Young Children (Pre- Age 6 or Grade 1)

Young Children are a wonder! This is a time of amazing growth, progress and wonder (for the children and the parents). Since there is so much energy, potential and progress at this age, it is natural to want to guide (maybe even harness) that energy and progress and give children a "head start". Children at this age also have lots of time, and it's natural to want to find something for your child to do, again providing a head start. These are admirable and natural feelings for a parent. There are many, many businesses (some of them martial arts schools) that prey (and make a hefty profit) on these natural feelings and good intentions of parents.

At Budo, we take a much longer and broader look at life, education and the family. Our goal is to have all of our students have the most full and fulfilling lifetime. Most of life is spent in adulthood, therefore getting the most out of these years is most important. Childhood is a time of preparation for that lifetime. Young child is a time to prepare for childhood. It is also a very important time of their life, and for you to be the best parent you can be.

If the school has significantly more children than adult students, it's a red flag that the program is actually going to limit your child's long-term potential.

While it is true that a good "Pre-karate" program (and we ran a very good one for a number of years) can prepare a child to start martial arts lessons and can lead to some physical and mental development a few months sooner, in reality almost all children will develop these skills and abilities by the time they are 6 or in first grade. However, most programs are not very good for long-term potential. They look fun and develop repeated organized physical patterns, fulfilling the parent's expectations and stroking their egos, while actually destroying long-term potential for the most important martial arts lessons in adulthood.

In terms of life (80-100 years) a few months "head start" doesn't make much difference. While we know children at this age can be handful and there is a desire to provide them with a "head start" with all of that energy, we suggest the best use of this time in their life is for the child to spend as much time with (and being guided by) the parent(s) as possible. This is the best head start you can give them. If you want them to learn repetitive physical exercises through games it's easy enough for you to teach them at home. It may not seem like it when your children are this age, but the time with your children (in terms of life, growth and influence) is very limited. Appreciate all that you can and spend some time improving yourself - The better the parent, the better the child.

In a similar way, take the money you would have spent on such lessons and save it for the child's future, or invest in your own education of life. The more you know about life, the better you can help your child(ren). Then, when your child has the abilities and awareness to benefit from life lessons from training in the preliminaries of authentic martial arts (age 6 or first grade) bring them in, and we will train them in abilities beyond those that a typical parent can teach.

In the meantime, if you want them to have a head start on those benefits from martial arts training, we suggest the best way is for you to teach them at home. That is, start training yourself (even if once a week or less), and we will provide you with the knowledge of how to prepare and guide your child. In this way, you can understand the art and its benefits, improve your own wellbeing and provide a better parent for your child.

Learn More about Our...

·  Family Martial Arts Philosophy  ·   Adult Lessons (21-32) (30-60)  ·

·  Kid's Program Philosophy  ·   Kid's Lessons  ·   Kid's Program Difference  ·

or Use the Menubar at the top of the page to learn about Okinawan Martial Arts, Our Martial Arts Style, Head instructor, Schedule and much, much more.