Daughter in TaeKwonDo

My daughter is 7 and I placed her in Tae Kwon Do two months ago. She goes at the local rec center and pays 35 a month. There are a few things I need info about.

How many students is to many for one instructor for the student to get correct instruction. I think she has over 36 in one class and they age range from 5-16...just in that one class!! I believe she will not be instructed properly.

Should I use this Rec center class as just a starting point for her learning of Tae Kwon Do and then move to a different School??
Most of the kids in this class have orange and above belts but they seem to be all over the place. Should my daughter as a white ..getting ready to test yellow..be able to spar points from a green belt with as little to no instruction from the instructor? She knows basics from beginner class and now that she has moved to a bigger class it is to big and not enough instruction and technique is taught right now.

I want her to practice at home to perfect her techniques and to learn them better...What videos do you recommend would help her do that??

She wears glasses. Will she ever be able to compete in competitions with sparring glasses on? She probably won't be old enough to get contacts for a while yet. Do I just get sports goggles for her or are there a certain type of sparring goggles?

She loves Tae Kwon Do and I want to be able to do everything possible to help her learn all that she can. She wants to compete and win..I want her to learn the art correctly along the way. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Let me tell you my experience coming from a parent. My son is a 5th year student and holds a 1st Poom (degree).

A rec center taining program sounds like a good intro to TKD and the price you're paying sounds good too! But, if your daughter wishes to say into TKD for the long run, start looking into a dedicated TKD Dojang (school/academy). Cost will be more, but the frequency of training along with a more diciplined environment will only enhance her experience.

There are a couple of students at my son's Dojang that wear glasses. They wear them for the 'forms' part of training, but remove them for sparring.

I have seen countless students (kids) come and go. I believe most kids quit because of over-training and/or a 'belt-trophy' hunting parent.

What is crucial for you and your daughter is to keep it fun. Don't get too caught up in belt colors, "why is my son/daughter better than that kid with a higher belt", "why didn't he/she get a stripe (promotion) yet?", etc...

I'm not saying that one should just goof off and have fun, but not to stress out about the above. After a period of time, you'll see if she's the type who'll stay with TKD. Staying for the long run is not for every child, and that's OK; it takes a great commitment and dedication. Kids just have to try different things and see what they truly enjoy. Once they find it, have them stick with it.

I'll echo a lot of what Bill said. Keep it fun. But if you really want to get serious, find a good school. Schools have a bit of an advantage over clubs, Y's and rec centers simply because they have a full time space devoted to training. That allows them to offer classes every day and some times several times a day. We had classes broked down by beginner and advanced, childrern and adult.

It can be pretty intimdating to a child to be forced to square off against and adult. Not only for sparring but also for self defense and escapes.

Where I live, we have only a club and I've been concerned with the quality of training since I've been here. My two daughters joined and I soon signed up with them becasue I feared that they wouldn't know better if they were not getting what they needed. (I've had several years of previous training).

The object, at that age, is disipline, fun, flexilbity, fun, strengthening, fun, and self-confidence. Oh, and did I mention fun?

Oy vey...My responses will be in CAPS

"My daughter is 7 and I placed her in Tae Kwon Do two months ago. She goes at the local rec center and pays 35 a month. There are a few things I need info about.

A LOCAL CENTER IS ACTUALLY WHERE I STARTED...AND STILL LEARN AT

How many students is to many for one instructor for the student to get correct instruction. I think she has over 36 in one class and they age range from 5-16...just in that one class!! I believe she will not be instructed properly.

DEPENDS ON THE KIDS AND THE INSTRUCTOR. IF YOU FEEL YOUR DAUGHTER IS NOT GETTING THE PROPER ATTENTION, SEE IF THERE IS ANOTHER CLASS THAT IS SMALL THAT SHE CAN MOVE INTO.

Should I use this Rec center class as just a starting point for her learning of Tae Kwon Do and then move to a different School??

BE WARNED. IF THE REC CENTER TEACHES TYPE A TKD AND THE SCHOOL YOU MOVE HER TO TEACHES TYPE B TKD, THEN YOUR DAUGHTER MIGHT NOT HAVE A SMOOTH TRANSISTION. FIND OUT WHAT 'STYLE' OF TKD THE REC CENTER TEACHES. VOICE YOUR OPINION ABOUT WANTING TO MOVE YOUR DAUGHTER TO A SCHOOL LATER AND ASK THE TEACHER WHERE THEY SUGGEST.

Most of the kids in this class have orange and above belts but they seem to be all over the place.
GOOD, WOULD BE WEIRD IF THEY WERE ALL THE SAME BELT. UNLESS THE REC CENTER HAS CERTAIN CLASSES FOR CERTAIN LEVELS, HAVING THE SAME BELT IN ONE CLASS MEANS THE REC CENTER IS NOT DOING VERY WELL. IE. NO NEW STUDENTS OR NO OLDER STUDENTS.

Should my daughter as a white ..getting ready to test yellow..be able to spar points from a green belt with as little to no instruction from the instructor?

WHY DO YOU ASSUME THAT THE GREEN BELT WASN'T ALLOWING YOUR DAUGHTER TO SCORE POINTS? AT GREEN BELT, IF ONE OF MY STUDENTS UNLOADED OFF ON A WHITE BELT, I WOULD BE *VERY* UPSET AT THE GREEN BELT. REMEMBER IT IS ABOUT LEARNING, NOT BEATING THE HELL OUT OF A WHITE BELT.

ALSO WHY DO YOU HOLD ONE CHILDS SPARRING ABILITY AS A LEVEL OF MARTIAL ARTS ABILITY? THIS IS DANGEROUS THINKING. I KNOW OF A LOT OF GREAT MARTIAL ARTISTS THAT HAVE NEVER SPARRED AND EVEN ONES THAT ARE JUST NOT GOOD IN THE RING. THIS DOES NOT TAKE AWAY FROM THEIR ABILITY AS A MARTIAL ARTIST THOUGH.

She knows basics from beginner class and now that she has moved to a bigger class it is to big and not enough instruction and technique is taught right now.

I AM CONFUSED BY THIS. NOT ENOUGH INSTRUCTION AND TECHNIQUE IS BEING DONE? WHAT DOES THE TEACHER DO THEN? STAND AND HAVE A COKE?

I want her to practice at home to perfect her techniques and to learn them better...What videos do you recommend would help her do that??

I DON'T. FACE IT. SHE IS A WHITE BELT. YOU ARE (UNLESS I AM MISTAKEN) NOT A MARTIAL ARTIST. SHE CAN WATCH A VIDEO ON HOW TO COUNT TO TEN IN ENGLISH. SHE GETS A NUMBER WRONG AND YOU WILL KNOW IT BECAUSE YOU KNOW ENGLISH. SHE WATCH VIDEO ON HOW TO DO A HOOK KICK, YOU WON'T KNOW IF SHE DO WRONG. THEN SHE IS PRACTICING "TO PERFECTION" AN INCORRECT TECHNIQUE.

She wears glasses. Will she ever be able to compete in competitions with sparring glasses on?
"SOMETIMES" I WOULD SAY NOT DURING SPARRING. MAYBE DURING FORMS.

She probably won't be old enough to get contacts for a while yet. Do I just get sports goggles for her or are there a certain type of sparring goggles?

SPARRING GOGGLES ARE NOT ALWAYS ALLOWED IN TOURNAMENTS. BEST OFF TALKING TO HER INSTRUCTOR AND NOT US ON THIS. HER INSTRUCTOR WILL KNOW WHAT TYPES OF TOURNAMENTS ARE RUN BY WHERE YOU ARE.

She loves Tae Kwon Do and I want to be able to do everything possible to help her learn all that she can. She wants to compete and win..I want her to learn the art correctly along the way. Any input is greatly appreciated.

COMPETE AND WIN? HOPE *SHE* AND NOT *YOU* WANTS THAT. COMPETING IS ALMOST NEVER ABOUT WINNING. ESPECIALLY AT THAT AGE AND LEVEL. HONESTLY, WE DON'T EVEN START TO KEEP SCORE UNTIL BLACK BELT LEVEL, AND EVEN THEN THE SCORE ONLY REALLY STARTS AT 18 YEARS AND ABOVE.

Now that your portion of the letter is over, I can stop using caps. Darn that hurts my eyes. I would leave you with this suggestion. Your daughter is young, she is a child. Let her have fun...like children should. If you do look for a place to train besides a rec center, beware of anyone that requires a contract. Beware of any "black belt" programs. Beware of anything that doesn't *seem* right or seems *too good* to be true...it usually...almost always...is.

Good luck with everything, hope we have been of assistance.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Pynkett:
My daughter is 7 and I placed her in Tae Kwon Do two months ago. She goes at the local rec center and pays 35 a month. There are a few things I need info about.

How many students is to many for one instructor for the student to get correct instruction. I think she has over 36 in one class and they age range from 5-16...just in that one class!! I believe she will not be instructed properly.

Should I use this Rec center class as just a starting point for her learning of Tae Kwon Do and then move to a different School??
Most of the kids in this class have orange and above belts but they seem to be all over the place. Should my daughter as a white ..getting ready to test yellow..be able to spar points from a green belt with as little to no instruction from the instructor? She knows basics from beginner class and now that she has moved to a bigger class it is to big and not enough instruction and technique is taught right now.

I want her to practice at home to perfect her techniques and to learn them better...What videos do you recommend would help her do that??

She wears glasses. Will she ever be able to compete in competitions with sparring glasses on? She probably won't be old enough to get contacts for a while yet. Do I just get sports goggles for her or are there a certain type of sparring goggles?

She loves Tae Kwon Do and I want to be able to do everything possible to help her learn all that she can. She wants to compete and win..I want her to learn the art correctly along the way. Any input is greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]

HELLO I AM AN INSTRUCTOR TEACHING AN AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM. 2-3 TIMES A WEEK. IT'S TRUE THAT A FULL TIME SCHOOL HAS AN ADVANTAGE OVER MY CLASSES AS FAR AS TIME BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT.
WE TRAIN HARD AND I GIVE THEM ENCOURAGEMENT TO TRAIN AT HOME ON THEIR OFF DAYS FROM CLASS.
WE COMPETE AGAINST FULL TIME SCHOOLS QUITE A BIT AND WE ARE SOMETHING ELSE, IF YOU HAVE SEEN WHAT I HAVE YOU WOULD THINK THAT THE OTHER SCHOOLS WERE THE PARTIMERS
MY LITTLE KIDS SPAR MY OLDER ONES AND MY YELLOW BELT SPAR MY BLACK THIS IS A GOOD ESTEEM BUILDER FOR THEM. THEY ARE NEVER OUT OF CONTROL BECAUSE I AM THERE.
NOT ALL INSTRUCTORS ARE GOOD INSTRUCTORS AND NOT ALL PEOPLE WILL BE GOOD KICKERS OR FIGHTERS BUT ALL CAN BE GOOD STUDENTS

ok listen im a student myself age 12, ive been going to "amrtial arts" since i was in kindergarden, now my taekwondo school has different classes for different ages, like the adult class will do more pushups and stuff then the childrens class, if ur getting my point, and in the childrens class my master isnt as "harsh" or strict as he is in the adult class, now we have black belt classes which are only once a week (intence training)--trust me so we focus on things that we as black belts need to know, so i think you shud find a school that sort of fits or outlines things i said, but i mean (my schools price range is a bit north of 35$)

I'm an 8th degree yellow belt and a 10 yr old 5th grader at my school. I wear glasses, I spar with my dad and my other friends who go to tkd classes at a different dojang. one of my friends wear glasses, and we often spar. I spar with my glasses on because my dojang's equipment provider, Kix, has special headgear that goes over the cheeks, making it hard for the opponent to reach the face. Kix is only sold in the Philippines but its a benefit to have headgear like that. Your daughter does not need any videos,because she need not to impress her instructor with her new moves. all she needs to do is to practice what she learned and impress the instructor with higher and powerful moves. like this is just my 5th month of training and my roundhouse kick is higher than before. school holidays and weekends are the perfect time for your daughter to practice, and if your daughter socializes well at her dojang and finds out that one of her classmates are one of your neighbors, those puzzle mats are just enough to let them practice their kicks or if you can afford it or your neighbor already has a pair of it, use sparring gear and make sure your daughter takes off her glasses unless she can't really see that well w/out her glasses. but ask your daughter first because she is the martial artist and she can make her own choice.

yours,
dane

I share most of the sentiments already posted. 36+ in a class is too many, especially with kids. The instructor won't have time to correct everyone or give personalized instruction. There's nothing wrong with putting a white belt against a green belt in sparring, fighting people better than ourselves is a good way to improve. But tossing your daughter into sparring with little to no instruction is bad, it tends to foster poor sparring habits. The rec centre is fine if you just want your daughter to have something to do after school, but a dedicated school would be a better choice. Of course, a dedicated school can be as overcrowded and lacking in personal instruction as the rec centre, so shop around.

I don't think videos would be of much use at her age and level of instruction. If you want her to practice at home it would be better for you to help her with drills, timing her, holding target pads, etc.

Many sparring rule sets don't allow glasses, consult your daughter's optometrist for information about sport goggles. If you want your daughter to learn self defense I suggest that she also learn to spar without glasses/goggles. We can't always set the conditions under which we have to fight.

Wanting to help your daughter is good, but be careful you don't get to the point where you're pushing her against her will.

o.k. the first question is basicaly impossible to be answered by anyone ecsept the instructer(in your case her instructor.)
with sparring glasses they ar only the frame
with a protective layer. you still have to get her lenses. they are usually accepted in tournaments but i wouldn't worry about that untill she's a 1st dan(black belt) [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif[/IMG]

I'm mostly echoing what others have posted and hope you have already taken this action...

As an instructor, who teaches at several rec centers, and as one who has raised several students to brown and Black Belt level, the most appropriate action you can take is to talk to your instructor first.

I've had students switch to a larger class, or sometimes the class jumps up in size because of the season and the parents become overwhelmed. They worry their child isn't receiving enough attention. There is one remedy to this:

**Talk to your child's instructor**

1) Perhaps the instructor also offers private lessons for those serious in the martial arts.

2) Perhaps the instructor has another class or another location more appropriate for your child.

3) Perhaps your instructor is affiliated with a larger school or organization and can recommend where you can go.

4) Perhaps your instructor has reasons for what s/he is doing and those reasons will become more apparent.

Sometimes I do let my white belts do no contact fighting. On rare occasion, but only after they've got a better grasp on their techniques, I let them use pads. The reason I do this is not because I expect them to be able to fight yet, but because they need to have fun. Many students, especially kids, started Karate or Tae Kwon Do because they wanted to fight a little...let them fight a little so they can feel like they're getting something out of their hard work.

Sometimes I keep my higher belts for a few minutes after class and run through some of their more advanced techniques and forms. I don't do this with the white belts because they don't need it yet.

Sometimes I let the students play games that are related to the martial arts. Parents inexperienced with the martial arts may not entirely understand the value, but they are beneficial.

If, however, ALL your child does is play games, or sit and watch others, or listen to the instructor talk...you may need seek out another martial arts school. Will you be guaranteed quality instruction from a store-front school? No. Many store-front schools in my area (a suburb of Atlanta, GA) are just belt factories. They love to tell you how awesome you are, but won't teach you anything. "Here's a new belt, have a nice day. You're awesome."

BUT...talk to your instructor first.

With all that said, your daughter is five...and a white belt...baby steps.

Matt