Karate?

[Cindy B]

My daughter did karate for about 6 months.. She's not super athletic and in my area, at her age, even the recreation programs require tryouts for sports.

(She's just turned 8!)

She liked it at first. However, she progressed fast and soon were in higher level classes with very aggressive boys that actually really scared her! She's pretty petite and the boys were really nutty! I was actually scared for her.

She was at a point where she needed to get more serious or just stop if it wasn't fun for her anymore. She stopped.

She liked it for the time, but has since moved on.

 

[MinnieM3]

From one Tang Soo Do parent to another.... - I guess it depends on where the classes are being taught... When we were in NY, there were no fees for testing GUP levels. Except when they took Black Belt test and if I remember correctly that was about $250/pass or fail....

Here in NC, I have been lucky enough to find a Tang Soo Do class, but they do charge a bit more for classes and $50 for testing GUP levels.....

Another vote for TanSoo Do! DS6 has taken for almost a year and really enjoys it. We are blessed with a great instructor and usually a small class. If the class is big (over 10) they divide up with 2 instructors. The older belts help out, too. We pay $80 a month. DS6 goes on Mon., Wed., Fri., and Sat. Most weeks we make all 4 days. Some weeks, not. Class is 45 minutes. Belt testing is $45 I think. DS6 is going for the second green stripe on his orange belt. Master Kim from Korea is coming next month and that's a really big deal. DS really enjoys it. There are all ages in his class.

 

[WDW LOVR]

BTW - I think it is an excellent sport. My black belt son, although active in team sports, also did well in Martial Arts. It is always nice to go to a Parent Teacher conference and have the teacher's worst thing to say - How can I get him to stop saying "Yes, sir"

Amen, I still get chills when I hear my son respond to an adult with "yes sir" or yes mamm". What more could you ask for than to have another adult tell you what a respectful, polite young man your son is? I think that his martial arts training has had a big part of that (although I'd like to think we had something to do with it also .

 

[janette]

My 11yo DD started Karate this year. She took a class this summer that was pretty inexpensive but only an hour a week. We went to a couple of different schools that did Karate since that is what her interest was in. One just wasn't a very good fit for us but she really likes the one we ended up choosing. Most of the schools around here will do trial lessons and let you observe before you decide.

She is older than most of the other kids but has progressed faster. The master instructor at the school is a women and my DD also likes that

 

[hdecker]

DD13 is a 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. We pay 35.00 a month for 4 classes a week and she is on her center's demo team. I must say I am surprised about some of the things I've read on this thread - black belt mills; the cost of some of the schools, etc, but the most disturbing thing I see is quitting or changing arts after they reach the black belt level. In DD's school they are taught that they are learning to become a black belt from day 1 - that once you acheive that level and quit that you may have earned your black belt, but you never were a black belt. I hope you find a martial art and an instructor that your dd loves as much as mine does.

 

[Swimnoid]

DD18 and I are both black belts in Taekwondo. DD started when she was 7. The best thing she got out of it was self discipline, perserverence, respect, self confidence and other life skills. Any good martial arts school will teach these character values. As above posters stated, stay away from the belt mills and look for great teachers.

 

[DISJAZZ]

DS received his Black Belt last March. He studies Tae Kwon Do with the American Tae Kwon Do Association (ATA). They are nation-wide and each school teaches the same thing at the same time. This is especially helpful if you might possibly move. I studied several Martial Arts only to begin again each time I moved.

 

[mt2]

Both of my DD's (10) have been doing American Karate for the last 2 1/2 yrs. They test every 6 months. He will not test the child if they are not ready. This happened once and he felt it was his fault. I personally thought it was the child/parent fault since they didn't show up for the classes regularly. He quit soon after his belt test. Their instructor is a 5th degree Black belt and a Ft Worth Police officier.

He doesn't believe in the competition stuff. He basically teaches the kids and adults so they learn self disipline and the techniques to protect themselves. He prefers that they learn than to have "a belt mill"

I was called into the practice room. (I thought they were goofing off and needed to be removed )

He told them to demonstrate a certain kick against this upright bag. Both of them did it but he had to stand behind it to make sure it didn't tip over. When they were finished, he came over to me to tell me that the bag was weighted down with approxiamtely 225 lbs of sand and he was really having to stand guard of the bag to make sure it didn't tipover.

"They have VERY powerful legs and kicks. I hope you're proud of them, I am."

I pay $38 a month per child and we go 2X a week. The tests are $35 per child.

 

[pfishgirl]

DS (15) is a Black Belt in karate going for a 2nd degree.. He is out of karate now due to injury (not from karate) and is really upset. He has been in Karate since he was almost 10.

In his school the children are seperate from adults... and they are classified by belt color.. White and Yellow ( beginners) are together, Black Belts are in a Class of their own..


DS LOVES it and he has grown into a Mature, Respectful Young Man..

 

[clarabelle]

Thanks again!