There are many different types of martial arts, and depending on the style as well as the class atmosphere, children as young as 8 will benefit from a martial arts class. Kids even younger, as young as 4, will get some benefits such as discipline, exercise, and play, but not likely the self-defence and confidence until a bit older.
I grew up first with traditional kung fu class around the age of 8, and I remember it not being a pleasurable experience. I was in with the adult class, and was a shy kid. Kung fu class didn’t help the shyness – I often dreaded going!
My parents tried again with karate when I was in grade 6 or 7, and the change in atmosphere with a different instructor made all the difference in the world. Karate became a big part of my life through high school.
Now as an adult, I train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and have guided my own kid through similar classes.
The vast majority of kids will benefit from exposure to a martial arts class. It is one of the activities that I am really grateful to my parents that they had enrolled me in. The types of benefits a kid will get from martial arts depends on what the parents are trying to achieve, and subsequently choosing a good fit in the form of martial art, and the class atmosphere.
Kids will almost certainly benefit from the exercise and physical activity. It will be an hour at least of physicality that contrasts strongly with the usual gaming, YouTube, and sedentary schoolwork that fills the rest of the day.
But while that is the most common benefit, it is the least important and least unique. After all, us parents could send our kids out biking, or to play tag with their friends.
You should put your kids in martial arts because it gives the unique benefit of being comfortable with being uncomfortable. And yes, depending on the style and the instructor, sometimes there can be an element of discipline, honor, and respect taught. But from personal experience and observation of my own classes and my kid’s classes, if a parent is depending on a couple of 1 hour classes a week to teach discipline, they will be disappointed.
But they will never be disappointed with a child that learns how to function under pressure. Self-defense against their classmates will come, to lesser or greater degrees depending on the style of martial art and training methodologies of the teacher.
At ages of around 8 or older, usually kids can safely, under supervision, have classes where some degree of resistance sparring is employed. I currently train, and have had my kid in, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This particular system allows for sparring against opponents with near full force, because we can “tap” before any serious injury occurs. But the resistance means that sometimes you get very uncomfortable, for example when your partner/opponent has all their weight on you and is trying to choke you. It sounds extreme, but learning how to be calm and think, and react under this pressure is the gift that parents will give to their kids with this.
And don’t worry, lesser amounts of pressure occur and will benefit the child. I remember my own child sparring with someone about 15 lbs heavier than him, and the first 30 seconds was the hardest shoving you would imagine – and because it was worked up to over months, it didn’t faze either kid. Contrast that with a kid being shoved hard the first time at the playground. If a shove has happened 100x in class, you can be pretty sure your kid will react appropriately and calmly if it happens once more at school.
Your child will get other benefits if you can find a school and instructor that matches their needs. This will go beyond the physical activity aspect and can reach into unrelated realms, even social growth.
When I was first in kung fu, I can vaguely remember the stretching, kicking, and forms routines. I was in the adult class, as it was a traditional teacher based out of their home, and I don’t remember enjoying it. It may have helped things like confidence, but not enough that I can remember.
I do remember my parents trying again when I was a bit older, in grade 6, and while it was a traditional karate class based out of a community center and still quite strict, just a few extra years, having a class with kids my own age made all the difference. I stuck with this, got my black belt (more on that later) and karate became a big part of even my social life. My first girlfriends came from here!
Karate was physical. It was a class from an instructor who had been sent from Japan out of university. We trained hard, did lots of conditioning, and lots of sparring. I was not a fighter by any means at all, and was still very uncomfortable with conflict in the school-yard, but just the conditioning helped me at least twice when classmates threw a few hard punches on my gut. It wasn’t anything new to me as it happened countless times in class. The fact it didn’t cause a reaction, probably went far as to why they didn’t try again.
I’ve never had to use martial arts in a fight as a kid. As I continue to train now, I know that no martial art taught to kids will help against a grown attacker if they are a lot bigger than you, but by putting your kid into martial arts, you give them a chance against their peers if something happens like a fight, or bullying. Depending on the type of training, you’ll give them an almost unfair advantage if they do get in a fight with an untrained peer.
What is the best form of martial arts for kids?
There are many different schools and types of martial arts. The most popular are taekwondo, karate, judo, and brazilian jiujitsu. Some high schools have wrestling teams.
I can say from direct experience that it is not the techniques that make a martial art effective, but the training methodologies. In the same way, it is not the style of martial art, but the instructor training style that likely confers different benefits to different kids.
If a parent is most interested in self-defence, and composure under pressure, then the martial arts that have active resistance with sparring will by far be superior. This usually includes wrestling, judo, and brazilian jiujitsu. This is because these martial arts allow for training against resistance, against an opponent who is actively trying to do something to you against your will, with less risk of injury. You can’t get that with the striking martial arts, at least not without significant risk of injury.
Because of the resistance involved, usually the kid has to be a bit older before these martial arts benefit from a self defence perspective. But as mentioned above, when your kid is around 8, or old enough to shove or be shoved, then these martial arts make sense.
Yes, judo and brazilian jiujitsu have classes for younger kids, as young as 4 or 5, but you won’t find significant resistance sparring there. It will be mostly games, body awareness, and exercise, which is fine and confers other benefits.
Do martial arts really teach discipline?
If a parent is most interested in discipline, honor, and respect, keep in mind the limitations of a couple of hourly classes a week (in comparison to what happens at school and at home) but the traditional Japanese martial arts likely have a win here. The really traditional ones, like Aikido, probably would be best, but it’s hard to find classes in this for the very young. A lot of bowing, silent sitting / meditation, and quiet listening and training come from these classes.
Other traditional martial arts, such as karate, can be useful for discipline and respect as well. Note that a lot of dojos (karate classes) have a more “sports oriented approach” – and there is much less tradition involved (tradition being bowing to your instructor, only speaking when allowed, pushups and punishment for doing things out of turn), while others maintain this traditional learning environment. You won’t be able to see until you watch a class or two. In my mind and experience, the discipline, honor and respect taught from a traditional martial arts dojo will likely far outclass most “McDojos”.
There are quite a few studios in my city that I would call the McDonald’s of martial arts, or McDojos. It’s actually probably too harsh of a term, as undoubtedly the kids who go to those classes are deservingly proud of their accomplishments, but nonetheless the term is used by those in the martial arts community because of the lack of real self defense benefit. I’ve watched the demos at my kids school carnivals, and the local judo kid or my kid would have no problem with them under actual live resistance.
Often, these classes advertise under every martial art you can imagine. They have “karate, tae kwon do, grappling” etc on vinyl stickers on their windows. They often are pseudo-militarized, with the kids yelling “yes sir!” in response to any order. The kids definitely seem confident and happy – which is great, especially for those I can imagine who might have trouble sticking with a more traditional environment.
But my opinion is the quiet confidence that can be gained from a more traditional setting, like old school karate, or the quiet confidence of knowing you can be comfortable in live sparring, like in judo or brazilian jiujitsu, is far more stable and long lasting. It may take longer, and is less fun, but most good things are worth the wait.
What age should my kids start Jiu Jitsu?
If your child is around 8 years old, it is almost the perfect time for him or her to start brazilian jiujitsu. It’s the age where a bit more physicality in a safe environment, with someone their size, can slowly get used to pushing against a resisting opponent. Your child will have an outlet for excess energy, and will start to become less fazed when things don’t go exactly his or her way.
They can start at a younger age too, but again, there should be different goals and benefits.
Is my 3 or 4 year old too young for martial arts?
3 years old is almost certainly too young, but once they are 4-5 and running around, martial arts class might be a way to socialize and get used to being in a group environment. A parent would have to find a suitable instructor of course and classes would be more focused towards awareness of body and personal space, as well as conditioning and body co-ordination. Kind of like gymnastics!
Forget about any self defence at this age!
Who should not do martial arts?
I am a firm believer that there isn’t any child with any real reason why they shouldn’t be in martial arts.
Bullies, in particular, may benefit from the right school. A bully of course can get some degree of discipline and self-control and regulation taught by the right instructor, usually by more traditional styles, such as traditional karate and Aikido. But even the more combative styles, such as judo and brazilian jiu jitsu, can be good for bullies. A bully would quickly learn that they aren’t invincible, and the very nature of the sparring in such styles can be very humbling if done in the right way.
A child with disabilities, either physical or mental, has to have a teacher who is experienced in such areas as well. There are physically large and imposing kids with various developmental delay in my own kids jiu jitsu classes, and they enjoy the classes as much as their peers, but the instructor is very good at connecting and steering their focus in the right direction. And with most physical disabilities, if the instructor knows how to adapt the class and techniques, and most importantly, include the child in the class, it can be extremely beneficial for the child!