*UPDATED* Self Defence For Little People (Shotokan)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Shotokan
Date:	08/01/02 (128 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See op

Disadvantages: Gets a bit pricey

For those of you with children lacking in confidence have you ever thought of Shotokan Karate?

Oss.

My 9 year old daughter is bright, intelligent and doing very well academically at school. Out of school she lacks confidence. The other kids in the road tend to dominate her when they are playing outside. As a (responsible) parent I felt that I needed to do something to help (apart from dropping a daisy cutter bomb on the other kids...yeah, seems extreme). So....3 months ago I enrolled her in a karate class at the local leisure centre.

Karate is typical of most eastern martial arts in that it focuses on self-defence. However, there is a whole philosophy that goes with it. Eastern culture appears to have got most things right. Their credo is self respect and respect for others through physical and mental discipline. Humility is seen as a strength and, furthermore, desirable.

**History**
Karate actually began in ancient China. From China, Karate ancestral art(s) was/were brought to Okinawa. It was in Okinawa that Funakoshi sensei learned the arts that he was to meld into Shotokan. From Okinawa, Shoto brought the martial art to Japan, where it flourished. Finally, Shotokan karate was brought from Japan to the USA.

** The basics***
Like any martial art, Shotokan has its share of philosophy. Much of the teachings of Shotokan are the same as you would get from any other art although some are specific to this art. You can check them out in more detail at shotokanforeveryone.com but the basic elements of shotokan philosophy are made up from: Dojo kun, Niji kun, Mind like water, Mind like the moon, Unity of will and mind and the best defence.

Karate consists of a number of increasingly difficult levels at which you attain a kyu following mastery. This is assessed at gradings for which I had to pay £20 for the first one (all leve
ls are £20 apart from black belt which is £70). The kyus are represented visually through a series of coloured belts. My daughter has just gained her blue belt. The ultimate is to achieve a black belt but, even here, there are levels of black belt called dans.

So far she has been taught basic punching, kicking, defensive postures and rudimentary sparring called 5-attack sparring. There are 25 children in the class aged from as young as 5. Adults attend too although I have yet to be tempted myself. The lessons only take up an hour or so on a Sunday a.m. and don't start until 10. I've thought about starting myself by taking along my 6-year-old and joining in then but his headmaster recently appealed to me to not give him any weapons. Not much of an attention span and prone to outbursts. No, not the Head, my boy.

A Sensei or instructor teaches the class. He demonstrates the various punches etc and the kids learn by trial and repetition. They certainly get stuck in. Once, whilst watching, I had to flee the class after being persued by a gung ho, karate kicking, eyes bulging 5 year old (all I asked for was some kicks but she had a lisp and misunderstood me).

*** The benefits***
-Well, hopefully, it will teach the importance of fitness and maybe have the spin off that my daughter will shun smoking when inevitably tempted later on.

-Confidence is my main objective so that she will be able to stand up for herself and her brother (not sure he'll need it, though).

-It should help her with other sports e.g. ladies soccer (yes, I give in and acknowledge the right of girls to play our great game).

-I will be delighted if she learns to respect herself and others as, to me, this is fundamental and is everyone's most basic right.

-Finally, I am desperate for her to leave home happy, confident and someone who can enjoy life but not at the expense of others.

*** Where do we go
from here?***
We are moving on to the next belt after Christmas as the ante gets upped. I'm hoping that she'll stick with it and continue to improve her overall confidence and demeanour. I'm a bit worried as to how things will work out with my lad but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it (my future ambition for Jamo is to keep him out of jail).

To any parents that can relate to this or even adults that may be looking to learn something new then please consider taking Karate up. There are loads of clubs all over the country. If you live in Northants then if you get in touch I'll let you have the details of someone that can help. The acid test for Em will come in the summer hols next year so we'll see.

A word of caution. Like most hobbies the cost can add up. It's £3.50 per lesson; £20 min. for attending a grading; £20 min. for the Karate suit; it's recommended that you buy various videos and books along the way and the license fee is £18 renewable annually. Yikes!

Now that she has passed her grading it looks as though she’s expected to attend classes twice weekly. This cranks the subs up to £7 per week i.e. £28 notes per month. If ma boy takes it up in a year’s time then I could be looking at £56pm excluding all the extras. Double yikes!!

Don't judge karate by what you've seen in the Karate Kid. I've yet to see anyone polish on and polish off. It is a truly beneficial sport with lots of social benefits. Anyone can do this so maybe it's time for you.

Thankyou for reading and...

Oss.

***Updated June 2002***
Emma has now attained a red belt and is working towards orange. She attended a regional competition in Kettering which was attended by people from all over the Midlands and East Anglia. She took part in an individual competition and a team one. Whilst she didn't win
she did pick up a medal for attending and also did her stuff in front of an audience of 300+ spectators. Her confidence has increased with me having far less doubts over her ability to look after herself.

I'll be enroling James towards the end of the year (God help 'em!)

Marandina

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