By Stacy DeBroff

The essence of martial arts is based on discipline, respect and perseverance, including learning respect for a teacher, classmates, and opponents.

• Martial arts helps shy kids overcome timidity or withdrawal, and teaches aggressive kids the self-discipline to control anger, hostility, and aggression.

• Breathing techniques teach focus and inner calm, and training sessions help children develop a longer attention span and greater concentration.

• Martial arts training improves physical conditioning, strength, body control, coordination, balance, and flexibility. Plus, training provides an aerobic workout.

• It gives kids street awareness and the ability to defend themselves in a dangerous situation.

• In martial arts, children go at their own pace and there is a constant reward system earning stripes on their belt and then earning new belt levels.

BEST AGE TO START

• While some children start training as young as age 3, most children start between ages 5 and 9. By that time your child has enough self-control and muscle mastery to punch, kick, and turn safely. However, martial arts is a discipline that can be picked up at any age.

KARATE FOR ADD/ADHD KIDS AND OTHER SPECIAL NEEDS

• Karate has become known as tending to help ADHD kids calm down, as they learn focus and self-discipline.

• As a result, many martial arts instructors have extensive experience working with ADD/ADHD children and have developed programs that address their specific needs.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN GETTING STARTED

• Because martial arts encompasses a tremendous number of disparate styles and approaches, from self-defense to deadly moves, you should become familiar with them all before choosing the best one for your child. It is possible to generalize which styles tend to focus on well being, integrity, and self-defense, but much of the difference lies in the philosophy of each school.

• The most important things to find out about schools are their philosophies on fighting, and the message they give children about violence.

• Visit several schools before committing to one. Have your child take a class, or sit in on one yourself. If you can, make an appointment to watch part of both beginning and advanced classes. If the school offers a free introductory class, have your child take it. Your child should be grouped with others his same size and skill level for sparring. Questions to ask about classes:

• What are the size and makeup of classes?

• Are the classes organized by age or by belt and skill levels? Will there be any other students in the class at your child’s skill level?

• If classes have a mixture of skill levels, what is the range of belt levels within each class?

• When are classes offered and how long does each class last?

• What is the student-teacher ratio? The teacher should be able to give adequate attention and some individualized instruction to each child.

• When looking at martial arts studios or classes, realize that choices differ dramatically and are often lumped under the general heading of karate. Each martial art has its own colorful history and approach to training, whether it stems from the traditional martial arts of Japan, China, and Korea, or in newer American variations. Take your child’s temperament into consideration when choosing styles that emphasize evasive self-defense to offensive sparring training.

SELECTING A KARATE MASTER

• Find out who will teach your child’s class. A larger school will have several instructors whose personalities and teaching philosophies create tremendous differences in training. If you join a school because of a celebrated martial arts master, make sure your child will have access to him in some capacity. Many masters only work with students at higher levels, and will not even come into contact with beginning students.

• Find out details about teachers’ backgrounds such as who they have trained with, whether they compete in national tournaments, if they affiliate with a larger school or organization, or if they enter their students into local, regional, or national competitions.

• All instructors should have black belts and have a minimum of three to five years of training. Look for the following:

• Does he emphasize self-defense and self-control over violence and conflict?

• How does the teacher behave during a sparring session? What kinds of behavior does he encourage in her students? Is contact allowed? What types of safety precautions are in place

• Does the instructor have to raise his voice to control the class?

• How does the instructor interact with the students? Is he respectful? Are the students respectful of him?

• Do the students bow as they enter and leave the dojo, and show other signs of respect and self-discipline?

• Ask whether your child’s teacher, another instructor, or the head of the school will give the belt test. If someone other than the teacher who has worked directly with your child gives the belt test, this may prove more stressful for your child.

EARNING RANKS & BELT-TESTING

• The most traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean systems offer eight to ten belt levels from white for beginners to black belt. The more advanced belts have degrees of skill within them.

• Students earn new belts by demonstrating proficiency in a number of movements, forms, sparring, and defense techniques. Some schools guarantee a belt after a few months, though most require students to pass a test to rise from one rank to another.

• An instructor who moves students through the ranks regardless of his skills does your child no favors and may be more interested in supplementing his income than teaching your child.

• Some instructors give other awards to the children, such as patches that they can earn or trophies at the end of the session.

POPULAR STYLES OF MARTIAL ARTS AIKIDO

• This Japanese non-violent martial art was developed in the early 20th century from Jujitsu and means “way of harmony.”

• Aikido is considered a gentle martial art, using “soft,” graceful, circular movements and letting the opponent defeat himself without causing either opponent serious injury. Aikido does this by emphasizing evasion and escape techniques using minimal effort on the part of the defender. Training focuses on learning to redirect an opponent’s attack and to subdue an opponent without using force, but by applying pressure on vulnerable areas such as on the elbow, shoulder, or wrist.

• Aikido is not practiced competitively, though it does include weapons training. Training in this style usually involves some spiritual component, as it is one of the more philosophical martial arts.

HAPKIDO
• This Korean fighting style, meaning “the way of power and coordination,” combines Taekwondo with Jujitsu and emphasizes kicks, throws and joint locks. It includes both “soft” moves, as found in Aikido, and “hard” karate-like moves.

• Hapkido’s philosophy is non-aggressive, using moves that turn the attacker against himself. However, some of these moves are potentially lethal. Hapkido originally focused on pressure point strikes, joint locks, and throws, but now also includes kicks and hand strikes.

• Hapkido is not a competitive sport, and is known more as an art of self-defense.

JUDO
• This traditional Japanese martial art, meaning “gentle (or compliant) way,” was also developed from Jujitsu in the early 20th century. Its popularity grew as its practitioners began to routinely defeat students of other martial arts. Eventually, it became incorporated into the curriculum of Japanese schools. Judo places a strong emphasis on morality and character development.

• Like Jujitsu, Judo uses an attacker’s moves against him and includes throws, grappling, and other wrestling-style moves. Judo emphasizes the use of leverage instead of strength to throw your opponent off-balance and onto the ground. Once down, a variety of chokes or joint locks are used to force the opponent into submission.

• Developed and taught as a competitive sport, Judo became part of the Olympic Games in 1964, with women’s judo added in 1992.

JUJITSU

• This Japanese martial art, meaning “gentle practice,” evolved from the Samurai warrior art of weaponless fighting and looks similar to wrestling. It dates back to the 16th century, when kicks and strikes had little effect against the battlefield armor the warriors wore, so chokes and joint locks were used to attack unprotected areas.

• Jujitsu emphasizes evasive self-defense but includes moves designed to disable or kill an opponent if necessary. This competitive form of self-defense focuses on using an opponent’s weight and strength against him. The most common moves are throws, locks, holds, trips, and hits.

• Jujitsu is a well-rounded style and involves sparring and weapons training.

KARATE

• This Japanese discipline, literally translated to mean “empty hand,” is a weaponless form of martial arts characterized by quick, sharp movements. It originated on the Japanese island of Okinawa in the 1600s and developed as a means of self-defense because weapons were outlawed on the island. It is probably the most popular style of martial arts in the United States. Karate is competitive and part of the summer Olympic Games.

• Karate is a powerful fighting style and involves a great deal of high-energy punching, strikes, kicking, and hard blocks. In training, students learn intense concentration to focus strength on impact. Karate stresses offensive as well as defensive moves, but traditional karate also aspires to the more lofty lessons of discipline, respect, and honor, making violence unnecessary. Forms (kata) and sparring play an important role in training.

• Karate uses a system of colored belts, starting at red or white for new students, and progressing through yellow, orange, purple, green, brown and finally black belt. The higher belt colors often have three levels that must be achieved before progressing upward. There are ten levels of black belts.

KENDO

• Kendo is a Japanese form of sword fighting that means “way of the sword,” and stems from Samurai warriors.

• Practice involves extensive armor (padding, mask with metal bars, shoulder pads, chest and torso protection, gloves) along with a split-bamboo practice sword (ashinai) which is wielded with two hands.

KENPO/KEMPO KARATE

• Kenpo (Japanese) or Kempo (Chinese) Karate means “empty hand, way of the fist.” Chinese, Japanese, and Hawaiian martial arts contributed to Kenpo’s techniques, which were first popularized in Hawaii.

• This style emphasizes self-defense and avoidance of violence. However, it is based on street fighting tactics and includes forceful moves meant to disable or kill an opponent in a life-or-death situation.

• As the name suggests, Kenpo involves a lot of hand techniques, both blocks and offensive strikes. Training involves learning numerous training forms (kata), along with rapid-fire hand techniques, kicks, and combinations.

KUNG FU

• Kung Fu is a generic term describing any Chinese martial art (called “wu shu”), and means “well done.” Innumerable forms of Kung Fu are taught, differing in how much power is brought to the techniques. The most popular forms of Kung Fu trace back to the Shaolin Monastery, where monks developed defense techniques against roving bands of robbers.

• This complex style is fast-paced and aerobic. It involves more dynamic moves than karate and includes throws, grappling holds, and weapons. It also uses smooth, continuous moves patterned after animals such as the tiger, crane, and praying mantis.

• Self-defense is also emphasized, but because of the extreme diversity within Kung Fu, look carefully into particular dojo’s instructor teaching style and philosophy before enrolling your child.

NINJITSU

• This ancient training, meaning “the art of stealth,” stems from the feudal days in Japan when Ninjas carried out missions of espionage and assassination against warlords. Ninjas had a reputation for mercenary ruthlessness, but training in Ninjitsu primarily stresses self-protection and avoidance of danger.

• A relative of judo, the training emphasizes utilizing a number of styles in order to be more unpredictable to an opponent.

• Although training does include empty hand techniques and some unarmed combat, most techniques involve weapons such as the sword, dagger, dart, weighted chain, and throwing star.

SHOTOKAN KARATE

• Shotokan Karate is a popular traditional form of Chinese martial arts, meaning “way of the empty hand,” and designed as a lethal hand-to-hand combat art.

• Though the style does not involve the use of weapons, Shotokan is quite aggressive, including lethal moves designed to disable or kill an opponent. Much of the focus is placed on balance and one’s center of gravity, with movements described as “hard” and linear. It also embraces a fighting theory of “one strike, one kill.”

TAEKWONDO

• This Korean martial art, developed in the 1950’s, is similar to Japanese karate and means “way of kicking and punching” or “way of the foot and fist.”

• Taekwondo is power-oriented, freeform fighting, though self-defense and avoiding conflict are stressed since moves are meant to be non-lethal.

• Developed as a military art, Taekwondo uses kicks and punches to energize the body, along with breathing and meditation to provide focus.

• This form is known for its high, powerful kicks and impressive footwork. Hand techniques are used only as follow-up.

• Taekwondo has been part of the Olympic Games since 2000.

TAI CHI

• Tai chi, also known as tai chi chuan, is a Chinese exercise and fighting style practiced mainly for its health and healing benefits. It means “great ultimate fist.”

• Tai chi’s slow, relaxed, graceful movements are stylized renditions of original arm and foot blows. With its focus on balance and stretching, it increases flexibility.

• As a method of self-defense, tai chi teaches using an attacker’s moves against him in order to neutralize or evade the attack. Training emphasizes self-awareness.

WING-CHUN

• A variant of kung fu, wing-chun, meaning “Eternal Springtime,” was named after the female student of the woman who developed this style. It’s one of the most popular Chinese martial arts.

• Wing-chun involves explosive moves, using low kicks and fast hands, encompassing both defense and attack moves. This style teaches close-quarter fighting techniques, and emphasizes economy of motion.

• The low kicks and use of an opponent’s attack to defeat him make wing-chun a less strenuous sport and one at which a small child could feel successful.

• The style itself varies significantly from one school to another and philosophically embraces change and innovation as part of its teaching style.

WU SHU

• Wu Shu covers martial art styles from Mainland China, and means “martial skills.” Wu Shu is a competitive sport.

• This popular class of Chinese martial arts teaches graceful and flowing dance-like movements, along with flashy moves and acrobatics. These moves become part of coordinated sparring forms and fighting with spears or swords.

CHANGING BETWEEN STYLES

• Most instructors recommend learning the basics of one type of martial art before learning another style.

• If you switch your child from one type of martial arts training to another, discuss this change with his new instructor. Ask the instructor how your child’s belt level will translate into the new school’s system. He may have to start as a white belt or retake a belt test.

SAFETY & INJURY CONCERNS

• It’s generally only in beginner classes that your child could get injured with sprained toes, fingers and other joints. Make sure the school provides extensive protective gear to protect your child’s head, hands, and feet.

• Martial arts schools vary dramatically in the type of equipment and amenities they offer. Some are large and modern, while others operate out of a local gym or share space with a gymnastics or dance facility. Check out the facility where your child will take lessons. The equipment should be clean and the room should be well lit with mirrors along one wall. There should be enough space and equipment for all students, and weapons should be secured away from the children’s reach when not being handled by instructors or their assistants.

• If sparring or training with weapons is part of the class, you need to ask:

• What protective gear do children wear? What safety precautions does the teacher use when children handle the weapons?

• When sparring, what kind of contact is allowed? Many schools have a no-contact rule for sparring.

• How closely is sparring supervised?

• How old or experienced do children have to be before sparring or weaponry is introduced?

• Are children paired by age, size, or experience when sparring?

• What type of weapons do the older children handle? How many students handle weapons at one time?

COST CONSIDERATIONS

• Some schools allow children to take a few classes before committing long-term. Ask whether trial lessons are available on a pay-as-you-go basis. Ask as well about the cost of private, one-on-one lessons if your child needs additional individual instruction.

• If you pay by the semester or season, find out if you can be reimbursed for missed and cancelled classes or if your child quits halfway through the season.

• Find out which costs you must pay for separately, such as uniforms, belt-testing fees, badges or team uniforms. Karate uniforms generally cost between $40 and $120.

• If the dojo will encourage your child to participate in tournaments, find out what fees will be involved. Tournament entry fees generally average between $15 and $30.

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