Recommend a martial art for my 6 year old

[Primaflora]

I of course meant 99.999 percentile… damned zero crept in there while I wasn’t looking.

[FisherQueen]

I practice karate, and I have 2 things to contribute to the conversation.

1. At 6, the art itself doesn’t matter that much. I’d visit the schools that are closest/most convenient, and pick the one where the instructor relates well and the kids seem to be having fun.

2. Please make sure this is something your kid actually wants to do- I’ve seen this scene too many times in my dojo- the first-time kid standing in the middle of the mat sobbing because he doesn’t want to be there and he’s afraid of getting hit. It never fails to break my heart.

[Kaitlyn]

*Originally posted by Primaflora *
**Number Six, you’re right I did refer to kids 2 or more standard deviations from the norm in the beginning and that is the 98th percentile.

However, once IQ’s are being measured over the 99th percentile, they are indeed referred to as 99.9, 99.99, 90.999, and so on. Because of the bell curve you have a huge scatter (well comparatively huge ) from 150 (IIRC) to over 200. If you refer to all these kids as 99th percentile it simply doesn’t work. The Gifted Development Centre in Boulder, Colorado and GERRIC in Sydney most certainly do break down the scores in this way. So does the psych who tested my kid in NZ and she was in no way even remotely expert on exceptionally gifted kids. **

I said that percentiles only occur in whole numbers from 1 to 99, and this is correct. A percentile is a division describing which 1/100th of the population a score falls into, which is to say that all scores in the top 1% are in the 99th percentile. I was not arguing about whether some students score above 99.99% of the population, obviously 1 in 10,000 do, but that is a percentage not a percentile. I know this is nit-picking about the particular word used, which is why I labeled it as a nit-pick.

I am not an expert in exceptionally gifted kids, but I am an expert in gifted kids. Children like yours are those that I refer to specialized agencies that know how to best help them exploit their gifts, like those you mentioned. I applaud you for going to the lengths you have to enable your child to best develop his/her abilities. I wish every parent would take the same interest in their children’s education. But even among gifted children, those above 99.99% are a tiny minority. It takes specialized testing to determine whether a child belongs in a gifted program or if more extreme measures, such as acceleration, are needed. Most of the time, the least disruptive accommodation that suits the child’s needs is the best one. For most kids, if a good gifted program is availvable, it is the best choice.

That said, I agree that for those few extraordinary kids that score in the top 1 percent, specailized individual testing is sometimes needed. Without such testing, there is no way to know if the student is 1 in 100 (above 99 percent) or 1 in 10,000 (above 99.99 percent), which is why, from the very first, I have suggested to Paul having his son tested before making such decisions. I have never recommended either for or against acceleration, only that as much information as possible be gathered before such a decision is made.

[Dave_Stewart]

OK, my two cents.

YWalker said:

No — but I’m really valuing the time we’re spending studying this together. I highly recommend finding a class you can join in with your child.

Excellent advice. Martial arts require discipline. If Dad is going, Son will be compelled to go too.

I have tried two martial arts:

1. Tai Kwon Do. The traditional patterns drove me nuts. It was like learning a dance. I didn’t have the patience for it, although I did it for a year.

2. Muay thai kickboxing. I really enjoyed this because it was more free-form and street useful, but its not much of a sport for kids (headbutts, elbows and stomps).

Good luck with it.

[Larry_Mudd]

*Originally posted by Paul The Younger *
**
So the question - any recommendations for a particular discipline for little kids to start with, and how old?
Paul **

Ummm… Tyke-kwan-do?
(Duck.)

[Anal_Scurvy]

I hope I’m not too late to contribute here, something I don’t get to do as much as I’d like. (I don’t like waiting for this board to load. Sue me.)

I was very impressed with some of the credentials here and, though I didn’t read every post, none of the ones I did read offered what I consider to be the best advice:

Find an instructor that gives him a good feeling.

He’s six years old, he doesn’t need to choose an art yet. If he gets a bad instructor, he’ll lose all interest in martial arts anyways.

As he grows he’ll naturally track down an art that suits him if he’s not satisfied with the art that you choose for him. For now, he just needs an instructor that will help him grow in ways that parents and school can’t. How to stand up for himself, when to be humble, how to have fun.

I also agree that you should join the class with him.

P.S. my credentials in the martial arts are many, but the important one is thus: I recently taught the children’s class for a year at my Sifu’s academy as I worked my way towards senior instructorship. The greatest moment was when one of them wanted to enter a tournament, the smallest and the youngest at just nine years old. I trained him for a month, but they couldn’t find an opponent for him. At the last moment they suited up his untrained ten year old cousin and sent them out. My boy thoroughly got his ass kicked, but his heart was amazing. He had changed a lot since he joined the class.