Fathers of Girls

[Moose]

Hey guys,

My "little" girls are 5 and 7 now. I will be enrolling them in a starter course of martial arts this spring, (Karate or Akihito). They seem really interested in it and I believe it will be a good confidence builder for them. Have any of you done this? Did you do it with them? I took several years of Karate in high school and I would love to do it with them, I am unsure however if that is such a good idea. I want them to get the most out of it without worrying about DAD being there.

[plunky]

My daughter is only 1, but I plan to have her do a year or two at least of a martial art that includes sparring. Wrestling or BJJ or Judo are my choices. Probably won't be sparring for a youngster, but I want it to be a "real" useful self defense tool. Get her used to a resisting opponent, see what conflict feels like, become aware of what she's capable of, etc.

I'll check back in seven years and let you know how it goes, LOL.

[AnnieNimIty]

Hi, I am totally crashing your thread. I am a mom of a 1 year old. BUT my BIL has 4 girls, ranging in age from about 3-10. He knows judo and a little karate and has been the one to teach them. The one thing I have noticed as an outside observer is that because he knows what they do, and more he can give them refreshers AND it is a special thing that they share. It could even be a cool family activity. My DH and I have talked about getting involved as a family when our kid(s) get older.
Just a thought.

[writteninkursive]

Also crashing mommy here. Sorry!

We want to enroll our 4-year-old DD in a martial arts course, and we considered putting our 2-year-old DD in as well. But then we thought about it, and our little DD has no interest in physical things like that, where our older DD does. Their personalities are so different, and I think some children just won't do well with something like martial arts, and others will excel. Better to wait, I think, until they are old enough to have some idea of what they like and they can choose martial arts or playing an instrument or a sport, etc. Non-conflict kids tend to not like physical things like rough sports and martial arts, in my experience.

[HollyBaby]

As a teenager, I took taekwondo, then later, shotokan. My dad didn't take either with me, but he'd done kenpo and judo, and he'd shar with me stories of his days taking martial arts, and was there for all my tournaments and ranking tests. Excellent memories.

So I'm not a dad, but I can tell you from the view of a daughter, this is an excellent idea, a wonderful way to bond too as well as to giving your girls skills for self defense. The benefits are much further than the self-control, discipline, and confidence that comes with these.