karate for kids ages 3 and 4
early skills program
What is the youngest age to start martial arts?
Martial arts for kids is something we specialize in. The answer to the above question depends if the karate program is designed with your child and their age of development in mind. Karate kids ages 3 and 4 have a rich imagination and strong desire to be less dependent on their usual caregivers. The puzzle we discovered is that many children this age have a hard time with the structure in the group environment commonly found in most Martial Arts schools. Our solution is to provide kids their own karate program, targeting this stage of development for ages 3 and 4, in a manner that keeps them entertained while also building skills that set them up for the next age group. We believe our program is the best karate for kids.
1. PHYSICALLY, THEY MAY HAVE LOW TONE AND POOR EYE-HAND COORDINATION.
- We expect our karate kids initially to drop their arms when punching and fall when kicking or jumping. They also may have low spatial awareness, leading them to drop things that are thrown and bump into people and obstacles often.
- The goal for our program is to get martial arts kids to punch without dropping their arms, kick without falling, jump without falling, and catch objects thrown from various directions and distances.
2. INTELLECTUALLY, THEY MAY HAVE A LIMITED VOCABULARY MAKING LEARNING EASIER VIA VISUAL AND KINESTHETIC ACTIVITIES.
- We expect them to initially lose focus when activities are over-complicated. We also expect they may struggle with commands that have more than two instructions.
- The goal for our program is to get karate kids to follow verbal commands with little/no visual demonstration. Also, our goal is for them to remember rules and commands without being reminded.
3. EMOTIONALLY, THEY TYPICALLY HAVE STRONG PREFERENCES AND FEARS THEREFORE THEY WILL ACT OUT OF BOUNDS WHEN THEIR EMOTIONS GET OUT OF CONTROL.
- We expect them to run off the mat when they have anxiety. We also expect them to shut down when something either scares them or doesn't go their way.
- The goal for our program is to help our martial arts kids to follow directions and persevere through an activity even if they are initially emotional.
4. SOCIALLY, THEY ARE TYPICALLY FREE-WILLED. ALSO, DUE TO THEIR LIMITED VOCABULARY, THEIR COMMON FORM OF COMMUNICATION MAY BE MAINLY PHYSICAL.
- We expect them to mock each other, such as falling when their classmate falls. We also expect them to crash into things when they are excited.
- The goals for our Black Belt Kids program are to help them build good social skills such as spatial awareness, not interrupting when others are talking, and taking turns properly.