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I have a 10 y.o. son that I think may benefit from classes in self defense. First, I think he would really enjoy it. He is extremely energetic and needs a good place to burn some energy. Second, he has had some difficulties with some bullies and I want him to be prepared, both physically and mentally, for any fight he may end up in. I have not settled on Krav Maga, but I don't think a traditional martial art, e.g. Tae Kwon Do, etc., will quite fit the bill. Anyone have any direct experience or expertise in this area?This message has been edited. Last edited by: DrDan, This space intentionally left blank. | ||
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| I believe in the principle of Due Process  |
I took Krav Maga as a ~60 year old. It is fun, very practical, and seems to be useful as self defense. I say seems to be because I have had no occasion to use it in real life. My wife is a 3rd dan black belt in Tang See Do, the Korean martial arts form. We have several friends who are Masters, and a couple who had a school for young children. They seemed well organized, teaching the kids, worthwhile. Not all are. Krav Maga is devoid of asian philosophy, cultural observances, etc. I would stick to course offered by the local Jewish Community Center, as there are some phonies, opportunists, out there, amidst the claims that their way is the only true way and all others are gold digging phonies. Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me. When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown | |||
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eh-TEE-oh-clez |
Have you considered Brazillian Jujitsu? For a 10 year old, it might be a better way to negotiate with bullies. You don't really want your kid doling out debilitating strikes to the head, eyes and groin of other kids--but having your kid take the bully to ground and forcing the bully to tap out might be worth it. | |||
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Legalize the Constitution |
Consider Judo. I just wish it had been available to me when I was younger, and for my son when he was getting started. IMO, a great base art for a lifetime of MA training. “I hit him with the biggest thing I could find, the Earth.” Plenty of time for him to get into pure combat arts, like Krav Maga or Kajukenbo, later in life. _______________________________________________________ despite them | |||
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Funny Man |
I would agree with the above. Sending the bully home with a collapsed wind pipe and a gouged out eye might not be seen as a proportional response, lol. ______________________________ “I'd like to know why well-educated idiots keep apologizing for lazy and complaining people who think the world owes them a living.” ― John Wayne | |||
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| I believe in the principle of Due Process |
If that’s the concern, take up Aikido. “I don’t know. I reached out to shake his hand and he must have stumbled. The next thing he was writhing on the ground with a broken arm.” Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me. When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown | |||
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| Member |
Good thoughts. I agree that maiming his opponent is a bit harsh for elementary school. My concern is that he does not train to follow a "system" that does not work in the real world where there are no rules, and most fighting is done on the ground. I just looked up Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and its focus on ground fighting is appealing. Interestingly, the local Krav Maga facility also teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu. This space intentionally left blank. | |||
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Casuistic Thinker and Daoist |
Can we ask why you don't think he'd "quite fit" into a traditional martial art? All martial arts require a certain amount of self discipline. Students either arrive with it or learn it to remain in the school. From a purely practical point of view, given that he is in school, I'd suggest that a grappling style would better fit the bill than a striking style. Aikido would be my first choice with BJJ an option for the more athletic No, Daoism isn't a religion | |||
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| Member |
I've been into martial-arts in general for nearly 20 years and have tried out many different styles. Krav Maga excels at teaching the mindset needed to survive a self-defense situation and everybody could use some of that. However, my advice would also be to consider BJJ. I wish I had started grappling styles like BJJ a lot earlier. Grappling is very effective and practical and will not cause damage to the other person unless you want it to. I would stay away from Taekwondo. Krav Maga is great too, but quite honestly all the striking you need should be taught in a BJJ school ("dojo") that emphasizes self-defense. There are some BJJ schools that are more "sport" oriented and don't quite have as much self-defense aspects but instead like to focus on tournaments. Overall, check out each school to see which ones you and your son like and feel comfortable in. | |||
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| You don’t fix faith, River. It fixes you.  |
I can recommend BJJ and wrestling -- they work out great for my kids. I believe 99%+ of Elementary School conflicts can be handled with either of those disciplines. Both sports also give your kids actual physical contact and experience defending themselves in real-time, unscripted encounters. It's not a hollow confidence. ---------------------------------- "If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism.." - Thomas Sowell | |||
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| Member |
Excellent question. Here is my reasoning/thinking and experience: - when I was his age, I took Kenpo Karate. In that experience, we learned certain moves and manner of fighting, and as I recall, all of it was from the standing position. Sparring had strict rules so that we didn't hurt each other and practiced our martial art. The problem is, in a real fight, my opponent will not be practicing his martial art, he will fight on his terms, with no rules. One fights as they train, so they need to train as they will fight. - as an adult, I took a full-force, full-contact self defense course that focused on fighting from the ground. The instructor was an experienced martial artist, grappler, many other combat forms competitor and trainer. He had an experience where one of his female students, a brown belt in whatever martial art she was learning, get violently raped, and she could not defend herself, in particular because she could not fight from the ground. He realized many of his students were taking martial arts to defend themselves against such street fights, rapists, etc, and their martial arts training wasn't really focused on that. Hence, he developed the course I took to focus on complete confusion, no rules, fight training. So, based on that perspective, I want my son to learn how to protect himself in such real world situations where he may be facing one or more bullies, and will most likely end up fighting on the ground. All of the few fights I have ever been in went to the ground very quickly, and to my advantage, I was a wrestler in HS, so working on the ground was my forte. That is my experience, but is hardly extensive or expert. I'd be glad to be corrected on my impressions. None of this is to knock traditional martial arts. This space intentionally left blank. | |||
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| bigger government = smaller citizen  |
I like Krav Maga, but I view it a bit like Wing Chun in that 10yo might be a bit young. Even my school has a minimum age of 13 for kids that want to learn WC. The "every fight goes to the ground" argument is entirely full of merit; however, in my experiences, for 90% of the people out there, a very fast and effective response is enough for 99.99999999% of the situations. While I think my own daughter would benefit from BJJ, I'm also confident that she would have to win the lottery twice to be in a situation where Krav Maga or Wing Chun wouldn't serve as a practical defense mechanism. Again: IMO, YMMV, To Each His Own, etc. “The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.”—H.L. Mencken | |||
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| Member |
I also agree BJJ is the best for kids who have to negotiate bullies. It helps a smaller person control a larger person and is less likely to result in injury to either. It also doesn't look as "violent" and as the defender, he won't be the one striking. I'm doing BJJ via the Gracie's "Bully Proof" program with my kids. That said, I don't train it for my own use, as I want to be effective against multiple opponents and weapons as opposed to so one-dimensional. “People have to really suffer before they can risk doing what they love.” –Chuck Palahnuik Be harder to kill: https://preparefit.ck.page | |||
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| Casuistic Thinker and Daoist |
Thank you, it makes complete sense. In my career in LE, I did find that many fights did go to the ground...but I believe it was because I was compelled to engage (make an arrest) As I've gotten older (maybe wiser or slower), I've found that in a defensive situation, the ability to redirect attacks, leverage, and disruption of the attacker's balance to be much more effective. I might put them on the ground, but I don't have an obligation to follow them there No, Daoism isn't a religion | |||
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| I Am The Walrus |
Personally, I don't think any single system is the answer for dealing with bullies. Since the KM place also teaches BJJ, would he do both? You say bullies and my thought is once the other bullies see him on the ground, another is going to stomp his head in while he's grappling. At least that's what I would do if my friend were in trouble... _____________ | |||
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Member |
Judo or BJJ. Krav Maga is not for a 10 year old. He can take that when he is older and more mature and can make the decision if lethal force is needed. I was a judo instructor for 15 years, still get on a mat once in a while only to show, not to be thrown or grapple. Living the Dream | |||
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| Member |
Western boxing, BJJ and/or Judo are probably the most useful. They’re sport systems that translate very well to real self defense. Any of them give him opportunities to compete, which is valuable. KM is unapologetically violent. Eye gouges, break stuff and killing skills aren’t particularly useful on the play yard. When he’s old enough, KM will be a fairly easy transition with a solid base in the above. | |||
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Member |
My sons began with Karate when the the oldest was 5. Here he is in his first class with Master Gaffar Adams, a solid teacher of the art.  We moved away from his dojo and after skipping a few years, switched them to Songahm Taekwondo with Senior Master Kevin Kaminski. (I did unbelted Krav Maga at the time). Senior Master K is an excellent mentor and taught them a lot about patience and perseverance. Last year both my sons (including my wife) achieved 1st Degree Black Belts Decided. I’m very proud of them and it's obvious how it improved their self-confidence. Once you reach Black Belt at Senior Master K's he begins teaching some of the techniques of Krav Maga. Don't know if all dojos do this. | |||
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| Member |
Yeah, that. | |||
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Member |
Krav Maga does not focus on ground fighting. There is some, but largely to survive and get back to your feet as soon as possible. I haven't done BJJ, but I think it would compliment KM nicely, as several of the students in my Krav gym do that as well. As far as a credible school: There are several Krav associations that can give clues as to curriculum and general 'acceptedness' of what you're likely to get (gym variations not-withstanding). https://www.reddit.com/r/kravm...av_maga_gym_is_legit -------------- July NoVA Sigshoot: Shooter's Paradise; 0900 (9AM) 23July05 My Signature is almost a decade out of date! | |||
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