Advice needed on Getting kids to started in martial arts

[Eric Daniel]

Hello everyone,
I have two cousins who have seen me do martial arts for a long time and now they want to start. My aunt does not want them to start because she is worried that they would hurt each other by doing the techniques they learn in the dojo at home. What can I do about this situation? I would appreciate all the advice I can get!
Eric Daniel
Purple belt in Karate, Green belt in modern arnis

[Oldfist]

Hello everyone,
I have two cousins who have seen me do martial arts for a long time and now they want to start. My aunt does not want them to start because she is worried that they would hurt each other by doing the techniques they learn in the dojo at home. What can I do about this situation? I would appreciate all the advice I can get!
Eric Daniel
Purple belt in Karate, Green belt in modern arnis

Hi Eric,

I would suggest that a good first step would be to talk to your teacher about this, and ask him/her the same question.

We have several young kids at our school and have found that their mental age in terms of being able to focus and pay attention is key, as well as their physical development and coordination. Some 5 or 6 year olds have no problem, but some need to grow up a little bit more before they start. We usually give them a free and fun private evaluation lesson with the parent(s) there to see what we do and then make a recommendation on appropriate training or that the student may not be quite ready yet. This way everyone knows what their getting into, and hopefully the parent(s) feel comfortable and excited about starting their child's training. Also, we encourage them to just drop by anytime and observe a kids class and this usually makes them feel much better after they see how much fun the kids are having while learning something useful and appropriate to their age level.

I suggest that you first try to find a good place for them to start by doing a little research--maybe your current school will work just fine. It should probably be a school that already has a successful kids program. Talk to them in advance and tell them about your situation with your cousins and your aunt. Mention her concerns about your cousins hurting each other. The school should then give a good explanation that the training they provide starts with safety, and will be appropriate for their age level, etc. and that they would be happy to talk to your aunt about everything.

If they seem interested and you like them, see if they are willing to set up a private evaluation appointment with your aunt attending. Next, you can tell your aunt about everything and try to convince her to talk to the school, and then hopefully to agree to the private evaluation appointment.

Something like the above might work, but usually it is the parent or guardian that gets the kids involved and so the interest usually starts there. You'll just have to try to convince your aunt that it really is fun, safe, and useful, and that your cousins will be taught not to do inappropriate things that could hurt themselves at home.

Good Luck !

[seisansister]

First off, I wanted to thank you guys for coming by this forum Now to your question. At my dojo, my sensei teaches all the kids never to practice their moves at home on a brother/sister. If they do practice at home on eachother, the parent tells sensei and then he will punish them or take a stripe away. He always mentions at the end of class to practice, just not on eachother. The kids get upset and feel bad about what they did when a stripe is taken away or if sensei has to speak to them. I kno that the kids in our school look up to their sensei and feel ashamed when he is disappointed in them. Try talking to a few senseis and listen to their opinions on the topic and what they do when their students don't follow the rules. Thanks again for stopping by, hope these comments help!

Seisansister

[Uechi Dude]

Well I have been teaching Uechi at the Brandon Rec center since 2001 (1st Kyu at the time). I actually take the parents and have them observe what the children need to practice,and to a degree have them participate.That way the parents know to watch the kids as they practice their art.The main thing is involve the parents as much as possible.....(sometimes they join too ) and educate them as much as you can ...this way you insure training and participation at home (not just the dojo) This is help the student evolve into a fine martial artist .

[seisansister]

its good they want to start karate karate's awesome! hehe anywayz, I'd do some research about some schools around their house and let ur aunt meet some of the instructors and chat with them about karate. or you could always talk some sense into them... lol either way, i hope it works out!

Seisansister