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Kids Karate Tournaments: Good or Bad?

August 22, 2010 By Sensei Matt Klein

karate kids at a tournament

Karate tournaments can build the skill and confidence of children.

The scene: A kids karate tournament in any city or town. Two karate kids clash in the center of the ring in sparring competition. It is overtime. The score is tied 4-4. The next point will determine who will get a trophy and who will go home empty-handed. One child lunges across the ring with a mighty kiai and scores with a punch to the other’s chest. He pumps his hands in the air as the judges declare him the victor. He looks to his parents, who are hoarse from yelling and screaming, for approval. They are all smiles. The other child bows his head in despair as the tears flow. This is his third tournament and he has not yet won a trophy—so close this time. He cannot bear to look at his parents. I feel his pain.

Are Karate Tournaments for Kids Good or Bad?

Are karate tournaments healthy for kids? This is an interesting question as it can apply to any sport. Our competition team, Kenpo Freestyle Sydney, has broken records for the most championships in the International Sport Karate Association in Australia. The team has been the number one ranked team for five years in a row. You might expect me to be a bit biased on this subject. I am. I believe the positives outweigh the negatives, when it comes to karate competition for kids. I will discuss why here. I would also really appreciate your comments for or against kids in karate competitions, or perhaps any sports competition.

For Karate Tournaments

While getting ready for tournaments, kids practice a lot. Tournament competitors practice about three times as much as your average karate student. This pays off as they progress much faster in their ability.

The tournament competitors get the attention of the top instructors, who take time to work with them. This training is often one-on-one.

Kids learn to handle pressure and perform. Doing this consistently helps them to overcome stress with grace—a key life skill.

A good coach will know how to motivate competitors to perform well, further building their self-confidence.

Karate competitors also learn how to overcome disappointments and perservere. They learn from their mistakes and don’t give up.

In my experience, martial artists with a competition background make the best instructors—they have forged their skills the heat of competition and now have the confidence to help others.

Kids and parents alike will build a strong camaraderie with each other at tournaments. Competitors stand around the ring and cheer and clap loudly for their team-mates.

Tournaments foster the importance of sportsmanship. Shaking hands with other competitors after their events is strongly encouraged. Words of support to other competitors who had a bad day are routinely offered. In some instances, stronger competitors let weaker ones score a point or two just so the weaker ones leave with a feeling of pride.

Children learn in competition that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. This is an important lesson to learn about life.

Against Karate Tournaments

Not everyone will be a winner. Some will quit martial arts because they are so disappointed.

Karate tournaments can be very expensive. If a student is competing regularly, it can run into the thousands of dollars per year. For families, it is even more expensive.

Kids that don’t compete might feel left out.

The pressure can be too much for some children; especially if coaches and parents put too much emphasis on winning.

How to Mitigate the Negatives

kids karate demo

Non-competitors should also be given the opportunity to show their skills.

Everyone who competes should be recognised, win or lose. We call all competitors up for a clap in front of the class and recognise them for their bravery and willingness to have a go.

We do not pressure kids to go to tournaments. If they want to go and if the family can afford it, that’s fine.

We try to recognise non-competitors for their achievements in class; for instance kids get to demonstrate techniques in front of the class if they do them well.

For kids that are having difficulty coping with the pressure, we try to give them extra encouragement. As coaches, we never show anger or disappointment at our students’ performance. We support them and try to help them do better next time. If we see a parent getting a little heated about the results of their child’s outcome, we might have a talk with them. We want kids to have fun, make friends, and be inspired by their team-mates performances. Most importantly, we want them to enjoy their day at the tournament. That is what it’s all about.

Sensei Matt Klein

Filed Under: Teaching Martial Arts to Kids Tagged With: kids+karate+tournaments, martial+arts, sports

New Term Starts 16th October

September 24, 2020
Hey Kenpo Freestylers! The first week of classes for next term starts Friday, 16th October, through Thursday, 22nd October. The last week of term will end on Thursday, 17th December. It is a nine week term. Please mark your calendars! Times and dates are also posted on our website at http://www.karate-kids.com.au/locations/.

We are a COVID safe business!

July 24, 2020
All of our head instructors and a good many of our assistants have completed the MAIA course for qualification as a COVID safe business. Please be assured that we take your child’s health and safety as our highest priority. Our classes will be run safely in a clean environment. Please talk to your head instructor […]

Regular Classes Starting Soon!

July 18, 2020
Our regular classes are starting this Friday, the 24th of July through Thursday week the 30th of July. It will be a nine-week term and will continue through Thursday, 24th September. Please see our Locations page for times and dates. Welcome back returning students and we look forward to meeting all new students. Sensei Matt

Great Deals Online Kids Karate!

May 11, 2020
Great Deals Online Kids Karate! Welcome back Kenpo Freestylers! We now have pre pay options available on iKarate for our loyal students and families – with something extra… Our way of saying thank you We have been so touched by the overwhelming support for you all for our beloved Karate Club. The emails & facebook […]

Online Kids Martial Arts Starting New Term

May 3, 2020
We are pleased to announce that a new term of online kids martial arts classes is starting this week. We had an excellent turnout at the end of last term and through the school holidays and hundreds of our students were able to successfully grade to keep progressing on their martial arts journey. This has […]

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Testimonials

Australia's Youth Self Defence Karate
mihir-joshi-kenpo-freestyle-sydneyOver the years, through Karate, I found that my confidence and self-esteem levels had sky rocketed to heights I never thought it would go. I thank Sensei Matt, and all those who have helped me in Karate, for helping me understand such values in a fun and social learning environment.
Mihir Joshi

See our Karate Success Stories Page for Mihir's story.
09/01/2014
Australia's Youth Self Defence Karate
mihir-joshi-kenpo-freestyle-sydneyOver the years, through Karate, I found that my confidence and self-esteem levels had sky rocketed to heights I never thought it would go. I thank Sensei Matt, and all those who have helped me in Karate, for helping me understand such values in a fun and social learning environment.
Mihir Joshi

See our Karate Success Stories Page for Mihir's story.
09/01/2014
Australia's Youth Self Defence Karate
Friendly yet disciplined approach towards karate at Australia’s Youth has helped enormously. It enabled Mihir to build a sense of belonging and improved his motivation to excel. It’s amazing how learning the Martial Arts helps build confidence and improve overall personality.
Yogendra Joshi, father of Mihir JoshiImage
09/01/2014
Australia's Youth Self Defence Karate
I like Karate because it is really fun and I love going on the weekend to see all my friends and Senseis. Karate makes me feel safe because I don’t worry about bullies at school because I know they can’t really hurt me.Tyvian-Macfarlne-Kenpo-Freestyle-Sydney
Tyvian Macfarlane

See our Karate Success Stories Page for Tyvian's story.
09/08/2014
Australia's Youth Self Defence Karate
The confidence karate has given Tyvian is amazing. He is takes pride in himself and he has matured. The focus, confidence and discipline he has gained through karate has transferred to other areas of his life such as educational tasks, looking after younger children both in and out of his family and demonstrating empathy for others.Robert-Macfarlane
Robert Macfarlane, father of Tyvian Macfarlane
09/08/2014
Australia's Youth Self Defence Karate
I owe my confidence, strength, fitness and leadership skills to Karate. It has taught me to persist with everything and that the only way to improve is to try harder.Adam-Loader-Kenpo-Freestyle-Sydney
Adam Loader

See our Karate Success Stories Page for Adam's story.
09/01/2014
Australia's Youth Self Defence Karate
Look at what you have achieved Matt, we can’t thank you enough for your contribution to shaping these two young men. We are often complimented about the maturity of the boys and we know their Karate has played an important part in developing that maturity. Brings a tear to my eye!
loadersRobert Loader, father of Adam and Jacob Loader
09/01/2014

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