Searching for Teacher for Youngster

[skinny]

Hi,

My sister was looking into bringing her two girls to Karate. They are very young- only 3 and 5. She looked into one school and later found out the school closed becasue the teacher was charged with molesting one of the students. Now she is panicking. Can anyone recommend a good teacherl that's been around for a long time in the Northern NJ Totowa, Wayne areas. She is interested in Karate, Kung Fu or Aikido. I recommended Aikido as it seems less aggressive and I think kids would take to it much easier. If you have any other suggestions please let me know.

Thanks,

[kengar]

Originally Posted by HandtoHand

Um yeah teaching a three year old or five year old some a fighting style is a waste of time. Basically they will probally end up getting some high ranking belt, develop a macho complex and then get the shit beaten out of them. This is because they will not be tought much at 3 - 5 because training somebody 3-5 to fight is a waste of time. Espesically females these days they think they can get away with smacking guys around...Typically they also dont teach you any of the good parts of those martail arts either because they are afraid of being sued, but yet they stick to elements of them that dont work because of "tradition".....and kneeing him in the groin. Yes this is painful but it makes a determined attacker angry, it is far easier to punch him in the throat. The other problem with women's self-defense classes is that they tell stories about how the knee'd some guy in the balls who wasnt threatening him and how he doubled over.

It scares me your giving people advice and they may actually listen.

My sister was looking into bringing her two girls to Karate. They are very young- only 3 and 5.

I think your best option may be BJJ or Judo. I have seen kids take to these, and a great part is they are doing things like tumbling. Being able to wrestle around and burn their kid like energy

[M'ragon]

Originally Posted by skinny

Hi,

My sister was looking into bringing her two girls to Karate. They are very young- only 3 and 5. She looked into one school and later found out the school closed becasue the teacher was charged with molesting one of the students. Now she is panicking. Can anyone recommend a good teacherl that's been around for a long time in the Northern NJ Totowa, Wayne areas. She is interested in Karate, Kung Fu or Aikido. I recommended Aikido as it seems less aggressive and I think kids would take to it much easier. If you have any other suggestions please let me know.

Thanks,

I think it very much depends on what exactly the mom (and the kids!) are looking for. If it's just fitness and fun, then it might be fine but there's also gymnastics and dance, etc. There is no advantage to starting early in martial arts training. Take two good students at age 16 and I would challenge anybody to pick which one started at age 4 and which at 10. Martial arts training is a long-time, ongoing commitment, and with little ones the novelty wears off. Unless it's a family commitment, I would suggest waiting a few years. I don't think style really matters at this age. If you (your sister) does want to pursue it, look for a club that welcomes parent observation. Good luck