A good karate instructor that cares about kids will see that they are safe.
Are you concerned for your son’s safety but too scared to allow him to try karate because you fear he will be injured? Do you resist your daughter’s attempts to join her friends in the local martial arts classes because you think her face will be permanently disfigured by a kick or punch?
Relax, karate and most other martial arts are relatively safe, especially for kids. Statistics http://www.nyssf.org/statistics1998.html show that martial arts are safer than most other sports, especially in the younger age brackets. Young children have less power, and are therefore less able to hurt each other than adults. As you can see from the above link, martial arts are safer than baseball and basketball, and far safer than football (gridiron) or rugby. In addition, the nature of injuries are usually far less severe in martial arts, with the typical injury a sprain, strain, or bruise, as this article shows. These are minor compared to the brain and spinal cord injuries that happen in more dangerous sports. Nevertheless, injuries do occur. Luckily, there are things you can do as a parent that will tip the odds in favour of your child’s safety.
First, schools that specialise in children are your best bet because they usually make sure the classes are kid-friendly, meaning non-intimidating and safe. Remember, they are teaching kids, not prison guards or army combat types, where the outcome is life or death.
Always insist on watching your child’s classes. Good martial arts schools will allow and even encourage you to watch the classes. It is the parent’s right to see what is going on. It is also the parent’s right to question something that does not look safe.
Are the classes usually preceded by a warm-up session? Flexibility training is the key to injury prevention. Kids are usually far more limber than adults so the warm-up session does not need to be as long as in the adults classes.
Sparring and contact is the most critical area as this is where the potential for injury is greatest. Sparring is not for beginners, especially when they are kids. The student needs to develop not only correct technique, but also the control that goes along with it before he or she steps into the sparring ring.
Does the school require students to wear protective gear, including head gear, gloves, mouthguards, shin/foot pads? Is the sparring overseen by black belts, with the sensei always present?
Are there clear-cut rules for which areas of the body are off-limits as targets? Some contact is not necessarily a bad thing, as it teaches children the importance of covering up and using footwork to evade their attacker. But allowing children to punch each other in the face or neck is a big mistake, as is kicking below the belt or in the back.
Full-contact sparring should be for students 16 years and older, not for young children. Are students that show a lack of control cautioned, or is the instructor creating an aggro environment, where the kids are encouraged to be aggressive? Technique and control should be emphasised in sparring, not brute power. These are all important areas to consider when viewing a sparring class.
Weapons can be dangerous, especially ones that are difficult to control like the kamas or nunchucks. It is advisable to require students to be a certain level, preferably black belt, before they can begin learning them.
Overall, get a feel for the instructors, as their attitudes will be reflected in their students. If they are caring and respectful, they will produce caring and respectful students in a safe, friendly environment, where learning is fun and everyone is welcome.
Well stated Matt.
I found while starting martial arts that actually Judo had more associated injuries than karate.
I started sparring at blue belt level as a late teen and that went well in the school (no real injuries until black belt level – expected with the higher level fighting).
Welcome back John! Found during Jujitsu training that must of the injuries occurred during the transition phase between stand-up and ground fighting. That’s how I tore my cruciate ligament. Caught a guys kick, and went to throw him, all his weight (about 200 lbs.) plus mine on my one leg, and snap! That’s why I gave it up at Brown belt level, which is when the incident happened. Finished the grading, but never went back after that. 18 month rehab. Am still a big believer in grappling/jujitsu, but you have to be very careful with the transition.
Yes, the intensity picks up at black belt level, but hopefully, so does the control. Sometimes ego can be a big problem in sparring, and that’s when injuries occur.
Ho Ho Ho! All Martial Arts are great to build kids Self Confidence and teach kids Wisdom and Compassion, The hardest lesson to learn in life is how to lose and still hold your head high as well as still be happy with your efforts because you have put your best foot forward; that is all that counts
“Never be afraid to fail as with out failing you can never appreciate all your feature achievements”
I have watched kids at Collaroy and Mona Vale DOJO’s as young as 5 year olds mature in to confident and compassionate adults that I would consider as part of our Inner Circle of friends.
“We Are Family!”
Merry Xmas to all & a Happy New Year Ho Ho Ho!
Thanks Shandor for your vote of confidence. Happy Holidays.
Awesome post, Matt! I agree that under controlled condition martial arts are great and beneficial for children. Looking for a good martial school that teaches children is very hard, but well worth the effort. Some schools may be too harsh, some maybe teaching philosophies you don’t want taught to your child, and some schools are perfect.
Thanks for your visit Elmer and also your complement. Yes, I agree that some schools are too harsh, and treat kids like “miniature adults”. It is a different game, the teaching of children. I have seen the benefits first hand as young children mature into well-respected leaders in our organization.
I believe that kids should actually start some sort of karate training when they are young. If the instructor is good this will be highly beneficial for them. They can learn discipline and they can learn to protect themselves, which is highly important nowadays. Unfortunately, my problem is that there are a lot of bad instructurs out there. Glad to hear that there are people that want to teach the kids by also having fun. THis does help out a lot with kids.
Welcome Marius, and thanks for your insights. You are correct in that there are quite a few instructors out there who should be doing something other than martial arts. Fortunately, there are also many good ones. You need to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. We have been successful by making karate fun and non-intimidating for kids.
I agree that karate is safer than school sports because in football, someone kicked the ball and it flew straight into my stomach, in karate punches fly just in front of me and I don’t even feel the wind. Thanks for this article Sensei Matt!
Thanks for visiting Sandra. Yes, the trajectory of a football is very hard to predict. You must either be very hard to hit, or you are sparring with someone that has very good control!