Kids taking long breaks from Karate

[Shaolinwind]

My wife's young sisters (8 and 10 I think) study Karate in a do-jang in Michigan. They both excelled in it and like it a lot. However I just heard that they are pulling them out of class for 3 months during the summer season and keeping them out during the back-to-school season. This is disturbing! When I took a break for 5 days during the recent holiday I came back feeling like I lost a month of training. Are the two green belts going to come back performing like orange? Neither of their parents are Martial Artists and I doubt they are going to enforce regular practice. I hope this doesn't end up with them stopping altogether!

 

[Genin Andrew]

Hmm it does sound a little grim dude, mainly due to the fact that they are youngsters and can easily lose interest in something. When i was 12 i was a green belt in Karate, i took a break because i joined Army cadets, i wish i didnt take the break because i never went back :uhyeah: And after being in cadets i realised i could have easily fitted in Karate.

So i'm not too sure what the real reason is that there stopping, but i think its wise to keep them going, even if its once a month or something like that! better than nothing i guess! and show them how to train in their spare time,after homework of course...

Hope this is some sort of a helpful opinion.

-Andrew

 

[shesulsa]

So much goes on during the school year and I don't know if these particular kids have other extracurricular interests, but I do know that parents can burn out. Parents often want a break just like the kids do - and the freedom to do what they want when they want. It could be just that - a break.

 

[MJS]

My wife's young sisters (8 and 10 I think) study Karate in a do-jang in Michigan. They both excelled in it and like it a lot. However I just heard that they are pulling them out of class for 3 months during the summer season and keeping them out during the back-to-school season. This is disturbing! When I took a break for 5 days during the recent holiday I came back feeling like I lost a month of training. Are the two green belts going to come back performing like orange? Neither of their parents are Martial Artists and I doubt they are going to enforce regular practice. I hope this doesn't end up with them stopping altogether!

This happens many times, as people want a break, go on a vacation, etc. Will they perform like a lower rank if/when they return? That depends. If they still take a day here and there to review their material, there's a good chance that they will retain most, if not all of what they've learned. Hopefully they'll find time to train and return once Summer is over.

Mike

 

[Gemini]

This happens many times, as people want a break, go on a vacation, etc. Will they perform like a lower rank if/when they return? That depends. If they still take a day here and there to review their material, there's a good chance that they will retain most, if not all of what they've learned. Hopefully they'll find time to train and return once Summer is over.

Mike

I agree if they touch base at least occasionally, they will have a better chance of both retaining the material and continue their training. I've seen too many times where students took a break that was intended to be for a limited duration only to never return. We do however, have 2 or 3 students that take off for the summer and do come back. I think it has more to do with the parents taking a break as Shesulsa said.

 

[Grenadier]

Regular practice will help reduce the amount of material lost, although it's entirely up to the kids to decide whether or not to keep themselves sharp. If they don't train regularly, then there will be a degradation of sorts, and this amount of degradation will vary from one person to another.

With kids, it seems that it's a bit easier for them to get back into things, than it is with adults, both in a physical and mental sense.

 

[MA-Caver]

Well, as I see it; Martial Arts is more than just the training. It's how much heart you got in it. Think about it for a moment... how many tens of thousands of people took Martial Arts in the last, oh I dunno... ten years? How many have stayed after their first bb? Browns, greens, reds, and so on?
Those of us who have stayed in even after a brief respite and continued on have the heart of a Martial Artist. IMHO :asian:
It's not for everyone and as Shesulsa pointed out not just kids can burn out (though the percentage might be higher). Taking a break sometimes helps a person focus better when they return. It helps them evaluate for themselves if they truly want to stay in it beyond what they have learned.
Call it the heart or spirit of a warrior if you will, but it's something that many of us should know in our hearts and souls that this is something that we want to continue doing.
I balance myself by doing more than just martial arts and caving. I find other things to occupy my mind/body/spirit because I know that there is much more to myself than those two (primary) loves of my life. I will always be a caver, I will always be a martial artist but I will also be much more than what I seem to be.
Kids ... they're still trying to figure it all out. Having them take a break might be a good thing rather a bad thing. If they're not interested after the respite ... then money is saved for something else they might be interested in. If that happens :idunno: at least they've had exposure to (real) MA and may take it up later or the teachings from their instructors will carry with them til their adulthood.

 

[mj-hi-yah]

I agree with Shesulsa that sometimes parents need a break, but I think kids need a break too. More and more kids are suffering from overuse injuries as a result of stressing their bodies physically through constant repetition, and this is more likely to occur when kids only engage in one activity over a long period of time. While their bodies are still growing, children should play different sports throughout the year to avoid overusing the same muscles etc., injuries can especially occur in collision sports and depending on the training in your school martial arts can be included in this category. There is also a boredom factor for kids, and if they are not given the choice to explore other interests they may give up martial arts for good because they become uninterested in it. I think it is healthy mentally and physically for children to be given a break from any repetitive activity during their crucial growing years. One of the nicest things about martial arts is that it can be a lifelong pursuit, where the opportunities to play many other sports wane as we age. Let the kids be kids for now. If they love the training they will return.



MJ :asian:

 

[Andrew Green]

Most other sports have off seasons. And they don't seem to have quite as high of burnout rate. Maybe its a coincidence?

Breaks are good, if they need them, they need them. Continuing when you need a break is the best way to end up quitting for good.

 

[arnisador]

With kids, it happens. There's not much to be done about it.

 

[Hollywood1340]

We've always said, if you like it why take a break?

 

[Shaolinwind]

I agree with Shesulsa that sometimes parents need a break, but I think kids need a break too. More and more kids are suffering from overuse injuries as a result of stressing their bodies physically through constant repetition, and this is more likely to occur when kids only engage in one activity over a long period of time. While their bodies are still growing, children should play different sports throughout the year to avoid overusing the same muscles etc., injuries can especially occur in collision sports and depending on the training in your school martial arts can be included in this category. There is also a boredom factor for kids, and if they are not given the choice to explore other interests they may give up martial arts for good because they become uninterested in it. I think it is healthy mentally and physically for children to be given a break from any repetitive activity during their crucial growing years. One of the nicest things about martial arts is that it can be a lifelong pursuit, where the opportunities to play many other sports wane as we age. Let the kids be kids for now. If they love the training they will return.



MJ :asian:

It just boils down to it being more convenient for mom. THey will be home several weeks of each month.

 

[SwedishChef]

I took a week off kung fu when I was in 8th grade because of finals and when I came back the school was gone. It had moved north and by the time I located it all the car pools were filled. I never managed to get my mom to pony up for lessons again so it was almost 12 years before I was back training. Sad.

 

[TigerWoman]

Our kids' classes go down in numbers every summer. Here in Minnesota, summer is a real treat. Blink and its fall already. So most people here get outside and bike, run, play basketball, kayak, fish, boat ski, whatever, but it has to be outside. Even in this humidity and mosquitoes. That goes for the adults too.

But quite a few don't come back. The routine for the parents is broken and the child doesn't seem to require it after months of being without it. They adapt to anything. And summer is full of activities. So, if they come back, they might as well go back a level and retest. But as others have said, those that stay in year after year through the summers, have the martial spirit to go on to black belt.

My kids never had a break more than two weeks when we would go on a vacation. It was a part of life already and part of their days. But during summer they might bike and substitute, but go back to the next session if they were too tired from the day. I never made it a mandatory thing even when I wasn't in it. TKD became part of who they were. Later, when I joined, I realized that after two weeks, it takes me a month to get back where I was if I don't do anything during vacation. Even though I come back refreshed from vacation, I miss it a lot. and I realize why they did too. TW

 

[arnisador]

Yes, summer is usually a time of lowered turnout.

On the other hand, I usually attend morning classes here. During the school year that means smaller classes and lots of attention--but now the class is full of people who have the summer off!