Tae-Kwon-Do & Other Martial Arts

There are so many different martial arts.
So, with that in mind, you find one that "speaks" to your son.
Since he will be taking it.

My daughter takes Karate.
Husband is into Aikido.
My daughter also tried Tae Kwon Do.
ALL of these, are different.
My daughter, of her own volition, wanted to take a martial art. We looked around and she tried several. SHE chose, Karate. It "spoke" to her. She connected with it. LOVES it to this day. And still takes lessons.
Husband on the other hand, loves Aikido. For his own reasons.

Each Dojo (school) and Sensei (teachers) and martial art, are different.
They are not all the same.
Some are trendier. Some are more traditional.
They all teach discipline, philosophy of the art, listening, self control, respect, etc. BUT each martial art... has its own approaches and way of life, etc.
AND the prices for it, WILL VARY.
In my city for example, Taekwondo, is very expensive. For some reason. And there are MANY Tae Kwan Do "schools" here. It is trendy. And even at 7 years old, they can be a "black belt" already! Not that the kid is REALLY, of black belt ability.

Again, some schools are trendy. Some teach traditionally
They are not all the same. Even within the same martial art.

If your son likes it, and going to it is not a battle, then that's good!

*ETA: at the Dojos that my daughter and Husband attend, the Sensei are volunteers. DAILY. They do not get paid. They have done this for years. Decades. They are very high ranking in their respective martial art both locally and regionally/internationally. They do NOT do it for profit. They charge monthly, and it is not much, in comparison to other things/Dojos/Sports. And some of these Sensei, are even Police Officers. Who have actual field experience and STILL... study their art and compete and have been earned higher degree belts. Still. Even at their age. Their Dojos, have a direct connection, to their Japan Dojos and the Sensei and Founders there. They are taught, in very traditional ways.

Some of the martial art schools here, Taekwondo, teach it in a trendier "all" kids get a trophy or belt, type fashion. It is in terms of physical activity... not the "art" or mastery of it, or truly earning it... in a traditional martial arts manner. Hence, SOME of the kids, even at 7 years old, get a "black belt." Of course, they are not an actual black belt in terms of mastery and knowledge, of the marital art.

The Dojos my daughter and Husband attend, per payments at their respective martial arts lessons, do NOT lock you in, for quarterly payments or refuse to refund you if you change your mind. Participants are, allowed to pay monthly, or for several months at a time, IF they want to. The monthly tuition is not a lot. However, the Taekwondo schools, here at least, for some reason, charge a lot, and you have to pretty much pay in advance for at least 3 months at a time, plus there are other things to pay for as well here and there.

My son has been in ATA (American Taekwondo Association) for about 2 years now. The rest of my family has been training for about a year and a half. I have seen nothing but good come out of it. My son has been diagnosed with Asperger's and ADHD, the taekwondo has helped him with focus, discipline, self control, and self confidence; along with medication. It has helped my husband and I with some of our fitness goals, as well as our own self control.

Our belt ranks:
White
Orange
Yellow
Camouflage
Green
Purple
Blue
Brown Recommended
Brown Decided
Red Recommended
Red Decided
Red/Black (Black belt recommended)
1st Degree Black Belt

I was in my first trimester when I earned my first Brown belt. I have since had to stop training, and focus more on learning how to be a good instructor.

Every martial art focuses on a different aspect. Akaido is more of a grappling marital art. It focuses more on up close and personal, kind of like wrestling, as well as using one's momentum against them. Takewondo is a Korean martial art. Karate is Japanese.

I've also learned a little bit of Brazilian Jujitsu, a ground grappling art, and a little bit of Kapoeta (kappa-weyta), a dance based art. They're all fun, in their own ways and all have their good points and bad.

If you son is liking what he's doing, then roll with it and have FUN! Y'all might want to talk to the instructor/school owner and see if they do family discounts too. It is the same monthly price for ALL four of my family to train as it is for just my two kids.

One thing that matters GREATLY is YOUR enthusiasm and participation for at least the first year. My 3 kids are all in TKD. It's the only marital art in our area, and from what I understand, it's a perfectly fabulous foundational martial art.

Anyway, my oldest daughter was very mature for her age and 6 when she started, and just getting her there was adequate for her to get into it and get really good. HOWEVER, my SON was only 4, and needed a lot of watching, warning, scolding, (at home in private) etc to get him to comply with the class properly and respect the teacher. He liked it, but behavior was tough at that age. He's great now at 6, and independent. Your son sounds old enough to behave.

But what I really have noticed in my couple of years in the school, is that the kids with parents who care, attend, and participate in all the events-belt tests, tournaments, extra weekend classes for breaking boards, etc...are the kids that do REALLY well and get really skilled. The kids with parents who bring them in sporadically and just drop them off or text through the whole class without taking an interest: don't do so well. And they're usually a distraction to the class. And it's very frustrating to watch a kid that's been in the class for a year, who can barely do anything. I feel bad for those kids actually. Granted it's a lot of work for the parents, and they may have very busy lives and no steam left for the 5:15pm TKD class, but it matters as far as how well the child does and how interested they stay. My kids love to show me their moves in the evenings and they know I'm super proud of them. We get up early and go on long drives to their tournaments, and I'm a single parent. I've always been attentive to how well they were doing in class, and they know I care. They are some of the top students as a result.

So keep it in mind: It's work for you too! But very rewarding when the kids click with it. It's valuable on so many levels.

Our son has been taking Tae Kwon Do (Kukikwon type) for almost 5 years, and he has benefitted enormously from it. He is a bit more than 2/3 of the way to the black belt; I like that the studio generally won't let them advance more than 1/2 belt every 6 months--a seven year old black belt strikes me as absurd. TKD definitely helped him with self-control, discipline, and maybe physical skills (balance, etc). He has plenty of self-confidence and focus, though who knows whether it's from the TKD or just natural. We like that he has another community outside school, and the principles of respect, self-control, etc are great. Definitely do look at the studio and teachers, see whether you feel good about them. I love that our son's place emphasizes academics (they can't test for the next belt unless they are doing okay in school) and respectful behavior at home, as well as what the kids can do in the studio. There is another form of martial arts taught through that studio, hapkido, which is from age 13 and up; it's purely self-defense, and I am hoping our son will decide to try that one when he gets old enough.

Do try to sign up for a shorter contract; we pay extra for belt exams, but not enough to make a longer contract worthwhile. Your child might lose interest (like our daughter did) or your schedules might change, so you don't want to be stuck with a long contract.

Enjoy, and good luck with the decision!

My grandson has been doing karate for a couple of years (he just turned 8), and he loves it. He's progressed to green belt and is quite dedicated.

There are many similarities between these practices, and for that reason, they are all wonderful for kids' physical and emotional development. They all stress personal awareness, physical and emotional mastery and respect of self and others, in varying proportions. As long as a school teaches these things to kids with loving respect, it's probably a good choice for your child.

Just wanted to say thanks to those answering questions on this thread. We are going to an introductory Judo class today (for Kiddo).... And so I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing more answers on this one.

Hi. I've been there.
I don't have a martial arts preference, but offer this advice.

Timing: My son loved TKD. However, they ask that you attend classes 2x a week. Which is fine, but then you go to the belt ceremony, and the time of your class now changes, and those new times aren't always convenient. Especially if they also play another sport.

Payments: Whichever place you decide, when it comes time to sign a contract, sign it for the least amount of time possible. Uusally 6 months. Even if in the long run the 3 year contract will save you money with the special uniforms, belt ceremony costs, etc. Only sign on for the least time required. Trust me.

Why? Things change. Your kid, Your money circumstances, etc.

In the summer of 2007, when my son was 5y, we signed him up, with a 6 month contract. He loved it. At the 4m mark, the studio began asking us to sign him up for longer. Then we went to our first belt ceremony, where they asked for $50 to participate. What? Turns out ceremony costs weren't included. Pricing it out, a 6m ($1000), 1y ($2000), 3y($6000) plan, the 3y plan was the only one that included the 6-8 belt ceremonies. Saving at least $300. So we signed up for the 3y, TKD club, that would end with a black belt.

Then, after 1 1/2 years, (2009), my hubby lost his job. We couldn't make the $200 a month payment anymore. We asked to be let out of the contract. We were told that we couldn't get out. I had to go and beg.
They had told us that if we had a financial hardship that we could back out. The contract people (who collected your monthly payment) said nope. That the fine print in the contract said that the ONLY way to back out was to move more than 20 miles from the studio. I went to the Master. Pleaded my case. He called them and said to let me out. They said ok as long as we pay 1/3 of the remaining balance ($1200).

If we had had the 6 month contract, time wise, we would've only had 3 months left, instead of 18, and could've either stuck that out, or would've only owed $200 to get out.

I was am not the only one I know that this happened to, across multiple dojos.