11 Plus Exams Forum

Hello Folks,

My boy wants to do Martial Arts, they are all available to him, karate, judo, kung fu, kickboxing,

I dont want him to get hurt, so please could you make your suggestions on which is safest?

thank you
f4t

If taught and practiced properly I didn't see why any should be particularly dangerous?
The point about martial arts is they teach control and discipline and are not supposed to be or to encourage violence.
Any kind of sport can result in accidents it's about minimising risk by taking sensible precautions.

If all options are logistically similar then could get do some taster sessions to see which he prefers? I'm guessing he is quite young? So maybe you could accompany him and speak to trainers to see who you are most confident with?

As KB says, they shouldn't be dangerous if they are taught properly. The most important thing is to check that the club and instructor are accredited by the relevant sporting governing body. A student should have to be a member of that body (in the sports I know about) to train (a 'licence') and the instructor should have professional indemnity insurance as well as all the necessary accreditations.


We have a lot of experience of karate in our family and my DD still does it. One thing I would say is that some instructors in all martial arts can have bullying tendencies and it is worth seeing if you actually gel with an instructor before parting with a lot of cash.

Martial arts are fabulous confidence builders though and as someone whose children have never been attracted by being part of the 'sporty crowd' at school, we have found the kind of people who generally train to be a really nice and friendly bunch.

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Some insights in this article.

I am not a fan of kick boxing having seen some professional fights on one occasion.There was plenty of bl... flying around.

I agree with KB and Amber regarding the other martial arts.Members of the family have done judo in the past.

I certainly see many youngsters at a very high level doing Judo as the national performance center for the sport is in Walsall.

Thank you people, I am going to take your advice and as KB said, get my son to try a few taster sessions. He can then see which one he likes best and who he gels with. I think kick boxing is a big no from me... just in case. I did karate over 20 years ago and have forgotten what it is like!

Possibly capoeira. My younger boys tried karate/judo etc but they are both very soft hearted and really couldn't bear hitting people!
They've both enjoyed capoeira much more. It's almost a combination of dance/gymnastics/martial arts .

um wrote:Possibly capoeira. My younger boys tried karate/judo etc but they are both very soft hearted and really couldn't bear hitting people!

You don't hit people in judo.

um wrote:Possibly capoeira. My younger boys tried karate/judo etc but they are both very soft hearted and really couldn't bear hitting people!
They've both enjoyed capoeira much more. It's almost a combination of dance/gymnastics/martial arts .

You most certainly don't hit people in judo

Both of my sons have done judo (ds1 to a fairly decent level). It is very disciplined and as its's done on a weight basis you only fight people of a similar size. They both enjoyed it very much and only gave up because of other commitments.

Tai kwando (sp?) is also very popular.

You don't really hit people in karate either - the idea is that you are taught how to block the punches and kicks. I did it to brown belt level and was never hit, though my arms got quite a lot of bruises from all the blocking. I never saw anyone hit or kicked either - no one would really go for it and try to hurt someone, it is all done knowing that is not the intention (until you get to international level or something, perhaps). The kata was my favourite - like a dance really, very disciplined.

Although aikido isn't on OPs list of available martial arts it might still be an option worth considering. Like karate, aikido has harder styles and softer styles, but generally is 'gentler' than judo and is very much a defensive art. It's based on grappling so has lots of throws in it but students are taught how to roll out. It's great at teaching how to use an opponent's own strength against them so is very good for those who can't rely on being big or strong themselves.
Although I've done far less training in aikido than karate I have found my training in how to fall safely invaluable.
I also did a full contact style of karate, that I absolutely loved doing, but it totally involved getting hit and kicked whilst teaching how to block same.
I found studying martial arts to be very socially and culturally enriching as well as being great for fitness, flexibility, and coordination.