What age should / can children start Martial arts

Question

In your experience as a student, parent or instructor - at what age are kids ready for Martial Arts classes? I'm thinking age 7 or 8 but I will give best answer and my thanks to the person that provides the most insightful answer.

Answer 1

i would say 13 years old.

Answer 2

Children first need to demo-strait they can retain and use information given to them before they should be in martial arts. I did not say children should understand information taught to them because understanding comes in a large part from experience and maturity.

However simple drills are not hard to learn still have value. They are building blocks or stepping stones to bigger things.

You can take a 4 or 5 year old to try out a school and see if they are capable. As a parent you can ask the instructor for their opinion but also value your own. You may have to try more than one school or you may have to wait till a child gets older. At least a year older.

The best schools for very young children are the ones that teach more personal development rather than martial arts. That may sound strange but there is so much too learn as a child, life in general is still a big mystery to a young one. Obviously cage fighting or anything like that should not be a priority. LOL

There is one problem and that is as a child grows and matures you want them to learn a "MARTIAL ART" and not a watered down kiddie or junor program, but after time is spent at one school it is hard to move onto another. Most schools dealing with children do not have an real and effective adults program. They may say they do but believe me most DO NOT.

Children should not be exposed to intense training till at least 12 years old. Bones and brains are still growing and we don't want to injure them during early development. Maturity is also important but everyone matures at a different speed.

It seems there are karate schools on every corner. There is always kung fu and countless others. One may need more luck than knowledge to find a good school that fits one's age whatever that age may be.

Parents lose objectivity when dealing with their own child. An instructors advice should be trusted, but also remember that parents do have the finial say in whatever their child does regardless of age.

Answer 3

As an instructor I think that anything under ten years is pushing it. Maturity is a must but attention span is part of that. If you want your child to enter into a sport style then younger is ok. If you want them to reap the full benefits of self descipline, self esteem, physical fitness, and skill, a traditional self defense style by age ten is the way to go. By then most children have enough curiousity and enthusiasm

to give it a good effort. Don't by any means ever push your child into taking martial arts, but if they start, make them commit to at least two years. Two or three times a week is the most the young ones can handle. Even if they want to come five times a week, hold them to three to prevent burnout. I think that you will find that the age I recommended will produce a good student and one day a fine young man or woman.

Answer 4

It depends upon the maturity of the child, their ability to comprehend what they're being taught and their willingness to learn. I'll be receiving my first degree black belt in American Kenpo in about three weeks, and I have had first hand experience testing, training and teaching children between the ages of 6 and 14. What I've noticed is that the younger ones around the range of 6 and 9 are usually much more hyperactive and don't listen to instruction. Those are the ones who end up with poor technique that carries into when they become preteens and teens. However, this is not always the case since I have seen a 9 year old or two who is very dedicated and has better technique and understanding of fundamentals than many adult students I know.

Since I don't want to rant too much here, I would say the absolute safest age range to place children in martial arts is around 10 or 11. That way, their minds are a bit more matured and they have better concentration skills to focus on what they're doing. Also, if they have expressed interest in martial arts in the past, not allowing them to enroll until a certain age will either kill of an early fake interest or fuel a love for the art that will bring them far. I say this from personal experience because I wanted to take martial arts lessons when I was five but, being a martial artist himself, my father wouldn't let me until I was older. The years went by and instead of the young interest dying off, it grew stronger until I was begging to start at age 11 and my father finally agreed because my was mature enough to understand the seriousness of the art as well as appreciate it properly. I'm grateful everyday that I was forced to wait because, looking back, if I had started martial arts at a younger age I wouldn't feel the strong connection to it that I have now.

So, long and short, 10 or 11 is a good overall estimate. However, depending upon the kid, it could be just fine to enroll them a little younger than that or even better to wait and enroll them when they're teens.  

Answer 5

Well I think at about 3 years is the youngest, if the kid has interest then it is possible. I know in the 2004 Olympics, a guy from Korea started at age three.