A shortcoming with wrestling is that most programs are extremely competitive and not all kids like that element, but I do think it and judo are the best places to start.
Judo
Harmon_Whistler - for HuntingtonPUNK
That video is why wrestling is the answer. Those kids are little badasses. With those kind of attributes they could pick up BJJ very quickly.
Wrestling is freaking hard. Do it while you're young and can enter tournamnets for practically free and have free instruction. You'll get tough as hell and be in great shape. The biggest thing is the attributes though. Balance, speed, coordination. Those will carry on over to any other sport.
I Get Finished in Fights -pickledsoylentgreen - I don't know, I've seen a lot of wrestlers get handled in street fights. They can take people down but they don't know how to react when the start getting elbowed in the top of the head, or if the dudes buddy pulls a cheap soccer kick to his head. I'm saying if your talking fighting wise, Muay Thai, street fights are honestly brutal and so is Muay Thai, they go hand in hand.
this is in response to Jacinto
Yeah me too. I was friends with this guy that would get into street fights almost every week. He was real strong, could bench 245 lbs. and was only 17 years old. He worked out with the school's football team sometimes. Well anyways, he got into a fight in high school with the top HW wrestler in my school. This guy was diesel built, strong as an ox, wrestled at about 199 lbs. I think but was 199 lbs. of pure muscle. My friend was about 175 lbs. of pure muscle. When they started going at it my friend beat the shit out of the wrestler. Just tore him up. It wasn't even close.
There's a lot more that goes into real fighting, in a street situation, than just technique. There's a lot of psychological things and the whole idea of what is 'fair' goes out the window. That's what a lot of wrestlers don't deal well with they are used to 'fair competition' that's what they train for. In martial arts, you train to save yourself in life or death situations you train yourself for street fights. Having said that, I will say that most wrestling teams at least get you in really good shape and that gives you confidence to explode on a guy that is in not so good shape in a street fight. But if you fight someone that is in equivalent shape, roughly the same size, that is trained in a martial art and used to street fighting, the wrestler almost always get handled. They don't train to fight they train to win at wrestling. If that same person knows something like BJJ or knows how to sprawl, that wrestler is fucked.
In MMA, which is a sport, the wrestler has rules they can take advantage of to win. Takedowns in and of themselves count as points. There is a 10 point must system. How many wrestlers win on decisions in MMA? Most of them unless they learn another martial art like boxing (Rashad Evans) kickboxing (Chuck Liddell) or BJJ (Matt Hughes). There are no 'decisions' in the streets. It's life or death.
First off, that beginning paragraph never happened.
Second, this is his kid he's talking about. He wants to introduce him to martial arts. Wrestling is the best of both worlds, a sport and a martial art.
Third, you're delusional. I dont know what you have against wrestling but nobody who's not a liar can claim they know a bunch of wrestlers who get beaten up in the street all the time.
Fourth, why would you mention any of these martial arts for these life or death street fights you seem to think happen every day?? What world do you live in (or think you live in)?
If you're in a situation where you get in life or death streetfights left and right, don't learn Wrestling, BJJ, or any grappling art, MMA included. Learn knife fighting and carry a knife. Join the marines. Even Boxing or Muay Thai. Don't EVER teach someone thats the best option in a REAL street fight is to start shooting for double legs or reaching for rear naked chokes. Honest to god this is the kind of stuff that's going to start getting people stomped out. Like the "Gracie Combatives" . LOL
Kirik - Wrestling for sure. Gymnastics is a great base for anything, too.
I have a notebook from 1978 where I tried to figure out the best regimes for a MA university. I had gymnastics and swimming for the really young kids. (by gymnastics, I suppose I meant 'tumbling', as opposed to stuff like rings, balance beam and floor, but both should be good. Thing is it's so competitive, that 90% would end up disenheartened and drop out unless there really is talent there. So it would have to be a special ed 'tumbling for martial artists', LOL)
Now, seeing how well the tots do in BJJ submission grappling, I'd have those three for year one ages 6 or 7. The next year they'd add on wrestling and now I'd add something like parkour running.
At age 10 I'd add some kind of team sport like soccer or basketball or baseball, and cross-country running.
Not sure of the best year to learn to punch, but throwing a baseball and dribbling a basketball requires a crucial age, around 8 or 10, iirc.
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Edit to add. This is a difficult subject. For instance what -is- martial arts? Is it a sport, or is it an attempt to make kids into samurai or what.
In all of these ideas you -must- take into account the stages of development a child goes through. You can't introduce striking too late or like throwing a baseball they don't get that skill, neither can you introduce it too early, because children are just not ready (it depends).
IMO, learning body mechanics, air-sense (tumbling and trampoline work) are important early things for building a base. With a semester of ballet and tumbling, most people would be 100% better at kicking and getting their hips into movements, imo.
for WhyYouTrippinHater
those are no children :)
those are no children :)
WidespreadPanic -Kirik - Wrestling for sure. Gymnastics is a great base for anything, too.Now, seeing how well the tots do in BJJ submission grappling, I'd have those three for year one ages 6 or 7. The next year they'd add on wrestling and now I'd add something like parkour running.
hell yes, I forgot about parkour.
I burned my vote ups today, I'll vote you up tomorrow.
swimming.
3 things
1- when teaching kids they nee dot have fun or they won't enjoy it and stick with it.
2- Watch little boys at play, they wrestle, Judo or wrestling is natural for them.
Either or depending on the teacher / coach see point 1
Why limit them?
Wrestling or Judo.
We have hands with fingers with opposable thumbs. It's natural for us to want to grab stuff. That applies even when fighting.
Plus, both have more "flexibility" in terms of how you can apply them. By this, I mean they allow you to handle yourself against the "drunk but harmless douche who wants to test your 'kung-fu'" but also allow you to also handle yourself against "douche with serious sociopathic tendencies".
I've heard a lot of good things about Straight Blast Gym's Play as the Way program. Obviously, it's BJJ based, but for the very youngest kids it seems to focus more on tumbling and basic "rasslin" than anything else.
Wrestling is accessible in most areas. Almost every HS has some type of club "feeder" system. Rates are cheap, equipment is reasonable (shoes, singlet, headgear), and tournaments are relatively inexpensive.
bjj....
learn positions for years before even doing subs.
you will still learn takedowns and not have the bad habits of wrestlers trying to do bjj later in life. its pretty amazing to see kids have a good guard at 10 years old because they started at 5 years old.
strikes are good for self defense but you dont want head shots at a young age.
wrestling
lol @ the nerds who think because you put on a gi and belt in karate and judo, you somehow learn some budo.
its the instructor, not the style, who teaches things like respect, honor, diligence and discipline.
R.K.D.
Rape and kidnapping defense