[quote]fatsensei wrote:
Personally I wouldn’t listen to half of the feedback these guys have given you. I’ve run a professional dojo for the last 8 years and WTF does it matter if your son is studing something that will teach him to “kick ass”. That’s ridiculous. How many fights have you been in over the years? Most of us I’d say very few. And in the off chance he does I don’t give a hoot what he’s studied, if he can’t control his emotions (fear, anger) he won’t be able to fight his way out of a wet paper bag.[/quote]If you’re going to spend years training multiple days a week, shouldn’t you at least expect to be able to defend yourself better at the end of it? A young boy can learn alot about discipline, dedication, team spirit & social skills playing a team sport like football or basketball.
Plus they get fitter & stronger and better co-ordinated and skilled. If you’re going to put your energy into learning a martial art, I think its reasonable to expect to be able to defend yourself at the end of it.
Saying that ‘they won’t get into a fight anyway so there’s no need to actually teach them how to deal with that, we’ll just wear different coloured pyjamas and have a good time’ is an unbelievable statement* coming from someone who runs a dojo. Doesn’t that stance undermine your dojo’s whole reason for being there (or maybe it’s just a money spinner?).
*I’m aware that you didn’t say that word for word - but it’s what I heard.
Saying that ‘they won’t get into a fight anyway so there’s no need to actually teach them how to deal with that, we’ll just wear different coloured pyjamas and have a good time’ is an unbelievable statement* coming from someone who runs a dojo. Doesn’t that stance undermine your dojo’s whole reason for being there (or maybe it’s just a money spinner?).
*I’m aware that you didn’t say that word for word - but it’s what I heard.[/quote]
I can see how you (and others) may have taken my post. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be able to defend themselves after years of training but I bet you that most people (including my students) think that they could effectively use what they’ve learned in karate class (to defend themselves) after studying for 6 months to one year, and I’d be willing to bet that 99% of people that study martial arts (any kind) could not successfully do so until they had studied for at least 3 years.
My point which I didn’t convey very well is that the true benefits of studying any art are not physical.
I realy do not see any reason a worthwhile school would require you to sign any kind of contract. If the school is any good, there shouldn’t be any need to lock a student in. The student(or the students parents in the case of children) should want to return each month. So I suggest you keep searching until you find a school that isn’t going to force you to sign a contract.
I’m going to agree that Judo or BJJ would be the better route. Especially Judo for something similar to what karate classes would do for a child. I’ve never seen an unhappy child in a judo class, plus they are getting some serious exercise and learning about competition.
Plus, you can usually find a judo club almost anywhere and if you worry that your child will give up, the fees will be low and there may not be a contract. Of course, judo will be quite a bit more ‘rough’ than karate right from the start.
[quote]fatsensei wrote:
I bet you that most people (including my students) think that they could effectively use what they’ve learned in karate class (to defend themselves) after studying for 6 months to one year, and I’d be willing to bet that 99% of people that study martial arts (any kind) could not successfully do so until they had studied for at least 3 years.
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I would agree with (close to it) on the 99% part. Since most people don’t train MARTIAL arts but some kind of dance that resembles them. They think they are but too bad.
Say no to any contract over 90 days. You don’t, and they don’t know if the kid will like it or not. You don’t want a kid in martial arts that doesn’t want to be there. A legitimate program doesn’t want him there if he doesn’t want to be there.
That said, martial arts is great trainign for a kid. Find out how big the classes are, how many “helpers” there are, and what their training level is. Ask for referrals. Twenty people in a class is a big class.
The art studied is less important at this age than how good the instructor is with young kids.
I’d put him in Judo if it is cheaper. The skills are just as useful for a little kid especially the ability to take a fall correctly etc… and it will be fun and useful later on. And is cheaper.
With the money saved spend some money on some kind of tutoring for school, like maths, art, music or something.