Martial Arts Class?
 

Tell me about martial arts classes, styles, teachers, etc.

My son wants to take a martial arts class this summer. No strong view as to which styles, no particular plan to compete or become high level. Just a 15 y/o kid with an interest.

Check out French Kickboxing as another option. It's kickboxing combined with regular boxing. Umm, I don't know how to put it more delicately but it's an excellent form of street fighting.

Basically it means your kid won't be a victim ;)

An odd hobby from a former life, but I used to be into street fighting and it's an excellent way to brawl.

tai chi.

Aikido at 16 saved me from a broken neck several times and to immobilize a pickpocket.
(They were always cleaning blood from the mats from the Judo classes before.)

It's not very effective for fighting however.
Jiu-Jitsu or Jeet Kun Do work better in that department.
It's really what works for the individual.

For a 15 year old? An external style like Karate. Don't worry, the journey of all styles all lead to the same place, assuming you have a good moral instructor.

Muay Thai, Krav Maga, or grappling. My son got to brown belt in Karate, from a school known for fighting. It wasn't until he trained in grappling that he could honestly scrap for real.

I'm not particularly concerned about whether he learns to street fight. I don't think he is either.

What does "external style" mean?

waitaminit. Aren't you Asian?

Just kidding.

He could wait a few years and give MCMAP a try ...

Martial arts..........
 

See if you can find an ATA (American Taekwondo Association) school nearby. They are the largest martial arts organization in the United States. The ATA curriculum is traditional Taekwondo with lots of life skill training thrown in for good measure. How do I know this? I have been a certified ATA instructor for almost 20 years! My whole family (wife, son and myself) participated in ATA training and tournaments for several years. Probably 99% of the people that we met, trained and competed with were upstanding individuals! Good luck on your quest!

jyl - my bad. What is you son looking to get from martial arts? IMO 90% of the schools are a business first and will guarantee a black belt for X amount of money. Flashy gear and rapid belt advancement. Most kids go in to build on confidence, self defense, and honor. All good skills but none are guaranteed. It's all up to the dojo and what your son hopes to achieve. Zack wanted honor and confidence backed with ability. We searched long to find a fit.

In a nut shell...

External style is something like TKD or Muy Thai. It's emphasis is using strength and muscle. Think board breaking.

Internal styles are like real Tai Chi and Okinawan Karate (in the truest sense). It's more about harnessing the "chi/ki". (We all know this as giving a charley horse.)

You obviously don't know much about "Okinawan Karate". :rolleyes:

What about a few introductory night classes to begin with?
Different types. See what he likes.
Dad might enjoy this as well.

Talked to him about it. He says he would like to find a "traditional" style/school, that teaches more than fighting. We see there are two "shotokan karate" schools reasonably convenient, a largish taekwondo school nearby, and we are still looking at schools and styles.

He'll go visit some of these during the school year, and is thinking about starting this summer. Right now his dance program consumes all his free time.

He fenced for a few years, but doesn't want to go back to that.

His instinct will guide.
Jason Statham did the same.

It's called balance in life. He's not gonna score the chicks brawling in bars. Sure it's fun the sound of glass breaking, people screaming, tables turned upside down, chairs flying. THEN, a bit later go dancing with someone nice.

Have him try a few styles to see what he naturally excels at. As others have said, many of the typical karate type schools are just into belt promotions. I decided on grappling because it offers the most real sparing every training session and also, the best striker if taken down will be 100% helpless against an experienced grappler. I train in BJJ and Sambo. Took me 3 years to go from white belt just to Blue BTW. If you need quick promotions dont take Jui Jitsu.

I've been heavily into Krav Maga and love it. It's nice to know that you can defuse almost all situations. I've practice something or other over the decades, start him on anything and he'll find his way.

folks don't fight ..
they spar..big difference..

you mentioned he fenced..
have him check out Kendo..
my Lady will be testing soon for her black belt..
biggest improvement in her sparring & confidence..
came after she took up Krav Maga as well..
and as others have mentioned..
stay away from belt farms..
waste of his time & effort and your $$..

Rika

I've trained and taught martial arts for 24+ years now and there is much in this thread that is sensible. In the end, find out what his motivation is; belts and ranking? competition? physical fitness? personal protection? philosophy? Then expose your son to as many as possible and see what sparks an interest. Some styles are better at this and some are better at that but it all comes down to what he is looking to get out of martial training. Forcing a discipline on him will only lead to frustration and turning him off to the idea of it. And while there must be some sort of tangible commitment to his study, there is no reason not to change disciplines or schools if it is not working for him.

My daughter and a bunch of folks we know take TKD from Master Kim. He was the Korean National Champion for 11 years as well as having a Gold Medal in TKD. He is simply amazing. He has a number of locations, I don't believe any of them are close to you however.

World Champion Taekwondo - HOME

Good luck!
Larry

I kind of wish he'd go back to fencing. It is a cool sport; one of the oldest martial arts. He has fast feet and good balance. Went from fencing to dancing. The problem with dance is that the program he is in requires constant class, practice, and rehearsals, 4 weeknights plus Saturdays. That doesn't allow him to do any theatre or high school sport, too many time conflicts. It is really meant for kids who want to be professional dancers or choreographers. I'm hoping he'll still dance one or two days a week.

My son (7) has been doing Tae Dwon Do since he was 4. He loves it, and I really like the school. They focus on the "whole picture;" discipline, respect, etc. I love that.

There is one heck of a fencing coach in the Portland area.

You guys that know your stuff, I'm curious what classes you think I should take. I'm about 6' and pretty thin, but wiry from a fair bit of rock climbing. I've been reading lots of stories lately about realtors being mugged or worse, and I'm starting to think it might not be a bad idea to learn some at least basic self defense. I know it won't stop every situation, but if I can get away instead of get dead, I don't care if they make off with my phone and watch!

Jiu Jitsu. I've been doing it for years and wish I had started when I was very young.

Krav Maga is perfect for confined spaces. I started out in TKD in my teens, I feel like I need to be in an empty warehouse to practice. Remember, even so called tough guys can't fight worth a damn. You don't need to be a master nor do you need to stay and fight, you want to "get out" as soon as possible, Krav Maga will give you tools to get out of 80% of situations in a month. Stick with it and you'll have the confidence in your eye that most people won't even bother you.

+1

A couple months in Krav Maga and you should be able to hold your own against most folks, especially the 'black belt' crew. KM or grappling is perfect for your needs. More focused on take down and submit rather than stand up fighting. Submit means the attacker either gives up, chokes out, or suffers a painful joint injury.

as above..
Krav Maga is about getting away,back up if down..
& inflicting pain..
my Ladies place has a plane & apartment mock up..
you sit down..and the trainers bust in / act up..
and it's on..
she LOVES it..

Rika

The American martial art, aka firearms. Find a good school like a derivative of Jeff Cooper's Gunsite.

The original Q was about a teen... I like Aikido for kids especially, because it's mostly defensive, and a lot of time is spent learning to fall and roll (my kids are klutzes). I've seen kids go to other MA and it's sometimes hard for children or teens not to develop a cocky attitude once they master the skill to a certain level. Because they know they can do damage - instead of just walking away. Never seen that with Aikido, again beause it's defensive in nature. But if somebody initiates a fight, I think Aikido is just as good at ass-kicking as the other arts.

I love Aikido, it's a perfect practice for a teen. Great choice.

Whatever your son decides, consider doing it with him. My oldest son started ATA Tae Kwon Do at age 5. after dropping him off for lessons and hanging around waiting for a month, I decided it looked like fun. Three years later my son and I both got our black belt at the same time, while my younger son was just a little behind. I was really disappointed when the boys moved on to soccer and baseball, and decided they didn't want to practice martial arts any more. Of course, that's when I had to learn about soccer and ended up as a soccer coach...

Gary

Quality time..........
 

I did the same thing with my son and later, my wife. My son and I trained and tested together for all of our belts thru 3rd degree black belt. After getting his 3rd, he got more interested in other things and only went to class sporadically. I kept on and after about 3 years got certified as an ATA Black Collar instructor. A great way to have quality time with your kids!

I have been looking at krav classes. Needed to find one and fit in my schedule guys. Thanks everyone!

I have my concealed permit and have taken gunsite classes. It's next to useless in most situations where a realtor has been attacked. If someone gets the drop on me in a closet, etc when I have my hands full, I'm going to have to fight my way to my gun and a clean shot. Why not just fight my way the hell out. Less paperwork to fill out if they are still breathing when it's all done.

I'll put my 2 Yen in on this ... Whatever style you'd choose for martial arts of any kind in some ways needs to suit your temperament and body style to a certain point. I would think that someone in this case who's young and also graceful from dance and fencing would do well in either Aikido or Jujitsu with circular movement and avoidance to find openings to attack.
Your Krav folks are more straight line smasher basher thinkers. Not a fan of TWD and it's sport form, it's fighting style to me is not realistic in real world situations. Japanese Karate styles of Shotokan are fine, a bit rigid possibly but certainly classical style which was "borrowed" from Okinawa. Okinawan is both hard and soft style karate that if taught correctly does not include spinning woopy kicking to the head and as well grappling without submission from my background.
Look for a true camaraderie of those there working with lower level students before class... that'll give you a concept of top down instruction and a non belt farm location.

My history.... Started in 1981, 1st degree black in 84, competed in the IIKA World champs in 95 as 4th degree and have denied advancement above 4th in that I am a student of the way and never a master. I could be probably 7th degree by now but such things are not important to my path. It is , however, a constant issue with my sensei but that's another story.

Darn, one of my son's good friends started studying karate recently and wants my son to join him. It would be great for them to do it together, and I think he'd like karate. But that dojo is totally inconvenient to us, like it would be over an hour's driving RT in rush hour traffic.

There is an aikido school very close to us, like walking distance. He will go watch a class there. As well as at the taekwondo school near us, and he is interested in visiting the nearby Shotokan karate school as well.

I would get a feel for the gym. Hang out and watch a few lessons. If you like what you see then bring your child in to try a class. You are interested in the people they'll be sparring with and the safety instincts of the instructor.

For me by far my best martial arts experience was at a fighting gym for boxing and mma. Lots of tats, loud and really obnoxious rap but the people were terrific, excellent work ethic and with no attitude or ego.

There is a less mature set of martial arts students that tend to hurt their partners. Generally young beginners with big egos who don't want to "lose." Young folk are fragile so be careful who you let them spar with.

Excellent idea to attend the class with your child, at least at the beginning.

If you've been to Gunsite, wasn't there the Weds lecture on the color code? I'm a bit confused...