Kids Martial Arts - How to Get Your Karate Children (or Kids!) to Stick With the Program

So you've seen the remake of Karate Kid and it seems like a good idea to investigate kids martial arts. A common problem with kids starting new hobbies is the tendency to drop out after a while, so if you want your (potential) Karate children to stick this hobby and reap the rewards from regular training, it's important to do your research.

Normally, kids will have different reasons for wanting to take up martial arts than those of their parents encouraging them to do so. Kids want to be a Power Ranger or the original Karate Kid, Daniel san! Parents, however, tend to want the martial arts to instil discipline. This hub will give you some pointers of what to look for when choosing your Childrens Karate Program so that you give your kids the best opportunity to stick it out.

In short kids want to have fun, when they find out that they can't kick like Jackie Chan after four weeks the classes better be fun otherwise the next children’s karate prodigy may just miss out!

Regardless of the martial art on offer or the style within a specific type of martial art undoubtedly the most important aspect of any martial arts class is the teacher. That, of course, holds true for any class environment.

You can always sit in on a martial arts class and observe the teacher in action. Does the teacher control the class well? That’s not to say the kids are controlled with a rod of iron, rather they are allowed to let off steam BUT are kept in check.

Attention Enjoyment and Action

Does the instructor keep the kids attention throughout the entire class? This will partly depend on the kids themselves but will give an indication of the nature of the martial art under scrutiny. Some traditional styles can be a little dry for kids, if the instructor is losing the kids attention these classes may be too much for kids in the long run.

Are the children enjoying the class? Undoubtedly there is a social element which children will enjoy regardless of dry content, but it's important for the class to be fun! Fun classes mean kids will come back for more.

Is there sufficient action or too much standing around? Children cannot bear sitting around doing nothing, if the martial arts class has too much of this your kids will drop out sooner rather than later.

However, there needs to be a balance, a martial arts class should, of course, be teaching martial arts. So you want to check that the kids show a decent level of skill, at least the higher graded students.

Patience and One to One Attention

Does the instructor show patience with the kids slower to pick things up and what level of one-to-one attention do the students receive? Clearly a larger class has less 'hands on' attention from the instructor.

Depending on the class structure more or less of these factors can be evident in any given class; one observation should not condemn a martial arts teacher but will give a flavour of what the lessons are like.

In the UK the teacher should hold the following

• Public Liability Insurance - alternatively the place where the classes are held should have it, at the very least.
• Current Coaching Qualification - often these are from the Governing Body of a style or other Martial Arts organisation. Alternatively, NVQ or more formal education qualifications may be held. For example, a degree in Sports Science would be relevant to Martial Arts, while a NVQ in knitting would be less so.
• Enhanced CRB check - these checks are essential for anyone working with children. As such Martial Arts teachers should have a current check available.
• Child Protection Policy - one these should be in place, so that staff know what to do in case of any problems arising
• Martial Arts Qualification - most styles will only allow Black Belts to teach classes, this is a good level of competance and should really be the minimum level required to teach. There may be exceptions to this rule ask the instructor to explain.

A good instructor should be able to provide these qualifications on request or have a valid explanation for anything missing. Parents or students should always ask an instructor if they have any concern about anything to do with martial arts training or qualifications. A good instructor will be happy to help.

Although the single most important consideration is the actual teacher any given Martial Art should have exciting content to keep kids interested. For example, while the slow movements of Tai Chi have health benefits for everyone the martial/fighting side is not often obvious. It is difficult to imagine many Western children having the patience to learn a 18 minute form.

Most Martial Arts are 'watered down' for kids not only to make things easier to learn but also to ensure the more dangerous techniques are saved for students mature enough to handle the responsibility. After all you wouldn't give an 8yr old a revolver!

Interesting FUN Content

In terms of keeping your children in kung fu, judo or karate training the content of lessons has to be interesting. Children love to move around, make noise and will find classes with lots of activity enjoyable. Of course they all want to be able to kick and punch like their favourite TV characters too. If the instructor is good this interesting content will be presented in a fun manner.

For example, there are many ways to teach a kick, repetition is favoured by many but can become boring for children; good instructors devise games to make this repetition more interesting for children. One way is to make the repetitions part of a competition. Repeating round kicks on a heavy bag or held kick shield could be one 'station' in a circuit or race. To ensure correct form, poorly executed kicks can be discounted.

Another way that ensures the kids learn credible martial arts is to disguise techniques within a fun format. In the video below the under part of the drill is really a shoot or tackle, but to ensure a fast drill this is replaced by an under.

Balancing Fun and Skill Acquisition

By adopting this sort of content a martial arts class has a fun aspect. If, however, the whole class is given over to games, your child will be learning games rather than martial arts. If games/drills like the ones presented here are included, martial arts skills will be learned.

One surefire way to test whether the kids are learning martial arts skills at a particular school is to watch for their ability to punch, or kick for that matter. When they strike pads can they, literally pack a punch. If so they are learning, at least, some worthwhile skill.

When choosing a Childrens Karate Program it is important to consider if your child will stick with the program. There is no way of know for sure if they will but with a little research you can have a reasonable idea whether they will or not.

You want to research the following

• the Instructors style of teaching and relationship with current students
• the Instructors qualifications
• class content - the balance of fun and skill learning

Research along these lines will help you choose the correct martial art for your child.