Which martial arts is suitable for children?
Practicing martial arts is a great way for children to build physical fitness, mental strength and personality development too. Here are a few of the most popular forms of martial arts you can introduce to your children as early as 4 years onwards.
Karate:
Karate uses kicks, punches, blocks etc for a full body contact. Even though it is quite an ancient sport, it has only recently been included as an Olympic sport. It has progressive movements called Katas which the student can practise and display. It is arguably still the most popular martial art form in the world.
Taekwondo
Taekwondo emphasizes more on fast kicking movements with a few punches. It is well known for the high kicks, multi kicks and round house kicks. The equivalent of Kata in Taekwondo is Poomsae. It has been an Olympic sport much before Karate found its place.
Kung Fu
Kung Fu is traditional Chinese style of fighting, which has actually many disciplines such as Wing Chun, Shaolin, Wushu, Tai Chi, and various animal styles. KungFu also uses many types of weapons and emphasizes fluid movements. The variety can sometimes be confusing and overwhelming. The iconic Bruce Lee originally practiced Wing Chun and combined with other western forms as kickboxing to create Jeet Kun Do.
Judo
Judo, another martial art form originally from Japan and also an Olympic sport, emphasizes gripping and grappling rather than striking. The focus is on balancing oneself and on throwing the opponent to the ground. Also locking key areas to force the opponent to tap out is another way to win the combat.
In summary all the above martial arts help develop strength, endurance, and flexibility, apart from discipline. Which one is most suitable in your case depends on your access to the best coaches and your personal interest.
There are two other Olympic sports which are also martial arts – wrestling and boxing. However, for wrestling usually there are not many Akhadas easily accessible. And in the case of boxing, it is not recommended for little children.
At CoachDirect, we partner with local sports associations and offer martial arts coaching for popular forms such as Karate, Taekwondo, Kungfu, etc.. We offer regular assessments (belt exams) and tournament exposure to our trainees.
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