what to look for in a martial arts class?

[caedmyn]

My 8 YO and 11 YO have been attending a Brazilian Jui Jitsu class for the past couple of months.  I mainly enrolled them hoping that it would (eventually) help them learn to focus better as both have many ADHD symptoms, particularly the 8 YO.  I have no experience with martial arts and am not really sure what to look for in a school, but I'm not 100% sure this school is quite what it should be.  It's very popular and everyone seems to love, my kids included, but there are some things that bug me about it.  They run 3 classes a week for this age group and charge a flat fee for the month, but most kids only attend 2 of the 3, so it's totally random as to how many kids will be there on any given day.  Sometimes there are really too many kids for the amount of floor space available.  They haven't said anything about opening up more classes to accomodate the number of kids.  

 

Also, this class is supposed to be for 8-14ish YOs, but there's another family we know who has there 6 & 7 YOs in the class.  The 7 YO I can maybe see as he is 7.5 and a BIG kid, probably as big as the average 9 YO.  The 6 YO should not be in that class.  I suspect there are others who are younger than 8 as well.  They have a 5-7 YO class, so the younger kids should be going to that, but obviously they're not enforcing the age limits.

 

I'm also not sure it's as disciplined as martial arts *should* (to my mind anyway) be.  My 11 YO loves to tattle on her brother and is always telling me about some or another rule he isn't following in class.  I haven't stayed for any of the classes since the first couple since my youngers have nothing to do there and it's hazardous getting them across the mall parking lot to go in and out of the building.  So I'm not seeing this, but she's probably accurate since the 8 YO isn't known for being a rule-follower.  Apparently the instructors don't do anything.  I don't expect them to see everything, and I did see an instructor get after a kid in the first class my kids attended so I know they have some standards, but I would expect them to catch and correct 8 YO at least some of the time and apparently that's not happening.

 

Also, a family we know has had several kids in this school for 9 or 10 months, and months ago, maybe December, they all got new belts.  One is 5 and one is 6.  I know very little about how belts work, but is a 5 YO really capable of doing whatever they need to do to advance a belt?  These are average kids athletically, it's not like they are exceptionally talented.

 

I'm not unhappy with the classes, just not sure if this is the way things should go.  There are only 2 other options for martial arts here, one at a health club which I've heard has lots of unruly kids, and then a Taekwando class which appears to be pretty strict, based on what their website says.

[Clemsondana]

We've only been doing karate since fall, but I can answer a few of these. The 'pay a flat fee and come however often you want' is how our school runs, too. They like you to come to at least 2 of the 4 options each week. Sometimes we go to 2, sometimes we go to 3 or even 4. There are times that everybody does the same thing (general exercise, certain games) and times when they divide them up by belt type to work on specific skills. There are usually 20-40 kids each day - 30 is typical, so 8-10/group when they divide them into small groups. They are sticklers for age - when you have a birthday, you move up to the next age group after your next stripe test. Young kids (5-6) absolutely move through the early belts. There is a limit to how far they could go - at our school, you would never be able to get past the first few at such a young age. But, you can't progress through the belts faster than a new one every 6 months at the very fastest, so by the time you got to something advanced you'd be several years older. When we started, my kid was 7 and has earned a new belt. There are other same-age kids who are several belts ahead because they started young. But, the higher belts take a long time to earn - much more than 6 months, especially for a younger student trying to remember that many techniques.

ETA - I can't imagine a kid goofing off in a class at our school. They have a good time, joke, and sometimes roughhouse with the kids, but they emphasize respect. If a kid misbehaves, they have to do some sort of exercise, usually 25 burpees. Once they've done them, they rejoin the class. I have only seen a kid argue once...after twice refusing to accept the increased consequence, he was told that if he didn't do them, he wasn't welcome back for 2 weeks. They run a tight ship.

Edited May 24, 2017 by ClemsonDana

[itsheresomewhere]

We left a school not too long ago like the one you are in.  After trying several schools, we chose the one that fit us the best.  Our school charges a flat rate for unlimited classes that month but that is for the whole family instead of per student.  My kids are in adult and teen classes that only allow someone younger than 13 to test into.  Not just based on level but it is based on maturity. It is night and day compared to what we had.  There is no longer goofing off, no clowning around but the instructor uses humor and still makes the class fun.  The instructor told me what days where popular days and what days were not as popular.  He limits the amount of students in the school so none of the classes become too full.  

 

Due to really crappy instruction at the other school, my kids had to start over belt ranks. Belt testing happens 4 times a year but only if they have met certain requirements.  

 

I hope you find one that fits you and the kids. 

[wintermom]

Are there assistant instructors help with the large classes, to enforce proper discipline and technique? That can be a great help.  It's tough for a martial arts school to survive financially, so large classes do sometimes happen, but things to swell and ebb over time. Summer is often low-attendance time, and perfect for working hard on technique.

 

I don't see any obvious red flags with the school your'e at based on the information you've given, and if your children are enjoying it and learning then I'd stick with it for a year. You'll get a better sense of things over a longer period of time. Try to sit in on classes so you can observe for yourself what is actually happening. 

[JulieA97]

We attended a similar school this past year for my DS. He was 5 when we started and has just turned 6. I started regretting the year long contract we signed within the first 6 weeks. He didn't love it and I got tired of fighting him to go so we are riding out our contract and haven't been in weeks. In a few years if he wants to try it again, we will find a different school. His was more exercise class with a few moves thrown in. My nephews attend an excellent school that focuses on character and really training them. We live too far away to go to that one but that's what I was expecting.

 

If you can find another school, I would move. Its too much of a commitment to not be happy there or feel like you are getting out of it what you want.

[Rebel Yell]

BabyBaby (15.5) has been doing martial arts for eight years. I'm just going to give my thoughts on the age thing in class, I might come back later with more useful advice for what to look for...

 

One of our biggest complaints for ANYTHING we have done: martial arts, dance, learn-to-skate, almost every single homeschool class or event... has been children too young for the class being allowed to participate, almost always for the convenience of the family of the younger child.

 

Almost always, the too-young ones are not physically ready, not skilled enough, or are just too young for what is usually a longer class. Instructors end up focusing on them to try to keep them engaged ( or the parents happy) and the rest of the class loses out. Some of the older or advanced students aren't getting the attention of the instructors- a quick glance might seem like they're doing things correctly, but if certain moves are done too long with improper technique, it can lead to injury and weeks of physical therapy to try to repair the damage. We are currently in week three of physical therapy because of this.

 

I see it as poor business skills. So the business kept the one child and 1-3 others in that family, but they most likely lost 4-5 other families in the process. 4yos in the 6-8yo class, refusing to participate and sprawled out making "snow angels" on the ice, tripping my kids who were learning to skate backwards, was the reason they quit figure skating.

 

To be fair, I also have to say that twice, BabyBaby has been "young" for her group. (LOL three if you count that she'd be a grade behind by local public school age cut-offs) First, she would turn 7 in the late fall but I asked if she could try the 7-9yo ballet class so she could be in with her sister and I wouldn't have to drive a sixth day of the week (another sister was there three more days) for her to go to the 6-8yo class. I also promised that I would do so within the first month if she wasn't able to keep up or the majority of the class was "old" 9yos. She was fine. Second, at age 14, she was invited to join the 18+ Judo class for adults. This was just to say, I dont feel crazy strict about ages, as long as the class isnt suffering for the sake of including a too-young student. But very often, it does.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Rebel Yell