Ninja Babies

[Guide Dog]

I have a nine month old son. This past holiday season, I took my boy to a holiday party at a large martial arts academy at which I train.  When I was giving my son a bottle, several of the other students noticed that I feed my son with him holding onto my bottle arm in the closed guard.  I have been giving my son his bottles this way for as long as I can remember.

One of my other favorite games is to force my son to keep me at bay with his feet.  When I get to his side, he is kissed and tickled for some time.  I have noticed that over time, his legs have gotten stronger and he is a bit better at pushing me away.  I also take my son with me two nights a week to an academy for my teaching/training.  The other students seem to like that my boy is being exposed to the martial arts so early in his development.

I was wondering, for all the folks out there with kids or who have regular interaction with children, what kinds of things (like the above examples) do you do to expose them to martial arts?

[Guard Dog]

C-Guide Dog,
  Honestly a great topic!  I love finding games for kids that are all about having fun but train the attributes needed later on in life for the big boy games we like to play!  I think using positive reinforcement as they get older and constantly training their attributes via games is a huge help to their ability to become good martial artists.  In the "Might Mites" classes I teach we have a lot of parent / child drills that work on all the attributes.

Gruhn

[rio]

whats the duration of the training. my kids get a little unfocused after about half-an-hour, fortyfive minutes

[Guide Dog]

"Dog" Ryan-  As martial artists, martial athletes, and martial scholars, I like that we are starting to spend some time looking at character development and ethics in the same detail that we examine our fighting ability.  When you used the word "attributes", I immediately went to the JKD usage.  What a great idea that character development in children and ethics might run parallel to attributes like speed, strength, and endurance in forging a complete martial artist and a well developed child.

Rio- My apologies for being unclear.  I was asking, aside from formal training, do you have anything you do with your young ones that is martial arts training, but doesn't appear to be?  For lack of a better example, think Daniel in The Karate Kid sanding the floor and painting the fence.  For really young kids, it is usually in the form of a game or during play that you are training them when they don't know it.  Now that I think about it, when he gets older, maybe my son can carry out the garbage with one hand while he presses a kettlebell with the other...

[Karsk]

I didn't start bringing my kids to practice with me until they were around 11 or 12.  Prior to that we wrestled a lot and we would play a lot of contact games like tag, like sword fighting, like dodge ball to get them used to being hit and getting hit or body contact. Lots of kids have no experience with physical contact as in martial arts or other contact sports until they actually start.   My kids were my pups!

I also got them out in the woods.  Anything to wake up their senses and make them conscious and in the moment. I took them hiking and kayaking and scrambled around cliffs. 

And I let them have some freedom. We have lived away from big cities so we could let the kids go play like the old days more than most.  That kind of childhood freedom opens the heart.

Personally I think that all the natural things that dads do when they love their kids, roughhousing, hanging out with em, being there for them, pulling them up short when need be, setting boundaries, requiring politeness...it all leads to what kids need to become good adults.  And it feeds right into martial arts.

Which came first...martial arts or human development. Martial arts mirrors the truths of human beings not the other way around.

So being an active involved dad who brings his kids into his world and uses that to teach em how to get along in the world is all you have to do.  The martial arts if it is a part of your life will find a place in their lives...at the very least as a strong example of how to live with integrity.

[JeffP]

I was wondering, for all the folks out there with kids or who have regular interaction with children, what kinds of things (like the above examples) do you do to expose them to martial arts?

C-Guide Dog,

As a general rule, I usually let my kids make the first move, as I want them to find their own interests without to much influence from the old man.  That said, my daughters (8 and 6) have both expressed interest in TKD (very popular for kids), as well as Krav Maga and Escrima (obvious parental influence).  So, when they ask, I'm always happy to teach them footwork and punching mechanics, and my 8 year old likes to do standard stick drills with me (though we're still working on Heaven Six).  Then enjoy it, and it widens their perspective.

And good footwork can be applied to many facets of life, doncha think? 

[rio]

my training for the kiddies is . . .  usually having them somersault over medicine balls. the smaller ones really get the form down, as they can barely reach over and touch the mat, learning roll falls. they just think they're rolling over the balls. or . . . standing, i have them sweep a small rag across the floor with thier feet, learning foot sweeps. with the gi, i have one child pull another across the mat, all the while a third stands behind, holding the pulled childs belt. this helps strengthen/quicken kazush. they just think they're playing tug-o-war.

[Maxx]

My daughter is only two and some change so there is really nothing more I can do for her right now except keep up with her while she runs but when she gets older I am going to try and teach her some BJJ with out the chokes till see get mature and ofcorse there will be Kali/Silat and boxing but I will save the weapons part of Kali for her as she reaches a mature and understanding age that you can't run around and knife people