that does some sort of Lil' Dragons program. This is basically play time with a martial arts theme. Some schools get very involved with teaching techniques, Stranger-Danger awareness, a little self-defense, maybe some kata, even belts. It will probably be very toned down compared to adult training: no sparring, etc. But it's very fun...my school just does punching and kicking techniques and games (*ahem* drills). If the classes aren't high energy, there's something wrong with the instructor

[BKJ1216]

Well yeah I know what you mean monkeygirl. I first started karate when I was 6. They put me in this thing called kinderkarate. I knew it wasn't actual karate because all we did was run around and play tag. So I quit and decided I'd join it when I was old enough to do the actual thing.

[paisley]

Thank you for the advise and encouragement. Fortunately in my area, I will have no problem finding a class for my son. I live in a small town in Japan and in my town I have a choice of 8 dojos that I know of in my area not counting dojos outside of my area and in neighboring towns. I don't mind if my son gets tired of MA. However, when he hits Jr. High school he will have no choice as to whether he wants to do it or not because it is mandatory for boys in my town to study judo. As for kinderkarate, we don't have anything like that here. In some dojos, 4 year olds start out with adults and other dojos they have kids classes but the kid classes are real MA classes. They are just sparring with others their own size and age.

[Big Game]

I also have a boy that is four and loves Karate. He doesn't go with me to the dojo yet as the age requirement is 6. Sounds like our two boys are alike. I currently work with my boy at home. He has his own Gi and he puts it on and we train. My only concern with starting them this young is that they have short attention spans. Not that my boy gets bored with Karate, it's just that after about fifteen minutes, he wants to get crazy and come at me and try out his moves. I am going to gradually start making it more structured for him. For example no sparring or trying out his moves until we work some techniques. My Sensei is also a good friend of the family and has told my son that when he learns the first two moves of his kata he will award him with one patch and another when he learns the full kata. Personally I think my boy is ready physically and is very interested right now in karate. My only concern with him going to the dojo with me and taking an actual class is he may get bored because of the structure. By working with him at home I hope that he will learn to listen to instruction and have a longer attention span when he is the right age to attend.

[paisley]

That is really a good point Big Game about attention spans. My son can concentrate but at 4 there is a limit! I think your method of training is the best for a 4 year old. However, since I don't know MA and my husband has no time to train him although he is a black belt in judo, getting a teacher is our best route IF my son feels comfortable in the environment. I was planning on entering him in judo, but like your class he must be 6 to enter, but I have lots of other choices here that accept 4 year olds so I will be looking into them now. I plan on letting him do a trial lesson and observe first to see how he fits in to determine if it is age appropriate. By the way, here in Japan many dojos require the members to clean the dojo on their hands and knees. Do they do that where you are from?

[Kyle-san]

By the way, here in Japan many dojos require the members to clean the dojo on their hands and knees. Do they do that where you are from?

 

Some traditional dojos do, but not a lot require on hands and knees. Mine usually just sweeps the area clean before starting.

[karate-ka]

I would highly reccommend enrolling a 4-year old in a MA program, just be sure that the program works specifically with smaller kids, and isnt just a "kids (1-17 yrs old)" class. When a child begins learning younger, they develop instinctive basics, and they benefit later on, especially if they are continuing MA. Just dont expect your son to be good to begin with, or even in a year- 4 years old is still quite small, and it will probably take a good amount of time to get the basics, but it will be worth it in the end