Self Defense For Children

Martial arts and self defense classes can be really great for kids in many ways. They provide an enjoyable form of exercise for keeping them healthy, they can be effective at instilling some discipline in your child, especially for children who are naturally boisterous and unruly as they are often the ones that enjoy martial arts the most, they can help timid children to gain in confidence, to come out of their shell and learn how to assert themselves, and, of course, a self defense class will do exactly what it says in the name and teach your child how to defend themselves against attackers.

Choosing the right self defense class is important for anyone, but it is especially important when choosing a class for your child, as there is a big difference between the various martial arts and what they can offer and who they will appeal to. No one style is right for all children as it will depend on both their temperament and what they want to get out of it (and what you want them to get out of it too!).

Many people worry about sending their child to learn how to defend themselves, in case it gives them a false confidence that leads them to stand and fight when they should really run away. This is actually a legitimate concern, but a good  instructor will always drill into their students that avoiding confrontation and trying to get away should be the first thing that you do, and that the techniques taught in class are for emergencies only. Whatever style you choose for your child it is vitally important that you find a good instructor, and I would advise parents to sit in on the first few classes that they attend to make sure that they are being taught in the correct way.

The latest trend is for MMA, or mixed martial arts gyms, which are opening up all over the place these days. MMA is essentially a sport rather than a form of self defense, and these gyms teach students how to fight in these full contact tournaments. Other combat sports include Muay Thai, Kickboxing and of course boxing.

A combat sports class is often quite aggressive, and probably won't have the same pseudo-military discipline and structure than many martial arts have, but they provide a very good workout if health and weight loss are an issue, they are great for helping a child to toughen themselves up a bit, and if you have a child who is very competitive then they can do an excellent job of their channeling aggression into a more positive outlet than might otherwise be the case, which is very good for unruly children.

Traditional martial arts are the ones that have been around for centuries and probably come from somewhere in the Orient. Examples include Kung Fu, Karate, Aikido and so on.

They are usually highly structured and disciplined classes. A child who lacks confidence may find it easier to get along by just going with the group rather than being faced with aggressive competition, and the imaginative 'dreamer' type may find enough in the mythology culture of these traditions to get them hooked enough to learn about discipline and hard work. They are also more geared to real life self defense than combat sports would be. Traditional martial arts are often more fun and less pressurized than sports fighting.

 As well as all of the well known martial arts most reasonable sized towns and cities will also have people running plain self defense classes not affilliated with any particular martial art. Sometimes these are run by instructors who have studied several different styles, or sometimes they are run so as to give particular emphasise to a particular aspect of a martial art, leaving out the old style weapons drills (like the broadswords and spears that are part of many kung fu classes, for example) to focus on only things that are relevant today. You may even find a class that is dedicated purely to self defense for children. If you have a child who is being bullied and urgently needs to know what to do to protect themselves in specific situations that this kind of class will often be your best bet, but more than with an established martial art the quality really does depend on how good the instructor is, so don't be shy in questioning them and make sure that you stay to watch a few of the classes. You may even like to join in, as it can be a great way to get quality time with your child and it can help to give them more confidence if being in a class with loads of people they don't know might be scary to them.