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NWMR: Martial Arts Moms Out There?

jasminelorraine20jasminelorraine20 member
in Working Moms

DS is on the wait list for the School of Martial Arts in my area and will start after he turns 3 in June. They have a separate class for the 3 year olds and is the only school that offers karate for his age group. I just wanted some insight on the benefits that come from children doing Martial Arts (I have never been in karate), and how it affected your LO's (whether positive or negative). Can they really learn and understand discipline this young?

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Re: NWMR: Martial Arts Moms Out There?

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] member

    At 3, it's more about giving them an activity and outlet for energy than discipline via that activity.  In my opinion, the discipline aspect come at an older age.  Our instructor will work with a child under 5 individually to evaluate and see if they are even ready (maturity wise) for classes. 

    That being said, we did start a martial art with DS at 4. 

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  • jlaOKjlaOK member
    My perspective is from my brother who used to teach tae kwon do.  Depending on how strict the instructor is it can be a really good form of discipline (not in the punishment sort of way).  Teaching young kids to stand still, be calm, and follow specific instructions is really great.  From what I've seen there can be a huge benefit for rowdy kids and for shy kids.  My brother was the shy kid, did tae kwon do all his life, and really enjoyed it.
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  • scrappingcatscrappingcat member

    My DS is almost 6 and started martial arts (Tae Kwon Do) at almost 4.5 years.  We were going to start him at 4 but he wasn't ready. 

    I really feel that martial arts has helped DS to become more confident (he's definitely a push-over and has a hard time standing up for himself).  He is also able to be more in control of his body but that may be an age thing as well vs martial arts :)  He really enjoys it so we are letting him continue with it and have talked a lot about commitment recently and not just quitting when it gets hard!  He's got his eye on that black belt so we shall see!

    Some of the difficulty with younger kids is not really understanding how to move their arms/legs as they should to complete a form/move.  Even at 6 it is still hard for him to do a proper front kick/side kick because he doesn't really understand where the kick comes from (hip should be doing the work, foot flexed/relaxed, ect).  He understands the form and can do the kick it just isn't quite "proper."

    It might be fine if there is a class just for 3 year olds it would probably be fine but he's going to get just as much out of it if you wait 1-2 years.

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