[mattyb]

I'm tempted to find a martial art for my five year old daughter. I'm thinking that something that would expend energy, teach her something, and maybe calm her down a bit would be beneficial.

So, is she too young? And which martial art would parents suggest?

I'm leaning towards a local Judo club which has a good reputation.

[Maflynn]

I think the exact discipline is immaterial as long as its something she might enjoy. I also think its a good idea for lots of reasons but the bottom line is whether she'll enjoy it and stick with it.

[mattyb]

I see a lot of stuff that allows kids of five to start, I wonder what succes rate these sorts of sports have though for 'stick-to-it-tivness'.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Maflynn 

I think the exact discipline is immaterial as long as its something she might enjoy.

When she gets older and if she wants to continue, I think the discipline is important. Judo, Jujitsu, and Karate (Funakoshi Shotokan ftw! ) are really good and actually useful as a self defense.

I suggest anything except Tae Kwan Do. Tae Kwan Do is good for kids because you get to do fancy flips, kicks, and use weapons early on in training. As a practical martial arts, however, it's useless.

[alex_kac]

One key thing is to not let the kids give-up just because of a bad week or even month. At some point it becomes hard and if they get over that period, they enjoy it again. I have three boys and one of them I let give up, then he wanted back in, then he gave up, and wanted it back in - so I made him stay. The others I made them stay during the hard times and now they love it.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by alex_kac 

One key thing is to not let the kids give-up just because of a bad week or even month. At some point it becomes hard and if they get over that period, they enjoy it again. I have three boys and one of them I let give up, then he wanted back in, then he gave up, and wanted it back in - so I made him stay. The others I made them stay during the hard times and now they love it.

This is really important. When I was younger I wanted to leave a lot of times, but after you get past the hurdles, you feel like you can do anything. As a kid, you get to show off to your friends.

[mattyb]

I'd sign her up for a minimum of a year I think. If she didn't like it after giving it a good go, then I'd let her try something else. My worry is forcing her into an activity that the doesn't like instead of allowing her to do somethign that she could really enjoy and be good at.

[Doofy]

She's a chick, so Wing Chun. If they have anyone to teach it in your area.
I'd go Chinese rather than Japanese, every time.

[RAILhead]

My Dad gave me his Colt .45 when I was 6, so I didn't need any fancy-shmancy Karate Kid moves.

[besson3c]

I'd go for whichever would start her out with ninja stars so that you don't have to buy an alarm system for your house.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by RAILhead 

My Dad gave me his Colt .45 when I was 6, so I didn't need any fancy-shmancy Karate Kid moves.

When properly executed, there is no defense against the Crane Kick.

[OreoCookie]

I've done Judo for a few years and it's a very good sport. I started at age 6, I think. The emphasis is very much on sports and it is a good outlet for energy and aggression. Make sure they have a good warm-up, though. She'll gain self-confidence and strength to handle all types of situations.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

When properly executed, there is no defense against the Crane Kick.

Even better: crane kick with shoes that release ninja stars upon kick for long range targeting.

[lexapro]

Whatever you pick just make sure it's full contact, with no padding.

[RAILhead]

Aluminum baseball bat.

[James L]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

She's a chick, so Wing Chun. If they have anyone to teach it in your area.
I'd go Chinese rather than Japanese, every time.

Really? Huh.

[James L]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

I've done Judo for a few years and it's a very good sport. The emphasis is very much on sports and it is a good outlet for energy and aggression. Make sure they have a good warm-up, though. She'll gain self-confidence and strength to handle all types of situations.

Ah Judo. So many injuries, so many fond memories.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by James L 

Ah Judo. So many injuries, so many fond memories.

Damn straight.

[osiris]

The thread's title is misleading. I thought this was where we learn how to keep kids in line using martial arts.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

I suggest anything except Tae Kwan Do. Tae Kwan Do is good for kids because you get to do fancy flips, kicks, and use weapons early on in training. As a practical martial arts, however, it's useless.

I agree with the reason but not with the conclusion. At age 5, all martial arts will be "useless" at actual self defense; they're all just sport. What you need to choose is one that is enjoyable, so they stick with it. I started with Tae Kwan Do (though not as a child) because it was more enjoyable (lower barrier to entry). The grappling and joint locks might win a real life fight, if there's no weapons involved, but they make the classes painful and un-fun. Even a sport-focused style like TKD will teach good fundamentals, and make it easy to start a more "useful" style later on, and in the meantime it's perfect to expend energy, teach her something, and maybe calm her down a bit. But you know your daughter best, mattyb, and if she's already into grappling and joint locks, then Judo or Jiujitsu is the right choice.

As for self-defense, any style teaches avoidance, how to keep your cool in a crisis and how to see conflict approaching and not be in it's path. That's far more important in the modern world than how to win an actual engagement.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

As for self-defense, any style teaches avoidance, how to keep your cool in a crisis and how to see conflict approaching and not be in it's path. That's far more important in the modern world than how to win an actual engagement.

That and the added physical fitness. Although that aspect is a lot, lot less important. And I also found that you're less prone to do something dangerous (e. g. don't choke).

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

Karate (Funakoshi Shotokan ftw! )

I second this. My brother and I took this along with my uncle back in the late 80's and really learned a lot from it. My uncle continued and now he is an instructor and a black belt (5th degree).

There were a lot of kids who were also training and you could tell they learned self confidence and good physical self control in less than a year.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

I second this. My brother and I took this along with my uncle back in the late 80's and really learned a lot from it. My uncle continued and now he is an instructor and a black belt (5th degree).

Awesome! Who was his sensei? I trained under Sensei Lafferty and Shihan Funakoshi. Bay Area? Hawai'i?

Also, does your uncle use shinai? I tell ya, funniest thing ever is watching someone practicing Heian Godan, then face planting when sensei swings that shinai under their feet if they don't jump high enough.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

She's a chick, so Wing Chun.

This is an excellent choice, even if she's not a chick.

You should be aware though, its philosophical basis is more or less "applied ass-kicking is a valid philosophy in and of itself".

I'm guessing this is probably not what you want her to learn, at least when she's only five.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

I started with Tae Kwan Do (though not as a child) because it was more enjoyable (lower barrier to entry).

I should be more specific. Avoid any West Coast or Ernie Reyes belt factory. I'm a little harsh on Tae Kwan Do because we had such a rivalry with the West Coast guys during our tournaments. They were cranking out black belts like nothing, and for a while had signs everywhere guaranteeing a black belt. It was insulting to the rest of us and probably the more legitimate Tae Kwan Do studios.

Full contact matches weren't really matches as they were massacres. Poor kids didn't know what to do.

I was always jealous of the Kendo, though. Looked like fun.

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

The grappling and joint locks might win a real life fight, if there's no weapons involved, but they make the classes painful and un-fun.

Yeah, but that's what Judo, Jujitsu, and Aikido are for.

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

As for self-defense, any style teaches avoidance, how to keep your cool in a crisis and how to see conflict approaching and not be in it's path. That's far more important in the modern world than how to win an actual engagement.

That's very true.

[Shaddim]

Well, I was going to recommend TKD, because it seems to be more interesting for younger folks...

However, if you want something more practical, and physically demanding, Weng Chun is really tough to beat. Just don't be surprised if you see some shocking personality changes in the first few months.

[smacintush]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

I'm tempted to find a martial art for my five year old daughter. I'm thinking that something that would expend energy, teach her something, and maybe calm her down a bit would be beneficial.

So, is she too young? And which martial art would parents suggest?

I'm leaning towards a local Judo club which has a good reputation.

No, five is not too young.

I think a local Judo club would probably be a fine choice under the guidelines you laid out.

Of course the question that no one bothered to ask is…what else is available in your area? It's all fine and dandy to suggest something like Wing Chun but I know in MY area forget about it.

As far as specific, personal opinion: None of the Korean based arts are the least bit interesting to me. At all.

Of the Japanese arts I dislike the Karate styles. Maybe it's just personal bias but really, there are better choices. Like…ANY of the others. I really love the style of Aikido but have shied from it because of its emphasis on "ki"…which is just crap. I'm not about to learn an art so heavily based upon mystical silliness.

Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu is what I've studied, and I find it to be a LOT of fun, very interesting and highly underrated. Too bad it is so hard to find a good teacher and has such a weird stigma attached to it. (at least here in the US)

Chinese arts…I've not studied any nor have I known anyone who has had any real experience in any of them. I do find Wushu, Wing Chun and Tai Chi (real Tai Chi, not yuppy Tai Chi) interesting however.

(Note that I am not opining about efficacy here, I'm just talking about what I like.)

[smacintush]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

I should be more specific. Avoid any West Coast or Ernie Reyes belt factory. I'm a little harsh on Tae Kwan Do because we had such a rivalry with the West Coast guys during our tournaments. They were cranking out black belts like nothing, and for a while had signs everywhere guaranteeing a black belt. It was insulting to the rest of us and probably the more legitimate Tae Kwan Do studios.

You don't have to qualify your remarks. As classical martial arts go, TKD is pretty crappy no matter which school you go to. Sure the belt factories are WORSE on pretty much every level, but crap is crap.

[smacintush]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

Even a sport-focused style like TKD will teach good fundamentals, and make it easy to start a more "useful" style later on,

I disagree. All it will do is give someone even MORE crap to unlearn later. There's really no good reason to learn something so that later you can discard 90% of it later. It's a waste of time. If you want effectiveness, learn something effective. If you don't care about that, learn whatever is fun.

Other than fitness and flexibility (which you can get anywhere), TKD has very little to offer and NOTHING that can't be learned as well or far better from another art.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by smacintush 

I really love the style of Aikido but have shied from it because of its emphasis on "ki"…which is just crap. I'm not about to learn an art so heavily based upon mystical silliness.

This is EXACTLY the problem that I have with Aikido (I practised for a couple of years off and on). If there was Aikido without the spiritual BS I'd sign up.

Reckon that it'll be Judo, not just for Judo itself but the convenience of the club near home, the hours etc.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by smacintush 

Of course the question that no one bothered to ask is…what else is available in your area? It's all fine and dandy to suggest something like Wing Chun but I know in MY area forget about it.

Ummm. *cough*

Originally Posted by Doofy 

She's a chick, so Wing Chun. If they have anyone to teach it in your area.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by smacintush 

I disagree. All it will do is give someone even MORE crap to unlearn later. There's really no good reason to learn something so that later you can discard 90% of it later. It's a waste of time. If you want effectiveness, learn something effective. If you don't care about that, learn whatever is fun.

Other than fitness and flexibility (which you can get anywhere), TKD has very little to offer and NOTHING that can't be learned as well or far better from another art.

The TKD hate stems from the fact that it was transformed from a martial art into a sport and all nerfed up (it's the only martial art in the Olympics for this reason). You might not enjoy that as a "warrior" but the inner child in me really likes it. This shouldn't be surprising, as the real "Nerf" is quite popular among actual children. I think of it like bumper cars; smashing up an actual car would not really be that enjoyable. Playing bumper cars, while fun, won't help you drive your car... but effectiveness is irrelevant, or you'd be at firearms training not martial arts.

You get more than fitness and flexibility, you learn how to throw and take punches and kicks, falling, footwork, and depending on the school how to take direction. All of those give you a big step up later if you out-grow the nerf-ness of it.

But if you think that the same style should be the right fit for adults and kids, you're kidding yourself (zing!). Even for the same person as an adult and as a kid.

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Reckon that it'll be Judo, not just for Judo itself but the convenience of the club near home, the hours etc.

Yes. Location is important. Commuting will drain the fun out of the best classes.

[smacintush]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Ummm. *cough*

Ummm…you didn't ask him what was available in his area. You made a suggestion that may have been out of the question.