Recently, I had an inquiry from my nephew’s wife as to whether I thought their little daughter could start training in karate-do. I was told that, “She likes to punch and kick and looks pretty good…plus, she’s always watching Kung Fu Panda on DVD.” Her question boiled down to what was the minimum age a child could start training in karate-do. This is probably one of the most commonly asked questions that parents ask with regards to their children and karate-do. Generally, we don’t accept students until they’re at least 5 years old. In the case of the HIS Karate ministry, we also invite the parents to train with their children – so that they can understand what the training’s about and to help keep an extra eye on their little one. Over the years, I’ve found that: each child is unique in their ability to absorb the art, some 5 year-olds can learn and perform as well as any adult, most kids attention span begin to wane after 45 minutes of practice, girls seem to have a little better focus/coordination than boys, and that the kids seem to do better if a parent is training alongside them.

Here’s a caveat: No matter how talented and focused, no matter how much they achieve when they are young, there is the risk of “burn-out” if a parent pushes a child too hard into the art – very similar to what happens to kids whose parents live their baseball/soccer/football/basketball/etc dreams vicariously through their talented offspring. This is a very common phenomenon amongst the children of long-time karate senseis. I remember one very talented little five year-old boy, “Randy”, who was brought into our dojo (back in the early 1970’s) by his very strict Chinese grandmother. He dutifully trained and gained exceptional skills, achieving the coveted black belt when he was only about 10 years old. I was on the mainland by then, but he apparently reached his burn-out state sometime in his early teens and dropped out of karate-do altogether. Years later, when he was a young man in his twenties (a strapping, powerful 6 footer), he resumed training briefly, stopped; and to my knowledge, never returned. This is an all too familiar story that I’ve seen repeated many, many times. It is especially common among the children of senseis and it’s the rare child who grows up to take his/her parent’s place in the dojo. Realizing this, I never forced my children to train in the martial arts, although Matt started Judo at 5, then Karate at 7, while Trish began practicing at 6 years old. I think it worked out fine, as Matt continued training well into college, until other interests and activities gradually drew him away. He doesn’t harbor the negative feelings towards the art that a typical burn-out student carries, and actually learned a lot of valuable lessons over the years. Sensei Trish continues till this day (achieved her black belt at 12) and still enjoys practicing and sharing the art of Shotokan as much as I do.

So, karate training from an early age can be a good thing as long as it doesn’t overshadow the other natural activities that a child would like to partake in. Some of the greatest lessons that a child can learn in the dojo are about focus, perseverence, effort, respect and patience. Although the 5 year mark might be a good rule of thumb, some exceptional children may be ready a little earlier; while others may need to wait a couple of more years. My nephew and his older brother both trained with us from when they were children -both received their black belts – so he has a very good idea of what karate training entails. However, I advised him and his wife to wait a couple of more years before having their daughter give karate a try – she is only two years old.

Conversely, a second question commonly asked of me is, “Am I too old to start training in karate?” I always reply that one is never too old to train, though it must be conducted with a good understanding of one’s limitations and adjusting one’s practice accordingly, which we certainly understand. However, if you’re in your fifties, sixties and seventies like our more mature students are – I suggest that you leave your parents at home;)