anyones kids do karate?

[cheeryface]

ds2 wants to start. apparently its £25 to join

what should he wear? as obviously we don't already have the white suit.

any advice?

Mine both do. When they started they just went along in a T-shirt and tracky bottoms. Then when they decided they wanted to carry on, we ordered the suit through the teacher.

o.k thanx

My DS(7) has been doing karate for about 2 years now. He is doing really well and progressing through the belts. Great all round exercise, discipline...etc

It's not the cheapest hobby, we pay about £30 P/A for his memberships and insurance, then £10 a week for his sessions. For that he can train 4 times a week, but he only goes twice, but recently has started doing a double session one evening. The further up the grade he gets I suppose- the need for him to go more often to continue to progress.

Each grading also costs about £21, for the actual grading and new belt. These happen 3 times a year for him in his club.

Prices around here really vary, but we feel the Sensi who runs "our" club is very strict and his standards are very high, so there is a lot to consider.

The Ghi(sp?) white suit was only needed once a trial period was over and we were sure DS wanted to stick with it. From what I remember DS wore tracky bottom and a t-shirt at first.

Do you have to pay the joining fee up front- do they not offer a trial period?

Yes. Don't worry about clothes just wear comfortable loose stuff. £25 is a bit steep IMO unless they are sure they like it enough to continue. In our club LOs start and stop all the time so a joining fee would be a bit much. When they do decide it's for them it costs £15 to join.

We pay £3 for an hours class - there are 2 classes a week he could go to. But once you start grading there are more costs involved - licences, grading fees etc.

BTW try getting the gi online. Clubs tend to charge quite a bit for them. You can get a childs gi online for about £15 incl P&P.

Marial arts is an expensive hobby that's for sure. I reckon I spend about £800 a year on training, equipment and membership (me, not my kids, they're too young!)

Lots of younger ones come to our club, but we have people aged 6 to 66 training.

So don't be like the parents that wait outside bored s**tless for hours (often younger than me).. get in the class yourself!

I don't think there's an age limit on the benefits that martial arts brings, fantastic fitness, coordination, confidence, developing a sporting attitude, positive thinking.

And don't make the mistake that thinking its about violence. It's a sport, about challenging yourself to be the best you can be within your limits. Learning how your mind and body can work better under pressure.

DH teaches karate as a hobby. He took it up when he was a poor student because it was the cheapest sport to do.

The club he teaches at does not charge a joining fee, just £3 per session. parents pool cars to take kids to competitions and everyone takes a packed lunch, bottles of water etc.

The biggest expense is the grading.... but then they don't do that very often... only if they have a real chance of passing. The belts cost about a tenner I think.

vimfuego! I did just that. I started classes myself a few months ago. Not same class as DS though. I had to start in the adults class with all the really experienced black belts

Our club seems to really try to keep the costs down for the kids compared to a lot of places I've seen.

Good luck with your training OrmIrian!

Don't be intimidated by black belts, they were beginners too and any martial artist will want to give others a hand up the ladder.