TAE KWON DO/LITTLE PUMAS - opinions please

[shrub]

Have been to a couple of sessions and still trying to make our minds up whether to go ahead for ds1 (5 years). The cost is the first issue (£60 to sign up for uniform, certificates, then£22 a month). The other is whether my ds1 is suited to it - he is a very gentle soul though can find it hard managing his emotions sometimes and learning to relax but having watched some of the children there seems to be a competitive parent element to it or some of the children are quite hyperactive (though this could be excitement!)
The club has phoned a couple of times to ask if we are joining and felt a bit uncomfortable about them being so pushy to recruit more members.
Has anyone had any experience of this good or bad?

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anyone?

dont know the club you are talking about exactly but thought i would mention that my kids go to judo every other week. it is a pay as you go system so you dont lose cash on the weeks you dont attend. lots of people have said that martial arts teach them discipline and help control anger. have you looked everywhere in your area for other classes? dont know much about tae kwon do but judo is more wrestling so not as energetic as some sports. might be worth shopping round a bit more. also you can get suits on ebay for a lot less than £60. i know that includes registration fees or whatever but sounds a bit ott. we paid no registration fee and is £2.80 each per session

crikey gigglinggoblin - think i will continue searching if there is something more reasonable. didn't have anything to compare it to brfore. they are asking for a big financial commitment and i'm sure some weeks ds1 is going to be too tired.

Aikido is another discipline which is non aggressive Here

Hi, I take ds to karate and it is £4 per week, with no membership fees. I think the classes we do are suitable for any child as they are mostly teaching concentration, self-discipline and physical skills. It sounds like there are too many negatives in your description of the Tae Kwon Do - if you are shelling out all that money you should be seriously impressed by the classes. You will be taking him for weeks to come, so make sure you choose an activity you both love.

it doesn't sound to me that this club is for you or lo. again, my club does a pay as you go system. £2.50 per lesson (NE England) a yearly licence fee of less than tenner (insurance) and a grading fee if you are grading (£7 a go) My karate club is run by a 6th dan (six black belts) and he is a gentle soul who brings out the best in the kids of all personality types from the ones the police 'encourage' to join to teeny little girls - all on the same floor. When my dd turns 4, I know where she will start.

Shop around. All the disciplines will teach concentration, self defense and self awareness as well as increase fitness.

if your ds in v. gentle then the throws in tkd may be too much for him? look also at other disciplines with minimal physical contact. in karate, you build up to actual physical sparring - from none in beginners to take downs at black belt.

Think zippitippitoes has linked to aikido already, but I'd recommend it for younger ones, not punchy kicky like tae kwon do. Where are you in the country, maybe we can help?

im agree, i find in western countries marital art is turned into aggressive and competitive art.im asian and i lived korea many years. in korea teakwondo is sport more like part of learning subject.they go teakwondo at 3-4 years and learn slowly,learn to be patient and tolerant.i could be wrong but instructors here are very competitive and push the youngsters to be like them. i learnt teakwondo,judo,ushu at school, i havent got any degrees and different belts. i may not kick over head of standing person, but i can do self defense if i need to. i would love my dd learn teakwondo as find its essential for woman to learn to self defence. i would send her korea on her summer break to her aunty.
sorry not much help but i wish people to understand asian marital art is not aggressive art. i wish we all enjoy it instead of worrying about our children.
xxx

wow thanks for all the lovely replies - very informative. your points are also making me question my own motivations for him joining in the first place. i think i want him to have the confidence and the tools at hand if he gets himself into a challanging situation. i find i also have issues with anything aggressive ie. playing guns but understand this is how a lot of boys play especially now he has started school. i use to love playing with my toy gun. anyway i'm going off in a tangent here! he is very sensitive and i think this is also my worries about letting him become part of all that i thinking the whole thing is 'aggressive' but if i had a girl i would think of it as 'assertive' but i realise i can't protect him and the tae kwon do might help him in lots of ways as many of you have suggested. i will look into the whole thing a bit more before we commit.
a big thank you

hope you dont mind the quick hijack, but does anyone on here know if there is any difference between a judo suit and a karate suit? want to get some cheap ones off ebay if poss and dont trust sellers to not just say theirs will be fine

I think the difference is often the colour?! karate tends to be white, judo often black?

shrub- change of names (but we've met ). I've been thinking about this for ds2 as well (although he won't be 4 until Jan). Characterwise I think he's like your ds1. Let me know if you find anything suitable. Here there's another one Little tigers or something- but they seem to be attached to a kickboxing gym, so I've been a bit unsure. I don't really want anything competitive either.

I've said it earlier on in the thread, but Aikido is none competative and very good, uses manipulation of opponents body weight to manouvre them into a holding position/throw them!

thanks frizbe- I lived in Japan for a bit so fancy something Japanese - could be good choice- will look into aikido

Hello again - thanks for the replies, will look into akido frizbe.
Bakabat- tis you? wondered where you were as hadn't seen any posts from you. how are you? I'm getting a handle on the juggling 3 now but have backtracked this last few days with all having coughs and colds and ds1 putting slime(remember the green goo from the 70's?)in his hair thinking he could wear it as a hat. i was sooo not calm but thankfully it was a saturday and dh got it out after 2 hours of washing and combing!

Is Tae Kwon Do the one that Jacqui thingummy's children do (sorry, I don't know what's up with my brain this morning)?

It's becoming quite clear that DS1 is not going to take to competitive sport (that's an understatement) although he loves swimming and running and climbing. I'd like to find something that was kind of structured and organised but not competitive iyswim.

thanks batters - do you mind me asking if your club charges the same (£65 register then £22 a month)or are there different clubs associated with tae kwondo?

a judo suit is tougher than a karate suit. It has to take a lot of pulling/throwing by the opponent. Karate doesn't have as much physical contact.

old martial arts link

another one

thanks alux