Best Martial Arts for my introverted 8 year old son?
Judo... IT is great for children as it gears the level of training to the age group and rank, Children under 14 can't use armlocks or chokes so it is safer than say Ju Jitsu which only teaches submissions. Also Judo since its inception in 1882 has been used all over the world as a self defence style or as a base for many self defence and law enforcement/military styles. It also has a great sport foundation and other than Grecco Roman wrestling was the first Martial art introduced to the Olympics. Tae Kwan Do, Karate can be very good arts to learn however more often than no the dojos only have them learning Kata which means they stand there kicking and punching the air for an hour so get no real work out or proper self defence training. Muay Thai is very good however it is kicks knees elbows and punches not a good art for kids unles you want him getting black eyes and broken hands etc... Oh and by the way Kung Fu is not a style it literally means Martial Art in english. It is a blanket term used in China (cantanese dialect) to say martial arts. Wu Shu (Manderin dialect) 13 years Judo training 5 years of wrestling
Do China have a martial arts like Judo, Aikido and the likes?
Shuai Jiao - Chinese wrestling Chin-na (quin-na) - sieze and control - joint locks, throws, pressure points, etc. A lot of kung fu styles have chin-na integrated into them. Eagle claw, northern mantis, and bai he quan (southern crane) to name a few.
Greco Roman Wrestling or Karate?
I am 14 years old and skinny I want to get in shape and learn self defence.I know karate is self defence and Greco Roman Wrestling is throws and takedowns.But I want to lift weights in the future.Wrestling is also closer and cheaper to my house. What should I do??
What are the pros and cons of enrolling young children in a martial arts program?
I can answer this as someone who did martial arts from the ages of 8 - 18 (I moved to a town without a dojo, or I would have continued). My younger sister, many of my friends and my father also did martial arts as children and I'll also take their experience into account.The pros and cons would depend heavily on the specific school (style and instructors). For instance, in our school I observed the following:The instructors were always encouraging. In ten years I never saw one shout at a student.Even though they taught at a dozen different locations, classes were never cancelled and instructors always arrived early.I never heard an instructor complain about anything.During the hardest of sessions, they'd do every rep with us.I mention this, because the instructor serves as a role model.In the right school I can think of very few cons:As with any activity there is some possibility of injury. In our case the risk was low, as sparring was severely restricted until one was older.It can become very time consuming at the higher levels. By 11th grade I was training 10 hours a week, however this is true of anyone who takes a sport/activity seriously.However the pros are extensive:Value system: many schools teach a Dojo Kun, or code of conduct. Ours focused on striving to be strong, wise, humble and having respect for others. To this day I refer back to it when I'm uncertain about an important decision. You learn to lead. This applies later on, when you start teaching juniors, but also from the examples set by the instructors. I've recently caught myself thinking that certain difficulties I've had leading a group could be remedied by approaching the group as my instructor would have. Learning how to deal with failure. If you fail a grading as a kid it can be devastating. However a good instructor will get you past that, and when you pass an even higher grading, you've learned a life skill.Perseverance. You learn to push yourself to do better. You learn to enjoy a challenge, rather than shy away from it. You learn that success requires hard work. This is unlike school, where often some students can get by purely by abusing their intellect. Eventually everyone trained hard made progress. We even had a prize acknowledging the most dedicated student in each group. You are less likely to be violent, because you are more in control. Greater confidence.