Martial arts advice please!

[LightminTheQueem]

DD1 is 5 and just started tae kwon do after school. She seems to like it but says teacher is strict (quite usual if think) and also seems to have little idea about things like whether it's appropriate to be doing it in the playground, that it's really about fighting (which we haven't emphasised) etc. we saw some sparring the other weekend between different clubs and DH feels it's too violent, and I think I agree. Should we let her carry on to the end of term? Are there any 'softer' martial arts which she could go to instead? I was thinking of aikido, but don't think there are any classes near here. I like the idea of a martial art for the confidence and discipline, but maybe she's too young, or it's just not for us. Advice please!

Little monsters or Little tigers ... depending on your area. My kids have attended since 4 and are working totallly love it ... :))

It might depend on the club. My 2 DSs do Taekwondo and although sparring is involved as they progress, there should be lots of emphasis on the patterns and techniques first.

My 2 have never been interested on the competitive side, but you can compete doing the patterns of movements as well sparring.

5 is awfully young.
Most martial arts have a violent side. It is about handling yourself physically. I have even been in one aggressive Tai Chi group .
Judo is the least aggressive of those I've been exposed to.
Choose a fun club first & foremost.

Hmm, doesn't sound ideal to me. Not the martial arts, but the way it's being taught. Martial arts are great to teach children focus, discipline and to get exercise. My DDs and I do karate, and in the kids class our Sensei always takes time to tell the children not to do any karate at school, and gives them good advice on how to deal with bullies or people who push them to show off their moves.

At 5, I don't think the actual martial art you choose is as important as an instructor who has a lot of experience with children and knows how to teach them effectively and safely.

Kung Fu is much more holistic and spiritual as a martial art. Round here they teach kids from 5 and the first lesson is all about self-discipline and about NOT fighting. The kicking and punching is for strength and health. Mind you we are a Kung Fu family, we all do it!

As the above poster says, I think it very much depends on the club. Our taekwondo club is very much about focus, discipline, fitness. Theres also theory which is taken home to learn for the gradings. They do a lot on patterns and techniques and the sparring they do is very controlled, at first it almost seemed staged, learning the kick which is done slow and controlled with a block where you don't/barely touch the kick/punch especially with kids. No contact. There's a lot on YouTube that you can see the sort of things that are generally done , one step sparring, two step sparring, it's all very much technique and if you take a look there's no force placed, it's just technique and learning what to do. When they progress after a few grades then they start to do a bit more contact which is still quite soft, also they are fully kitted up with loads of sparring gear... Padding everywhere... Hands, head, front, back, shins, feet.But you can get through pretty much all the grades not doing a lot of sparring as it's only an element to it and even the sparring with a lot of the grades are not violent. And as the above poster says with competitions there's normally two strains patterns and/or sparring. I think taekwondo here is very much seen as a 'softer' martial art!
There's a lot of emphasis that none of this is for the playground. It's more self defence.

You could always try a few martial arts, see which one she enjoys the most. Most martial arts will have contact at some point so I would say it would be down to whether she enjoys it. Do you observe her lessons? Then you can see what they do.

Hi, my children have been doing taekwondo since they were 4years old. I would really recommend a PUMA taekwondo school. They are semi contact sparring only , if you look on the PUMA website it lists all schools .

Martial arts are about self defence, and in that context fighting is good (In fact might be life saving)
No contact martial arts have the reputation of being bad for your joints because you are kicking and punching against against nothing ie ballistic (bouncing)stretching which is frowned upon nowadays

My DD did kick boxing for years. I was a bit shocked the first time I saw them using wooden knives to simulate attacks, but the vast majority was about self defence and running away. When she was about 6, a boy was annoying her on a bouncy castle and she gently but firmly swept him off his feet and laid him down and he never bothered her again. She's now a teenager and although she no longer does kick boxing, I'm glad she has those skills.