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Now, I will admit I'm a novice in this field...I'm just beginning to do research. I really appreciate and value your opinions. I have a cousin who is VERY into Judo.... so he would be all over this. But my husband (kind of a know it alll..lol) is insisting that Judo is not the best for self-defense. He is insisting we look more at Kung Fu. Again - I'm not all that educated and I'm looking into this more.... but can you tell me what you think of that?
I am starting to look at Judo schools now, I like what I'm hearing here.
However I also need to stress that it is very important to develop her physical abilities
Since she is young now is the best time
There really are no Sanshou schools here
Karate, TKD, and Kung fu schools in the USA are lacking
Most kung fu schools I have seen will not develop the students physically, they show them some forms, and tech, and have them drill it, that is not great
Plus she is kid, give her something physical
But make sure she has kids here age to mess around with
now it is important that she has kids her age to workout with
She can learn a lot from older kids, but when it comes to sparring/randori she does not stand a chance, and will not have any fun
Why do you say that? Most Judo clubs that are any good have lots of kids to spar with.....Another sensei I have personally trained with, and a former student of Yonezuka sensei, is Andy Ruggiero in the Toms River area, and he always has lots of kids from 5 yrs of age and up.
If you want him to learn something useful, avoid the chains and the places that focus on tournaments and trophies- that covers most of the karate and tae kwon do schools. When they train for tournaments, they learn to move in, tap the opponent lightly to score a point, and then step back- in the real world, that'll get you knocked on your ass when the other guy doesn't stop just because you tapped him.
I'd look for either a kung fu (san soo kung fu if you can find it), krav maga, or brazilian ju jitsu school- he'll learn discipline and how to defend himself in the real world.
Thanks for this informative post. I really didn't think about in this view and you opened my eyes to the real purpose of paying for all those classes.
I don't give a rats ass about trophies & tournaments. With all the garbage going on in school today, I want my boys to be able to defend themselves in the real world (when Mama aka HRH is not there to do the ass whooping myself)
The hubby & I discussed brazilian ju jitsu and now I'm leaning much more towards it. Thanks Bob...
Thanks for this informative post. I really didn't think about in this view and you opened my eyes to the real purpose of paying for all those classes.
I don't give a rats ass about trophies & tournaments. With all the garbage going on in school today, I want my boys to be able to defend themselves in the real world (when Mama aka HRH is not there to do the ass whooping myself)
The hubby & I discussed brazilian ju jitsu and now I'm leaning much more towards it. Thanks Bob...
I feel the same way - the trophies and the tournaments mean nada to me.
My daughter is giving me some resistance to this - she's a girly girl and she wants to take gymnastics again instead. LOL We'll see if she can do both!
Anyway, my cousins kids take Judo and I may be able to get her with that. I did more research last night and I liked what I was reading. Also, I'd like to thank Disney's Brenda Song (aka...Homecoming Warrior) for making this sellable to my girl! LOL! I just think it's really important these days to be able to have SOME method of protecting yourself.
And then there is the discipline and control aspect...heck, maybe I should take classes! LOL!
I think alot of you are missing the fact that the person who posted the question is asking for their children. Although all have suggested some good styles. Kids don't have the attention span for styles like Krav Maga. Or really understand how BJJ works. As a former martial arts instructor, I recommend fun styles of martial arts that still teach self-defense, where they can be surrounded by their peers. Most of the styles mentioned are styles practioned by the older crowd, I don't want my children surrounded by a bunch of sweaty middle aged men.
Top Picks for KIDS:
1. Tae Kwon Do
2. Judo
3. Karate (like Kyokushin)
I think alot of you are missing the fact that the person who posted the question is asking for their children. Although all have suggested some good styles. Kids don't have the attention span for styles like Krav Maga. Or really understand how BJJ works. As a former martial arts instructor, I recommend fun styles of martial arts that still teach self-defense, where they can be surrounded by their peers. Most of the styles mentioned are styles practioned by the older crowd, I don't want my children surrounded by a bunch of sweaty middle aged men.
Top Picks for KIDS:
1. Tae Kwon Do
2. Judo
3. Karate (like Kyokushin)
Thanks for this informative post. I really didn't think about in this view and you opened my eyes to the real purpose of paying for all those classes.
I don't give a rats ass about trophies & tournaments. With all the garbage going on in school today, I want my boys to be able to defend themselves in the real world (when Mama aka HRH is not there to do the ass whooping myself)
The hubby & I discussed brazilian ju jitsu and now I'm leaning much more towards it. Thanks Bob...
You can't go wrong with BJJ.......remember that it both comes from Judo and is often crosstrained with it (I crosstrain both; at least I did so before injury). It can also be much more expensive than Judo, though even for kids.
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Good information
With all the garbage going on in school today, I want my boys to be able to defend themselves in the real world (when Mama aka HRH is not there to do the ass whooping myself) 
