I am thinking about signing my kids up for karate. Can you tell me what kinds of things to look for in a good school/instructor?
Do you think that 6(almost 7) and 4(almost 5) is a good age or still to young?

By Cat on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 04:37 pm:

We start them as young as 4 IF they're ready. You want an instructor who's good with not only the kids, but the parents, too. Ours is awesome. He/she needs to be strict, but not unreasonable. He/she is dealing with kids, after all. One of the best kid's karate instructors I've met works with the whole family. If the kids aren't behaving at home or school, he will help the parents with that at karate class (our instructor does this too, but this other instructor specializes in children under age 8). With our drills, we make them fun for the kids, but they're still learning the basics. Beware of schools that advance kids too quickly--a black belt isn't as special if they really didn't "earn" it, kwim? Kids in our school can't get an adult black belt until they're 16 (or almost, at their instructor's discretion). It takes a minimum of 4 years to get to black belt as an adult (I test next summer). Kids under 7yo are classed as Pee Wee, and from 8-15 are Jrs. Both my boys made it to Jr. Black Belt before moving on to other things. I love our school and the morals/beliefs they have. If you want more info about our school I'd be happy to email you the link to their main site. I don't know if there are any schools in your area, but you can check out the school at least. Also, do a google (or whatever) search for "karate children". There's a lot of great info out there on what to look for and what to avoid. Good luck! Are you going to join with your kiddos???

By Emily7 on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 05:02 pm:

Thank you so much.
I would love to join with them, but I think I need to lose some weight and get in shape first, although I imagine that would it would be a great way to do both.
If you wound't mind emailing the link to momof 2 at bresnan dot net I would appreciate it.

I am hoping that it will help my son with dicipline both at home and at school.

By Cat on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 05:20 pm:

CYE