I'm thinking of signing the boys up for Karate. There's a Kempo Karate class at a local elementary school two days a week, an hour each day. They have a two week free trial and you get a free uniform. I really think this would be good for the kids. Randy would really enjoy it and Robin might learn some self control. We went last night with a friend (Randy was invited to "buddy night") and I talked to the instructor. He said the normal ratio is about 7:1. Is that good? There were about 5 white belts there last night, a yellow belt and several purple and blue belts along with the instructor and another black belt (adult). So who's kids are in Karate? What should I know before going into this? After the two week trial it's $25 each to register and $50 each a month. Tonight's the kids last night for swimming lessons and then we're taking a break from that. Can't do both at once! Any advise/info for me? TIA

By Newbabysarah on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 07:52 am:

I went to karate when I was a pre-teen and I LOVED it! It kept me active and I felt proud of myself when I did something good that I couldn't do before. I think karate is a wonderful outlet for kids to get energy out and have fun.

By Colette on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 08:03 am:

My ds is a black belt. He just got it in December. My oldest dd and youngest dd are in it as well. It is a wonderful outlet for the kids but be very careful. A lot of schools get you in at this super low rate and then with in a few months they start hitting you up for "the black belt club", which they will want more $$ for and then they will want you to buy sparring equipment, re-breakable boards, nunchuks, kamas, bo's, kali sticks, etc. etc. Also check and see if they want you to sign a contract and how long the contract is for. I would go to the karate school and talk to parents (in the parking lot before or after class, not in the school) to find out how they feel about it. Make sure you talk to parents whose kids have been there for a long time, not the parents of other white/yellow/orange/purple belts. My ds had a wonderful teacher, but after going on about self control speeches, she got pregnant (not married). I didn't care about that, but a lot of parents did and she got pulled from the school. Now we have the owners son, who is a great guy, but he went and gave a little speech about goals, and his #1 personal goal wasn't to live a good life or be a good person, it was to live in a bigger house than his father. Umm, hello? Keep that one to yourself. So, as you can tell I am a little jaded with karate schools. So, it is a good thing to get the kid's into, my ds's self esteem has risen greatly, but make sure you thoroughly check out the school before you sign anything.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 08:13 am:

I agree, talk to parents of long-time students and, more importantly, observe a couple of classes to see how you feel about the interaction between instructor and students and students/students.

If taught properly, Karate calls for a lot of physical and mental discipline. But some instructors and classes can teach a more aggressive form of Karate, which I personally don't think is a good idea.

My oldest got Karate lessons at every Boy Scout meeting and it was great. He is a very non-violent person and cannot bring himself to try to hurt someone else, but in highschool when he was being picked on, he used the Karate to defend himself, kept himself from being hurt, and drove the other boys crazy.

By Colette on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 08:28 am:

also, if you do decide to join, when your kid's get into sparring etc. and need that equipment, a lot of it can be bought, gently used, on ebay or from a 2nd hand sporting good store.

By Cat on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 09:02 am:

Thanx for all the input (so quickly!). I got a price list last night for equipment and some of it is expensive, but we don't have to buy it all at once. I don't think we have to sign any sort of contract, but I will ask. I watched the class last night and the instructor doesn't seem overly strict (not the type to not let the kids move or speak without permission) but he kept them in line very well and wore them out. He had them running back and forth doing relay things, like pushups, hopping across the room, running around a cone, sliding on their tummies (pulling with their arms and not using their legs--called it "mopping the floor"). He did that for about 25 minutes, then they worked with the kids about another 25 minutes and then did some more running (and yelling! lol) for the last 10 minutes. There was an odd number of kids so an instructor was working with Robin the whole time which was great. He was worn out by the time they were done. (amazing in itself!) I'll get my list of questions together and call the instructor later today and tell him we'd like to try it for 2 weeks and see if it's something the kids would like to continue.

By Cat on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 09:07 am:

Colette, how long did it take your ds to become a black belt? Randy wants to know how long it will take him to get to the next belt. I told him that depends on how fast he learns things. Some of the kids had black stripes on their belts (electrical tape! lol). What does that mean? And what's the order of the belts? I guess I could do a search for this. *g* Thanx

By Colette on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 09:26 am:

the black tape strips are called "tips". It means you are 1/4 way or 1/2 way to your next belt. Our school uses electrical tape too and you get your red "tip" when you past your test and are ready for your next belt.

There was quite a list of requirements for the black belt. The test was much harder than his prior belts. They had to each do 20 hours of community service (on their own), they had to get all A's and B's on their report cards, they had to write an essay on what getting a black belt means to them, they had to be able to run 1.5 miles in 12 minutes - regardless of the weather, they had to make a poster and present it to Keyoshi (school owner 7th degree BB) with personal goals on it. There were some other pre-test requirements but I can't remember what they are. The actual test was brutal, hundreds of pushups and situps and various other exercises, a lot of kids left in tears and a lot didnt pass the test, it was a 2 day test, Friday night the test went from 6p-10p, then they were supposed to do a run the next morning at 7:30a but they had to cancel it because we had a wicked blizzard, they canceled the run, but we still had to be at the school for 11:30, more testing until about 2:30 and then they had the belt ceremony which went about 1 1/2 hours. He took karate 3+ days a week for 4 years before getting to his black belt.

also, when I first signed him up, I was told, no down payment and no contract, well that was just for the 'basic' karate, then they hype the kids up and tell them they should be in the bbc (black belt club)or the "advanced" bbc or the masters club or the demo team and that's when the massive contract and down payment comes into play. I think the order of the belts vary, because some schools have 1/2 belts (red/brown, blue/green, etc) because there is a longer amount of time between some belt tests. I think the order goes white, yellow, orange, purple, purple/blue, blue, blue/green, green, green/brown, brown, brown/red, red, red/black and then black. I may be wrong on that order though because it has been a while. I don't mean to come off as negative about karate, it really has done a lot for my ds, but I wish I had listened mroe to people who told me to ask these above questions and to be more careful. My dh took karate as a teen and he said his classes were way, way, way more strict, but then again, kids would lose interest if it was that strict. It seems to get stricter as they go along.

By Marg on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 10:53 am:

Dh is a 2nd degree in judo a form of self-defense. He teaches for free every Monday and Friday after school. He teaches anyone from 5 to 105 and mentally and physically handicapped included. We (meaning dh and I) fork over the rent ourselves. The turnover rate is fairly high, even though there is no charge.

To be honest the gi (uniform, they are usually all cotton, so yes they strink and kids grow out of them fairly quickly), belts and tournaments are the big expenses besides traveling to the tournaments. Also when they pass the belt tests that cost money also, the tests include physcial and written exam sent into the USJA .Dh sometimes goes to the tournaments, but no longer really needs to collect the points. He also has a certificate in coaching, refereeing (is it really a word) and Kata which is to me an art form and I enjoy watching it. He still competes in this.

I'm not sure about Karate, but dh is joined with the USJA (United States Judo Association) there is some protection in joining this and dh requires all new members to join this, insurance is a big reason.

These gals are right, a lot of instructors have big egos. Dh had a coach that taught him for free so he is passing it along. There is a lot of self discipline but it can also be a lot of fun. Each individual moves along at their own pace and when they feel comfortable with the knowledge they are tested.

I guess it is so different from everyone's experience because my husband does not do it for profit (no we are not nonprofit, but it would be a heck of a lot easier). Also we forked over a lot of money to pay for mats.

BTW, there can be severe injuries, dh has come home a lot of times with sprained ankles, etc. So it does get tough. I know they try to size up with age and weight/height, but as an adult it doesn't always work out that way.

Best of luck to you

By Debbie on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 11:11 am:

Cat, funny you posted this. I was just going to ask about karate. My ds has been wanting to sign up for it. I was talking to my neighbor yesterday and he was telling me about a great karate school that his son goes to. I will definitely have to ask about fees and contracts and get more info. from him.

By Jodie on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 03:17 pm:

Hey Colette _ I have a question too. When did your son start his karate lessons? At what age ? and why did you choose to start the lessons at that particular age and not earlier or later?
This will help me out greatly. DH wants to start karate lessons for DS next year when he'll be 3 ! I was a bit taken aback.TIA

By John on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 04:13 pm:

We've had our son in Karate for about 6 months (he is just turning 4). It has helped teach him patience (he has to wait his turn) and he likes the physical part of it.

BTW, they can't really teach Karate to 3 year old's ;)

He's going to Tiger Schulman's Karate (which is kind of pricey )

By Lauram on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 04:22 pm:

My son (age 6) has LOTS of issues in school but NEVER has trouble at karate. He goes about 5 times a week (I know that sounds crazy- but it really helps him- the exercise). He has Tourette's, ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder and anxiety. He's been going since last May and is now a green belt. It was recommended to us by his former OT instead of the therapy. THe one requirement was that it had a mirror (lots of schools don't). That was very important for my son with all his issues. He actually can bring his report card and get a special star if it is good (he gets his first report card for the year tomorrow-he's SOOO excited.) The school is awesome and has won tons of awards both nationally and locally. It is expensive though. So is all the "stuff." It's cheaper than hockey though! I feel like I'm signing over my life to them every month- but hey- it's working. If we skip two days in a row I start getting bad reports from school. Otherwise, it keeps him on track. There are actually a lot of kids there with self-control issues. IT is really emphasized. It is also REALLY fun! THe equiptment is very child-friendly and the kids love it! I would agree that watching classes and talking to other parents is key. Every karate school is VERY different.

By Colette on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 04:54 pm:

He was just starting 2nd grade when he started. My 6 yr old is taking it now too, but I really think it's better when they are a little bit older. They seem to take it more seriously. The only reason my 6yr old is taking it is because if you have 2 people enrolled in the school, everyone else in the family is free. I even took it for awhile but ended up giving it up because the adult class schedule didnt work for me.

By Feona on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 07:05 am:

Hitting the wood is not safe for young hands. They had an article up at the karate studio. Don't remember all the details.

By Colette on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 07:22 am:

Our karate school has the kids wear their sparring gear when breaking boards - either wood or the rebreakable. The little kids start by breaking with their feet.

By Cat on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 07:46 am:

Thanx everyone. We're going to give it a try (two free weeks--can't lose anything). Robin said last night he also wants to continue swimming lessons so I'm going to see if there's room in the Saturday class that starts next week. I'm sure there's room in the weekday class, but it's Tuesday and Thursday and karate is Monday and Wednesday. I just can't do that much (I have a life too! Or try to anyway! lol). I'll let you know how it goes.

Laura, five nights a week does seem like a lot! But I guess if it helps him it's worth it. I'll have to pay attention to Robin's behavior the days after class as opposed to the off days. And there isn't a mirror there. It's held in an elementary school's cafeteria. Is that for the Sensory problems?

Thanx again, Gals. You're all the greatest!

By Lauram on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 02:51 pm:

I know it's alot. I would NEVER do it if it weren't helping him with his issues. It's like therapy for him. The mirror is for his sensory issues- propriocetion and vestibular..... My almost two year old knows lots of the moves- that's how often we are there! LOL! His behavior is SOOOO much better in school since we started it. It really works for him. If we went less, I don't think we'd see the full effects.... I wish I had such a good exercise program!

By Cat on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 03:08 pm:

I called about Saturday swim lessons and they're full. I just don't know if we could handle M&W Karate and Tu&Th swim lessons. That just seems like too much for us. Karate is from 5-6pm and we'd get home around 6:15 or so. Swimming is from 6:15-7 and then they HAVE to play for a little bit so we don't get home until about 7:45. I'm sure we could do it, but do I really want to. On the flip side, like you said, Laura, the activity might help him. I don't know. I think we'll just try the karate and go to the pool (no lessons, just swim) as often as we can. Robin has an appointment this afternoon with his psych doc. Maybe I'll have dh bring it up to him and get his opinion. Thanx again.