Dylan Wants To Do Karate

Janna

New Member
God, watch over us, and pray for the best.

He wants to try.

Someone else posted about how their difficult child couldn't stand losing at sports. Well, that used to be Dylan. I could see him getting hit by someone accidentally and freaking out. He wouldn't hit back, be aggressive, like he was in the past, but I could see the crying, wailing, flipping out. I haven't had him in any real sports activities since starting the Lithium. He was in the summer camp, and they did things with VERY CLOSE supervision, and he did okay, but this is something else.

He will do two 30 minute sessions alone first, with a teacher. If he likes it, we will continue, if not, it'll be done.

I think it would be GREAT for him but I'm worried. He's obese. I can't see how he's going to be able to maneuver. Maybe I don't know anything about karate (I don't).

Should be interesting. I have a feeling he won't like it, but I really hope he does.

Anyone else's difficult child's do karate? How did they do?

Janna
 

Loris

New Member
My oldest difficult child tried it and lasted a whole day. But in all fairness, that seemed to be his thing was to start something and refuse to continue. He did that with many things.
I hope your boy tries it and likes it. They say it is a good thing to get into. Good luck!
 

pepperidge

New Member
My youngest did TKD for over two years. (We've just taken a break so he can play soccer). I think it was great for him. It gives him exercise (which he needed), it provides discipline and mental focus, and at the lower belt levels, there is actually very little practice using moves on others (so doesn't increase aggressiveness) and then where there is it is done in a very controlled less than full contact way. Plus it helped him feel more self confident.

I have also read that the by working on the patterned sequences of moves they have in TKD, that it can help the different sides of the brain integrate better. I presume karate is similar to TKD.

The only downside of it is that it has given him some powerful strong muscles. Good, except for the few periods were we have had some bad medication reactions etc and he has decided to kick us.

I would highly recommend it. There is a lot to learn, my son was going 2-3 times a week, which seemed beneficial.

Plus testing for the different belt levels gave him a sense of accomplishment.
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
Janna,

I can tell you that many of the moms here have great things to say about Katate and their difficult children. I actually took difficult child to preview a class thinking it would be a great energy burner and a place to learn about defense rather than offense :nonono:

When difficult child saw that late students had to do push ups and kids that weren't listening had to do push ups and laps around the place, he turned to me and said, "No, I don't think I would like this!" :surprise: That was the end of that.

I wouldn't worry about his size, Janna; I'm sure the experts modify training for kids of all endurance levels.

From now on, Dylan will be known as The Karate Kid!

Sharon
 

Janna

New Member
Thanks you guys! Chris, what's the differences between TKD and karate? Are there any?

I don't worry so much now about the raging, the medications have pretty much subsided that (I think we're done with medication changes too for now, whew, Chris!).

They want him to go twice a week, two days close to each other (he chose Thurs and Sat). I'm really hoping he likes it. He needs to get "into" something. He picked this on his own, so I'm excited.

Janna
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
My difficult child tried karate-he was a bit hyper so we took him out. easy child,oth, has a black belt. She wanted to drop out but we had signed a contract and made her stick with it. I hope it works out well for Dylan-also there were many overweight people who did karate with easy child.
 

amy4129

New Member
Janna,
The boys both did Karate, Tang Soo Do, think Chuck Norris.
We are on break because of Ken's arm break. Ken is almost a black belt has about a year to go. Corey has about a 1&1/2 years to go. They love it and can't wait to go back. Even when the boys were at their worst- pre medications, they were always welcomed there. Their Master was great to work with.
Amy
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
I think it's a great that he wants to try it. It's a great way to learn self discipline. If they cooperate.
The fact he wants to try it is a good sign.
 

oceans

New Member
I think that it is a great thing for him to try. My difficult child did TKD when he was younger. It lasted for awhile and then he got bored and wanted to stop. I hope he likes it enough to keep going!
 

SuzyfromTexas

New Member
Janna,

Saying a little prayer for you that Dylan likes Karate.

Pepperidge mentioned that TKD helps with the integration of the two sides of the brain. Interesting....I may have to try it with my son. I've also heard swimming helps in a similar way.

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.
 

needabreak

New Member
I gave karate a try last year with difficult child,cause i wanted him to focuse his energy on something.he did not seem to like it.i think he was to young .im going to try again this summer to see how it goes.
i hope dylan does like it cause what they say about it is all good.its just finding the right school.good luck and prayers.
 

smallworld

Moderator
Janna, my kids haven't done karate so I have no advice. But I do hope Dylan likes it. Anything having to do with discipline and burning up energy is wonderful for our kids.
 

givnmegryhr

New Member
hi Janna. PC13 takes Karate. He loves it. We use to go watch him ,as it is encouraged by Sensai, but difficult child was picking up moves and coming home and using them on his sisters. So needless to say , he won't be taking any classes anytime soon. I wouldn't worry about Dylan's weight. There is a few heavy kids in his class and they do fine, maybe don't kick as high lol, but they still do fine.
 

kris

New Member
martial arts seems to be the one sport that works well for a lot of our kids.

it's not a team sport ~~~ at least not at first ~~~ they work at their own individual levels & yet they get the soaialability of taking classes with-people...all working at different levels & progressing at they own speed.

sensies can become wonderful role models. you'd be amazed how many of them started MA with-the same issues as our kids. it's structured, it's ompetetive, lots of postive reinforcement. i hope dylan loves it. yeah, he'll get hit when they spar, but it's also extremely controlled....tons of supervision!

good luck.

kris
 

KateM

Member
Janna, my difficult child hated sports when younger. Didn't get the concept of "teamwork", was't coordinated, so he didn't perform well, and could not tolerate losing. Some of my worst memories of difficult child involve him crying and yelling after losing a soccer game back in 2nd grade.

But karate was one of the best things ever! He stuck with this for 5 years, earning his black belt. He learned focus, better coordination, respect. His self esteem improved.

I would definitely recommend this -- but ask around about the class best suited to your son. The main reason this was so successful for my difficult child was that the instrutors were so willing to work with kids of all backgrounds and ability. This was not a "special" class, but their were many boys with ADHD there and the instructors channeled their energy positively.
 

mum2JK&TH

New Member
Same here, difficult child did TKD, loved it. Suprisingly was one of the masters best students. The master was a wonderful man who had lots of patience but did not tolerate disrespect. I think it's a wonderful thing for any kid.

I hope Dylan enjoys it!
 

timer lady

Queen of Hearts
I hope Dylan can enjoy this sport. Neither of the tweedles was able to maintain in this setting - wm, especially, used the new learned skills for evil rather than good. :faint:
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
I have no idea what happened to my post last night.

Karate is a great idea. Karate gives kids self esteem and teaches them self-discipline.

I had this whole long post last night and I can't remember the whole thing, but he'll do well.
 

'Chelle

Active Member
Both my kids are in karate and love it. difficult child started when he was 8, went for 2 years, we took a year break and he's been back 2 1/2 years. He's close to brown belt, would be testing this weekend but we haven't been able to go much the last 2 months because we've been passing colds around and he just had strep throat and he decided he wouldn't be ready.

Karate has been great for difficult child. It teaches respect for others (#1 dojo rule), self-discipline, self-confidence. Sensei teaches that it's for defence, not attack until you're attacked first. Also, the competition is mainly just within yourself, how hard you want to push yourself to train and get to the next level, generally you and your sensei decide if you're ready to test. You can get into competitions, if you want, but then it's you against an opponent so you can't blame your team if you lose. You also get points off for poor sportsmanship so ANY show of bad sportsmanship isn't tolerated :nonono: (it's disrepecful to everyone) difficult child went in 2 small competitions early on, and did well gold in one and bronze in the other, but he hated just getting the bronze, and he's decided he doesn't want to do any more. I think he recognized in himself that he just can't stand to not be in 1st place.

As for the weight thing, both of my kids are on the heavy side, there are a couple other kids and there are a couple fairly heavy adults in the adult classes, so being overweight isn't as much a drawback as something like basketball or soccer. They do some cardio (jogging around the dojo, shuttle runs etc.) and stretching before every class, so it does help a bit with that for the kids. Most people think Bruce Lee type when they think martial arts, but you could also look up Sammo Hung who is an overweight martial artist.

Hope he likes it. :smile:
 

Luminosity

New Member
My difficult child has been in karate since age 6. He is taking a break atm and will resume after the spring break. It is difficult to get him there... but once there he does amazing things. He now helps with lower belts. I think it has been good. He knows that if he uses his skills to hurt then he is removed from the dojo. His skills are for defense if needed. difficult child is usually very clumsy and awkward... during kata he is so graceful it is truly amazing. He leaves class pumped and feeling good about himself. May not last long but for a little bit twice a week he feels good about himself. The break is because he felt overwhelmed with school work and wanted/needed the time to get back on track. He will go back on the 19th. Hope your difficult child enjoys karate.
 
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