If you’ve read our previous articles, it’s no secret that karate makes everything better. If you’re a parent, you probably want to get your child involved in karate from day one. Children are usually able to start karate around the age of four, but kids grow and develop at different paces. Use these questions as a guideline to determine if your child is old enough to start karate:
Independence
If your child clings to you and is too shy or uncertain to leave your side, they may not be ready to learn karate. Parents are always encouraged to watch on the sidelines and offer their children support, but your kid should be ok with learning independently even if you aren’t there. As a transition phase, you can sign up for one of our family karate classes and enjoy kicking up some fun as a family until your kid is ready to set out on his or her own.
Focus
In order to learn karate, your kid needs to be able to focus on a particular instruction or task for at least a few minutes at a time. If your child is easily distracted, if their mind starts to wander quickly, or if they actively disrupt classes because they can’t stay focused, they might be too young for karate. Once your child is old enough to devote full attention for the length of a segment (a few minutes), then you can sign them up for karate.
Body Control
Karate requires the ability to execute precise movements and motions with your body. If your child is still a clumsy toddler, they may not have the body control and coordination needed to properly learn karate. They also might not be ready if they’re at the other end of the spectrum, a little ball of energy incapable of sitting or standing still for any length of time. Once they can train their bodies to work in the way their brain intends, they’ll be ready to sign up for karate.
Finally, you can try out a class in person. You can watch your child as they test out the environment and learn the basics of listening and then putting the instructions into action. Even if your child isn’t quite ready, they’ll probably have fun in the environment and be super excited to sign up down the road. Soon enough, your child will turn into an awesome karate kid.
