Are you looking to develop confidence, self-esteem, discipline, focus, and courage in your kids? If yes, then martial arts would be the best choice for them. Martial arts teach self-defense and train your kids both physically and mentally.
Since there are many martial art forms, it can be difficult to decide the best one for your kids. Each one develops different skills and your child may be interested in a few of them. The best way to figure out the right martial art for your kids is to try a few and decide the one that interests them the most.
Like every kid in the 80s, the Karate Kid movie inspired me to learn martial arts. When I started to train, I realized that every kid needs a Mr. Miyagi to get better as a martial artist.
As parents, you want the best for your kids. You want your kids to love what they do. Martial arts teach self-defense and along with it, self-confidence, responsibility, courage, and discipline.
If you want your kids to become the best version of themselves, you need to find an instructor who’ll provide the best attention to them. A Mr. Miyagi in the life of your kids can transform them and motivate them to aspire for more.
Before you choose the best instructor for your kids, you need to know the best martial arts for kids. Your kids may enjoy striking or they may choose grappling. It’s important to find out the best martial arts for them to keep them motivated to level up as they go.
How to Choose the Best Martial Arts for your Kids
While there are plenty of factors you can look into before deciding the best martial arts for kids, we will take into consideration three major factors that will allow you to give your kids the opportunity to choose the best martial arts for them.
1. Instructor: An instructor can shape your kids and keep them interested in learning and doing more. When your kids are with experienced instructors, they learn more and get better every day.
2. Location: A training center that is close to your location will be ideal. You and your kids won’t have to travel long distances to train. Choose a gym that is appropriately located that meets your location preferences. If you’re in Westwood, New Jersey, drop by Training Grounds Jiu-Jitsu & MMA for the best martial arts classes for kids.
3. Cost: The cost of training in martial arts includes the cost of instruction and the cost of training gear. If your kids choose a striking form of martial art like Muay Thai, Taekwondo, or Karate, there are upfront costs involved in buying sparring gear, uniforms, and equipment to train at home. You can check out the cost of martial arts for kids article for more information.
6 Best Martial Arts for Kids to Learn
After seeing first-hand the enjoyment that kids have in learning martial arts and the progress they make, we are confident that the following six are the best martial arts for kids to learn.
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- Muay Thai
- Wrestling
- Boxing
- Karate
- Judo
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Any kid above the age of four can join a kids Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) class. Kids under four years need to be evaluated before allowing them to train.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the best martial arts for children. It does not require brute strength and power. It is one of the few martial arts forms where size does not matter. A smaller person can submit a larger opponent through skill and technique.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is also one of the best martial arts for bully prevention as smaller kids who are usually bullied can stand up to bullies and overpower them. The gentle art, as it is known, BJJ involves grappling techniques with an emphasis on distance control, positions, transitions, and submissions.
Your kids will learn that by taking a bigger opponent to the ground, their chances of winning the fight increase dramatically. Since an opponent fighting from the ground cannot exert much pressure, a kid trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can have an unfair advantage in the fight.
The Samurai warriors resorted to Jiu-Jitsu as the last resort to protect themselves if they lost their armed weapons. By using throws, joint locks, and submissions, these warriors engaged in close combat to defeat their opponents.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the best martial arts for kids self-defense. It is also the ideal martial art to begin training your kids. No wonder it’s becoming a fast-growing martial art form around the world.
Muay Thai
Also known as “Thai Boxing”, Muay Thai has some of the best striking techniques in martial arts. Originating from Thailand, the martial art form became popular in other parts of the globe around the second half of the 20th century.
Muay Thai is a tough martial art form that transforms the whole body as a weapon against the opponent. Powerful punches and kicks along with various clinching techniques make it a demanding sport. It is also called the “art of eight limbs” as blows can come from elbows, knees, hands, and feet.
If your kids take a liking to strike and enjoy Muay Thai, you must ensure that they have proper training gear to avoid injuries. You must also make sure that your kids have the best Muay Thai instructors to teach them the art.
Muay Thai doesn’t have any complicated movements and is easy to learn for children. If you’re considering the best martial arts for kids with ADHD, Muay Thai should definitely be on your list. It improves your kids’ motor skills and allows them to focus.
Regularly training Muay Thai will make your kids more fit and self-confident while building character. Your kids will be able to defend themselves against bullies and others looking to cause harm.
Wrestling
Wrestling is one of the toughest martial arts to train for kids. It is also one of the most rewarding martial arts for your children. It builds physical and mental strength while improving their confidence. Any child above the age of four can train in wrestling, irrespective of his/her height and weight.
As one of the oldest sports on earth, originating in Egypt and Babylon around 3000 BC, wrestling teaches kids a lot of valuable life lessons. It serves them well through their transition to adulthood.
Some of the valuable life lessons taught by wrestling include personal accountability, the ability to handle adversity, persistence, not giving up when things are hard, and performing under pressure. The competitiveness of the sport along with the fun of learning and executing new moves, keeps kids hooked to wrestling.
Wrestling is absolutely one of the best martial arts for kids to learn. Anyone can do the moves and everyone can participate in it.
If your kids love to grapple and enjoy wrestling, then you can encourage them to become better every single day while having fun. With a simple Google search for the “best martial arts for kids near me” or “best wrestling classes for kids near me”, you can find the best training centers near your location.
As always, take into consideration the instructor, location, and cost of wrestling classes for kids before enrolling your kids.
Boxing
Boxing is a good martial art form for your kids. It teaches your kids the importance of health and fitness while sharpening their problem-solving skills. Boxing has been refined and modified as a sport over the last 1000 years.
The striking techniques are used for self-defense and to develop self-esteem, self-confidence, and courage in kids. Boxing focuses on speed, agility, balance, and hand-eye coordination. Kids trained in boxing can stand up to bullies and protect themselves and others.
Contrary to what many think, Boxing keeps your kids out of trouble. They’ll realize that self-defense is only the last resort and they don’t have to act tough all the time. Your kids will grow physically stronger as they continue to train in Boxing. The more they train, the better their head movement, footwork, and punches will become.
Your kids will learn how to properly throw punches. They will also understand how to control aggression and manage stress. Boxing promotes determination and self-mastery in your kids at a young age.
There are no age restrictions to enroll in Boxing classes. However, you have to check the minimum requirements with a Boxing class near your location. Again, make sure the instructors care for your kids and have a reputation in the community.
Karate
Predominantly a striking martial art form involving punches, kicks, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and open-hand techniques, Karate was developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. There was an explosion of new interest in the art form after World War II as Karate spread to English-speaking countries around the world.
A weaponless self-defense martial art, Karate improves the physical and mental strength of kids and increases self-esteem and self-confidence. Karate is one of the best martial arts for kids that teaches balancing the body, focusing on a target, striking, punching, and kicking.
Your kids will get active, learn respect, and get on a path to constant self-development. Karate will allow your kids to stand up to bullies as they will be able to protect themselves and their friends.
Your goal when looking for the best karate classes for kids is to ensure that instructors who teach your kids have a reputation in the Karate community and are easily approachable.
Karate will keep your kids motivated as they continue to level up with new belts and more moves added to their self-defense arsenal. You can also encourage your kids to compete in Karate tournaments to satisfy their competitive drive and to get into the habit of winning.
Judo
Judo was created in 1882 by Jigoro Kano who studied old jiu-jitsu and eliminated the most dangerous techniques. The practitioners of Judo aim for the maximum efficient use of their energy to subdue their opponent.
Judo uses grabbing, grappling, and throwing techniques. It is currently practiced by millions of kids and adults around the world.
Judo for kids is good for discipline, fitness, strength, stamina, agility, balance, and awareness. It is a safe contact sport for children and your kids will love it if they enjoy being efficient with their energy and making maximum impact with minimum effort.
If your kids train in Judo for a few years, you can encourage them to take part in competitions to improve fast critical thinking, awareness, balance, and self-confidence.
Judo is one of the best martial arts for kids who enjoy grappling and grabbing their opponents. The different throws and other grappling techniques will excite your kids to learn more and get better with every session.
Which Martial Art is Best for Kids?
We at Training Grounds Jiu-Jitsu & MMA truly believe that the best martial arts for kids are the ones they enjoy the most.
Every kid is different and the martial art that one kid likes may not be liked by another. Hence, it is important for parents to listen to their kids to see if they’re really interested in their self-defense art.
Some kids like striking while others like to grapple. If your kids like to strike, you can choose between Muay Thai, Boxing, Karate, and Taekwondo. However, if your kids like to grapple, there are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, and Judo to choose from.
While we don’t particularly recommend any martial art form, recently there has been a lot of interest in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) across the country.
If you’re interested in the best martial arts for kids in New Jersey, check out our kids BJJ classes. We are located in Westwood, New Jersey, and would love to have your kids train at our facility. The transformation we see in children is extremely rewarding for us to continue to do what we do. Martial arts will teach your kids respect, perseverance, determination, self-discipline, and courage.
Reserve a spot for a trial class with us and we will show you how martial arts can transform the lives of your kids.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.