Which martial art?

[lovelyjubilly]

Hi everyone,

We would like our 7yo dd to learn a martial art and we are completely overwhelmed by the different options!

Our dd is currently an absolute wimp so we are hoping for something that will build resilience, as well as something that will teach her some self-defence skills as she grows up.
We are also practising Christians so would not be keen on anything that involves a lot of meditation or other spiritual practices. This is very important to us.

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

Our 6 year old does Judo - which was entirely his own choice - and really enjoys it. Judo literally means "gentle way" and it does seem more gentle than some of the other martial arts. There is not the same focus on thrusting and kicking that some martial arts have - it is about unbalancing and holding opponents.

My advice would be to see if you can try some classes out though. Most good martial arts schools/instructors seem to offer taster sessions - in fact I'd be concerned of they expected you to commit to lessons without a try out.