What age do/would you teach from?

[andyjeffries]

I started teaching my son at 10, but only because he was interested and ready. I would not normally start that early.

Branched this out to a new topic...

My son started at 6 at our club. He has some attention issues and our instructor has found that he wakes up for longer if he's shouted at when his mind is wandering, typically during basics/forms (not a huge berating, but a "Tom, wake up!" sort of shout). Unfortunately this is having a negative effect on him at the moment so he's not feeling as in to it as he could be. That said, he loves the kicking/sparring drills so it's a bit of a hot/cold scenario depending on what he's doing.

My daughter was chomping at the bit at 5, so I started teaching her then. She started at our club the week after she turned 6 (6 weeks ago) and is LOVING it! She puts in soooo much effort and is really coming on fast. She has none of her brother's attention issues so our instructor is very nice and playful with her. She's having a great time and talks about Taekwondo for about two days before the lesson each week (nagging us to see if it's training day yet)

Personally I'm only happy teaching them from 6 years old (unless they're my sprogs!) and my club (where I'm the head instructor) will only initially be for 8 years old plus.

I see nothing wrong with kids being a dojang-rat though and training from a very early age. It may take them a while in between grades (my son is only an 8th Kup although he's been training for 2.5 years) but they can learn steadily and benefit from it.

What do you all think? When would you start teaching kids? Would it make any difference if they're your own?

 

[Markku P]

I start teach poomsae for kids somewhere 6-8 year of age. They will do little poomsae training but I go easy with them. After ages 9-10 I demand little more.
( but again when we are talking about a child so you have to look every child differently.

/Markku P.

 

[ATC]

Teaching young kids is not the same as teaching adults or teens. Mostly you are teaching focus and manners. Yes some techniques as well but more gross motor skills in the begining than anything. Kids need to learn their bodies first so lots of movement games for them. You can start training kids as soon as they can walk and understand some simple commands. But you need to keep things very short and simple. Do not expect to teach anything complex. You may simply hold a target for 30 seconds and say hit it. Now hit with this hand (while you point and touch the hand you want them to use). You are simply trying to teach them to understand your commands. Then you may just have them run and jump and play as they learn to move their bodies.

I see 10 year olds that have not been allowed to really play as they should, come in and cannot even walk correclty. Humans need to play and move to learn. People that don't let their kids play and fall and run and roll are really stunting the kids growth in learning how to be athletic.

Both my kids started formally at 4 years old. But they both also where allowed to play as kids. That meant running and jumping and yes getting hurt. Because most kids today don't play outside like when I grew up they don't really learn how to move. They don't develop, so starting them in a good MA school that understands how to teach (let kids learn natrually) kid to simply understand their bodies is a good thing.

So I say any age is good, but to me 4 is the perfect age. At 4 they can understand all the simple commands and have some gross motor skills. Plus at 4 they just love to play, and you should make learning for them fun and playful. The serious will come soon enough.

 

[granfire]

we had kids as young as 3 (up to 6 in a cub class)
then from 6 on up.

A key issue is that you have to keep the youngest (cubs) on the go. You have to constantly mix it up. That was difficult at first, having mostly trained in the adult class. They also do only the most basic stuff, much of it is - as stated above - general discipline.

The older kids do real TKD, but you have to have a bit different approach still for them than you would for adults. Still discipline is a major key, have them answering up, etc....
The junior class ranges from 6 to 14 (then they go on to the adult class, for better or worse, but it seems those who transition instead of quitting do well), but I think there should be a break somewhere around 10/11since it is a huge difference between a 6 or 7 year old and a twelve year old...things you don't tend to see since they are seldom head to head in anything.

From what you describe I think your son is a bit on the immature side. Compared to his sister anyhow, but boys are that way. Quick to drift off into lala land...
Under our system he would probably be a high cub belt, while your daughter would probably be a stellar whitebelt junior...

he would probably benefit form a class structure that is a bit more fast paced, constantly changing, interspursed with some 'games' so he does not drift off.

 

[rlobrecht]

Our school has "Little Ninjas" class from age 4 to 6. They learn technique, but no patterns or even step-sparring. You're stuck in white belt if you're in this class. They do a lot of coordination games, and it looks like they have a lot of fun. You have to switch to the regular class to advance in belts.

Our regular classes start at age 6, although you'll occasionally see a mature 5 year old which has moved from Little Ninjas.

My son started a few months before his 8th birthday. He had friends that were doing a few different martial arts, and he wanted to take "karate". We ended up with Tae Kwon Do based on the school and instructors.

Rick

 

[Kong Soo Do]

Branched this out to a new topic...

My son started at 6 at our club. He has some attention issues and our instructor has found that he wakes up for longer if he's shouted at when his mind is wandering, typically during basics/forms (not a huge berating, but a "Tom, wake up!" sort of shout). Unfortunately this is having a negative effect on him at the moment so he's not feeling as in to it as he could be. That said, he loves the kicking/sparring drills so it's a bit of a hot/cold scenario depending on what he's doing.

My daughter was chomping at the bit at 5, so I started teaching her then. She started at our club the week after she turned 6 (6 weeks ago) and is LOVING it! She puts in soooo much effort and is really coming on fast. She has none of her brother's attention issues so our instructor is very nice and playful with her. She's having a great time and talks about Taekwondo for about two days before the lesson each week (nagging us to see if it's training day yet)

Personally I'm only happy teaching them from 6 years old (unless they're my sprogs!) and my club (where I'm the head instructor) will only initially be for 8 years old plus.

I see nothing wrong with kids being a dojang-rat though and training from a very early age. It may take them a while in between grades (my son is only an 8th Kup although he's been training for 2.5 years) but they can learn steadily and benefit from it.

What do you all think? When would you start teaching kids? Would it make any difference if they're your own?

I think it makes a difference when it is your own child/children because you have a more intimate knowledge of their motivation, maturity and life experience. And to some extent it depends upon what and how you teach. Itosu Sensei was responsible for getting Karate into the Okinawan school system. This is when he took the Pinan katas and relabled what the movements meant. Children really don't need to know chokes and eye gouges. But they can readily pick up the basics and excel at them. I'm one of those 'deeper meaning' people i.e. I believe that there is an adult version of Karate and a childrens version. Same movements but different meanings. A child can learn the basic movements which are often labeled as blocks and later in training/age when they are more mature the more 'advanced' meaning can be relayed and then trained. Since the basic movements have already been ingrained in muscle memory the only thing that needs to be added is the different (more 'advanced') outcome.

When is a 'child' ready for such training? Depends solely upon the person. There are some 'adults' I wouldn't train more advanced techniques/principles because they simply lack the maturity to properly use/understand it. Or they're a dipstick that would misuse the information. Fortunately I've only had a very few of these over the years and have been shown the door after one or two classes. And these were adults, not children.

Also, for children of any age I find that some sort of abduction prevention training is highly needed and useful. Something beyond just, 'don't talk to strangers'. Things like shopping code words, emergency contact numbers in the home, escape plans in the home (for things such as home invasion, fire etc). All of this can be worked into class and made 'fun' but also very educational.

 

[Balrog]

We start at age 6 in our school. We do have the Tiny Tigers program for ages 4-5, but I'm not currently doing it. If I do, it will be taught as an "intro to martial arts" sort of thing and the kids won't earn rank until they move into the regular program.

 

[andyjeffries]

We start at age 6 in our school. We do have the Tiny Tigers program for ages 4-5, but I'm not currently doing it.

Wow, you write very well for someone so young ;-)

 

[RobinTKD]

My Nephew started at 5, he turned 6 last week and is currently a yellow belt, he's also quite dyslexic so can sometimes struggle to learn something quickly, but having said that he trains 3 times a week, and i've play fought and wrestled with him ever since he decided that sitting on my shoulders isn't as fun as grabbing hold of my chin and trying to pull me backwards his younger brother also turned 4 last week, i tried him at a normal class but he was obviously too young, so we'll wait til he's had a bit of day to day learning discipline at school, then I'll take him when he turns 5.

 

[StudentCarl]

I think the key is to keep the activities appropriate to the student so they can be successful yet grow. I work with our 4-5 year olds weekly, and as ATC mentioned, it's gross-motor coordination and learning to use their bodies. We do have some 5 year olds start in our youngest class, but it's mostly 6-9 year olds. Again, the activities must be varied and high energy, but in keeping it positive and fun you can still help kids gain a great deal in focus and coordination. If you get the program right, the kids will amaze you with their learning. And I do not mean pushing kids to meet some adult agenda, either. I am opposed to that.

 

[Spookey]

We run two programs...

Little Warriors (4-7) Skills and Drills Class
Traditional Taekwondo (8+)

The initial class is a "martial art styled" skills and drills class great for motor skills, coordination, discipline reinforcement, and the general reinforcement of manners taught in a proper household. The basics of this program also serve as a preparatory class for our Traditional Taekwondo Program that begins at age 8. When a student transfers to the Taekwondo program, he starts at a maximum of 9th Geup (Senior White Belt) if he/she has significant development.

TAEKWON!
Spooks

 

[ralphmcpherson]

My kids started at 9 and 5 and my club is ok with that so I started them young. Personally though, I dont think kids get much out of martial arts until about 13 years of age minimum and if it was my school there is no way Id accept primary school kids. Children just dont analyze things the way adults do. Sure, they can 'memorize' things (even better than adults can), but they dont truly understand something on the same level as an adult. They tend to just accept it and want to do just enough to keep up with whats going on to keep the instructor and mum and dad happy. I particularly notice this with self defence/hapkido, they just dont understand the human body on the same level as an adult so it tends to be a bit of a waste of time. Also form, kids tend to see form as a combination of memorised movements like a dance. They dont really understand 'why' they are in a back stance or 'why' they are in a horse stance, they just do it because thats the way its done. Generally an adult with 1 years experience has a much better understanding of what they are learning than a kid with 3 or 4 years experience, this can also be due to the fact that an adult chooses to do a martial art, they pay for it out of their own pocket, they have to arrange transport to get there etc, so they generally want to be good and want to understand whats going on and why. Many kids just do martial arts because mum and dad signed them up.

 

[Cyriacus]

We have a 2 or 3 year old where i Train. They dont do much, but its giving him the prequisites to perhaps be more than a White Belt in a few Years time

 

[Jaeimseu]

We have a 2 or 3 year old where i Train. They dont do much, but its giving him the prequisites to perhaps be more than a White Belt in a few Years time

Ugh, no thanks! My instructor's school very briefly tried a "little dragons" kind of thing many many years ago. He stopped doing it because he wanted to teach taekwondo; the preschool class was too preschool like. I've taught kids as young as five, but usually would prefer them a bit older. I always brought the kid in for a trial, both to see if the child would enjoy class and to judge for myself if the kid was ready. One of the key things we always looked for was if the child knew 'left' and 'right.' If they couldn't distinguish directions then they probably weren't ready yet, regardless of their age. It sucked having to tell a mom or dad that their child wasn't ready. Everybody thinks their kids are exceptional!I also worried that starting out kids too young would burn them out sooner. The parents might think, "ok, we did tkd. Let's do ....now." in that case, you've lost the chance to really teach that kid later on when he/she maybe could've stuck it out.

 

[granfire]

Ugh, no thanks! My instructor's school very briefly tried a "little dragons" kind of thing many many years ago. He stopped doing it because he wanted to teach taekwondo; the preschool class was too preschool like. I've taught kids as young as five, but usually would prefer them a bit older. I always brought the kid in for a trial, both to see if the child would enjoy class and to judge for myself if the kid was ready. One of the key things we always looked for was if the child knew 'left' and 'right.' If they couldn't distinguish directions then they probably weren't ready yet, regardless of their age. It sucked having to tell a mom or dad that their child wasn't ready. Everybody thinks their kids are exceptional!I also worried that starting out kids too young would burn them out sooner. The parents might think, "ok, we did tkd. Let's do ....now." in that case, you've lost the chance to really teach that kid later on when he/she maybe could've stuck it out.

you really have to like it. because it really is taekwondoish, not TKD...

 

[StudentCarl]

you really have to like it. because it really is taekwondoish, not TKD...

That's true, but some of the best Taekwondoin I've seen started as younger siblings of students, where the younger sib started as a dojang rugrat. We have 2-4 year olds who are off the floor but trying to copy big brother or big sis. I think that period of waiting, combined with the intense drive to be like their older sibling, can result in a special student. In the families of students I know, it's often the youngest who is most dedicated.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

Also, for children of any age I find that some sort of abduction prevention training is highly needed and useful. Something beyond just, 'don't talk to strangers'. Things like shopping code words, emergency contact numbers in the home, escape plans in the home (for things such as home invasion, fire etc). All of this can be worked into class and made 'fun' but also very educational.

Out of curiousity, does anyone teach these things to the youngsters? They fit in nicely with martial training.

 

[granfire]

Out of curiousity, does anyone teach these things to the youngsters? They fit in nicely with martial training.

well, escape plans from home is tricky. Not every home is the same so I would not want to gt into that.

We did as part of requirement have the kids learn simple escape drills (Stop, Stranger, don't touch me), name of the parents and the address and phone number (hard to tell if you don't have the card of the student in hand that they don't just ramble )
One time I asked a kid 'what's your name?'
Kid: 'Peter Parker'
me, puzzled: "and what's your name when you're not Peter Parker?'
yes, don't laugh, it really did take me a couple of seconds to connect the name!

But shopping code words seems like a good idea.

(the 'stranger' thing...seems like a little redundant tho...too long and probably not effective.But since it's more of a play style, how in depth do you go without frightening the kids?)