Starting my son on TKD

[Nosweat]

My son is five. He's grown up seeing me train in Muay Thai, and he is very keen to start training in martial arts as soon as possible.

I'm not a fan of TKD, but there's a place 200 yards from my house that does TKD classes for kids.

Since I have no ambition for my son to be a professional fighter, I just want him to get balance, coordination and mobility so he has the tools to do whatever he chooses when he's older and I'm thinking of starting him in the classes.

Is there any harm in him doing TKD? Will he learn bad habits?

 

[pash123]

And here we go....

Sherdog will now start a war on which martial arts is the best...

3....

2...

1...

But on a side note, I started off in TKD when I was little. Can't say I learned much. I say start him off in boxing, then move on to muay thai after a while.

 

[k.o. kid]

Its a great way to get the little guy active. Just look at TKD as a sport. All sports are different. The flexability training it offers is a huge perk. TKD gets a bad rep but has a lot to offer. Pettis came strictly from TKD and he is doing allright. Robbie Lawler told me he was a junior TKD national champ. If your son wants to move on to MT or another combat sport he can easily adjust. Give it a chance if he dosn't like it move on to something else.

 

[thugpoet]

Bein active is never a bad thing ur son will learn everything u want him to in tkd also its safer then boxing and mt

 

[Bennosuke]

I think TKD is a great idea. I have a few guys in my gym who did TKD as kids and their kicks are easily some of the harder and faster in the gym.
Depending on the school (Dojang?), I also think it is a great idea for kids. At the age of five your son's bones and brain are developing at a rapid rate (I'm sure you are well aware), and thus the less trauma you put them under the better.

I know it goes against the common belief that sparring is the gold standard for training, but you want to avoid letting him spar till he is a good way through puberty.

 

[Mumrik]

It's kind of funny how TKD has this image of being a safe and healthy sport for young people when in reality, people die in competition from time to time.

For a five year old I'd think some sort of grappling (wrestling, judo or kid-specific submission grappling/BJJ) made more sense than stand up, but that's not my call to make.

 

[strike63]

I think TKD is a great idea. I have a few guys in my gym who did TKD as kids and their kicks are easily some of the harder and faster in the gym.
Depending on the school (Dojang?), I also think it is a great idea for kids. At the age of five your son's bones and brain are developing at a rapid rate (I'm sure you are well aware), and thus the less trauma you put them under the better.

I know it goes against the common belief that sparring is the gold standard for training, but you want to avoid letting him spar till he is a good way through puberty.

I started tkd at 10 and trained in it until i was 18, but the school i went to had a seperate kids class and let the kids spar each other lightly. So unless the school really does not know what they are doing he should be ok. With any Martial art school, or sport either, I would make sure you stay and watch him the first few times to see how things are done before just dropping him off and picking him up latter for this reason though.

 

[strike63]

It's kind of funny how TKD has this image of being a safe and healthy sport for young people when in reality, people die in competition from time to time.

For a five year old I'd think some sort of grappling (wrestling, judo or kid-specific submission grappling/BJJ) made more sense than stand up, but that's not my call to make.

I agree with this guy if you ever think the kid will want to pick up a grappling art as I think striking is easier to pick up. I never grappled until i got to college and i am getting owned. but ts aslo said he didn't see his kid as a future fighter. so karate or tkd may be more kid friendly

 

[Bennosuke]

I'm not saying there are no schools that allow sparring for kids, I'm saying I wouldn't let my son do it. Even lower impact blows from kids his own age can have an effect on a developing brain.

That isn't to say anyone who participates in sparring at an earlier age will be stupid, but that the kid is at a risk to suffer brain trauma at an age where brain development is very important. Unless the kid is going to be a professional athlete, mental faculties are still important, so why risk it?

Also, bone development is important. Pad work? Probably fine. Heavy bag work or maki wara on a daily basis? Probably not.

This is just my opinion that I'm basing on the scientific and medical papers I've read. I'm just giving my thoughts to TS

 

[Violent Violin]

It's kind of funny how TKD has this image of being a safe and healthy sport for young people when in reality, people die in competition from time to time.

For a five year old I'd think some sort of grappling (wrestling, judo or kid-specific submission grappling/BJJ) made more sense than stand up, but that's not my call to make.

This response made the most sense. Young developing brains shouldn't be bashed. Getting caught in a submission seems to be much less traumatic than getting clipped hard.

VV

 

[Mumrik]

Getting caught in a submission seems to be much less traumatic than getting clipped hard.

VV

Better yet. Many classes for kids either don't use submission until they get older, or they stop the roll as soon as the kids get close to a sub.

Maybe it doesn't matter though. If the kid was inspired by watching his dad's Muay Thai, then he probably wants to pick up a striking art.

 

[Violent Violin]

Better yet. Many classes for kids either don't use submission until they get older, or they stop the roll as soon as the kids get close to a sub.

Sounds very smart.

Maybe it doesn't matter though. If the kid was inspired by watching his dad's Muay Thai, then he probably wants to pick up a striking art.

Yeah, but parents are there to provide guidance to their children.

VV

 

[Nosweat]

From a fitness/training perspective my instinct would be to start him on Judo, but he sees me working on the heavy bag and he's definitely excited about striking.

The reality is, I'm not a coach training an athlete (however tempting it is to think like that) so I think I'm going to give the TKD classes a try.

If he has fun and stays active, I'll be happy.

 

[My little Tony]

most tkd places are WTF, which means they dont punch to the head and wear body protection if they even spar. Sounds pretty safe if you ask me.
If the kid enjoys himself, good.

 

[k.o. kid]

Kids can't make head contact unless they are a black belt age 12 and over sparring another black belt age 12 and over. Even then it is in a controlled environment and not full contact. There is no punching to the head so it would have to be a head kick which makes the percentage of getting hit in the head lower.

 

[peanut66]

in my opinion 5 years is a little bit too young , at that age kids still like to play , and what happens is , the instructors or schools start making tkd fun , and play dodge ball and other fun games with the focus being keeping the parents satisfied and the kids playing and happy ,,, this is the recipe for the mcdojo , the other kids 8-12 also like to have fun and will go either way ,and rather than training the art like to play as well ,so they too are being corrupted by the presence of the kids ,

now the club i belong to, has a 7 year old age limit, and focus on training and not baby sitting , also they cut all kids classes for the summer and give the kids a break ( unless they are competitors ) classes resume in september ,,this system works the best so far ,

dont push the kid to go too much and force him to like it, give him time for all the other things in life that kids like to do ,( that pretty much goes for any sport when it comes to kids )

tkd is great , but once he gets older , try wrestling , grappling , boxing and let him gravitate to where he likes ,,,, just my opinion

 

[cjpofd]

My 2 cents-
The fact that the gym is so close to your house is great. It makes it a lot easier to get your kid there when it doesn't involve a long drive there and back. Also, getting him started in TKD is a great way to break him into the martial arts and he can always move to MT or another art later.

 

[Mumrik]

to NOS. actually TKD combines very nicely with Muay Thai.

Looks at Anthony Petitis he has a MT base but is able to launch the surprise circus kicks of TKD.

Eh? Pettis has a TKD base. He was a competitor.

 

[Mikey B]

to NOS. actually TKD combines very nicely with Muay Thai.

Looks at Anthony Petitis he has a MT base but is able to launch the surprise circus kicks of TKD.

Krav Maga is good for kids too. IF you have one nearby.

Teach kids how to escape chokes and holds along with basic striking


Sounds like you could teach your kid basic MT through.

TKD students have great coordination and flexibility for sure.

You have that backwards. But yes, TKD and Muay Thai work quite well together. My brother in-law teaches TKD and Muay Thai.
There's also a guy on Youtube named KwonKicker that mixes the two.

 

[Stratamagnus]

It's kind of funny how TKD has this image of being a safe and healthy sport for young people when in reality, people die in competition from time to time.

For a five year old I'd think some sort of grappling (wrestling, judo or kid-specific submission grappling/BJJ) made more sense than stand up, but that's not my call to make.

I'm willing to bet there are more football related deaths every year than TKD deaths.