Do kids belong in martial arts?



When I began karate classes in 1969 there were no kids in class. No kids even tried to come. There were a few teens like myself training but generally it was men and an occasional woman who wanted to train very physically.

There were no pads, just bare knuckle sparring (until we thought about using boxing gloves). When I began teaching on my own it was just after the karate kid movie came out. My class was designed for adults and I didn't even take kids. I had a friend beg me to take his son because he desperately wanted to take martial arts so I gave in. We put him through the paces and he kept up. Eventually he turned into a talented teen and became my first Black Belt.

These days we have tons of kids in class, kids of all ages. There are definitely benefits for students of all ages. From the tiny tigers to the adults we can all improvement from the mental, physical and emotional training. I love watching the kids as they accomplish in all these areas and especially love watching them become teens and adults who excel in martial arts.


Mike Bogdanski
www.martialart-skills.com

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