Posted: 5/15/2015 3:56:33 PM EDT
| My daughter is turns 6 in Aug. She currently takes Karate at her elementary. I would like to send her for Aikido instruction. Should I wait until she is older? |
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My son (and I) started Shaolin Kempo when he was 3.5 He is 5.5 now and is doing great as a blue belt. We've seen two major maturity milestones, one around 4 and the second around 5 - each time his ability (and desire) to focus and practice increased exponentially. Appropriate age varies wildly between kids.... it's a function of both their physical capability and emotional maturity. He's gifted with athleticism and his ability to truly focus is just now catching up with his body's ability to perform. He was about 4 here:  |
| Look at the other juniors at the dojo. At this age being among her peers is important. My daughter was 12 when we started and was one of the younger students but since we practiced together she felt secure enough. The choice of martial art depends a lot on a child's personality too. She found Karate boring, too many repetitive drills. Judo, which was my first martial art, was a bit rough and tumble for her taste. Aikido was what she enjoyed and the defenses against being grabbed, tackled, etc. should stand her in good stead. |
'td be a shame to die with a bullet left
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You generally don't want young kids to do Aikido since there is risk of damaging the growth plates in their bones with the type of joint locks we do. Judo, karate, or BJJ are better choices until the late teens. It is worth noting that the Ueshiba family sends their kids to do Judo until their teens.
If the dojo you are thnking about has a specific kids class designed around teaching kids without causing long term injury to them and they kids your daughter's age then go for it. |
