Advice or Recommendations for Karate for a 4 Year Old

I'm a black belt and National Champion and have taught Tae Kwon Do to younger kids. Look at the schools, visit the classes. Most schools will let the child participate free the first time or two and you can observe the class with him sitting next to you as well. Look if the instructors are teaching respect, how to stay in line, discipline, how to speak to each other and the instructor.... some classic respect teachings would be taking shoes off at the entrance and bowing to the flag, turning around to fix a uniform belt, bowing for respect, lines in belt ranking... that sort of thing. I've been to a few where the kids are pretty much just rolling around on the floor, or sporadically sitting wherever, or the instructor doesn't even attempt to correct them... a very bad sign, especially since classes and set up costs can be fairly expensive. Classes like that are usually in the community centers/ymca's that sort of thing. Those kids would be better off in gymnastics.

Really though, most decent and honest schools don't have classes for children that young.

Honestly, I would wait for martial arts. That is really young if listening and following directions are problems for him. Martial arts does help with focus and goal setting and such... but there has to be a modicum of it present already at age 4 for them to even know what is going on. Martial arts classes (any reputable ones anyway) are not cheap.

You'd probably be better served getting him into a gymnastics or tumbling class until he's a bit older.

FWIW, I have 2 kids in martial arts. My son started at 5 1/2. He is 13 and just earned his 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do earlier this month. Our daughter just started 2 summers ago, at age 9. Their school does offer what they call "Tiny Tigers" or "Little Dragons", but they don't really earn any rank. They learn some techniques, but don't earn any "real" belts. There are lots of kids in it and they have fun, but the age group, generally, just isn't capable of doing what they need to do, to really learn and practice the techniques or the forms. There is the rare kid who can, but it is just that.....the rare kid. That age is more just fun time and learning some important safety things--like what to yell if someone tries to grab them ("you're not my Mom!" or "You're not my Dad!"), to memorize their phone number, their address, etc... very basic safety information.

For the money---it isn't really something I would do again (and didn't with our second). Our local school (GrandMaster is out of Jacksonville, FL---Grandmaster Song K. Pak) doesn't accept students into the actual beginner/white belt classes until age 7. Some of the other schools do, but I think it is on a case by case basis. Most kids aren't ready before then.

Lisa:

If you lived here in DC I could recommend two places for you.

Our TKD did not start kids until the age of 5. Listening and following directions is YOUR job - not the Dojung's. Martial Arts teaches skills like respect.

The Master's are important. The Master's will make or break the class. If the children are being SHOWN what to do, corrected and interacted with - that's a good thing. My kids love their Masters! They work out HARD but walk away smiling and will try to work on their forms.

If there's ONE master for 20 kids - usually too many. In my opinion. Most places break classes down to belt/experience level.

If the Dojung does not offer a complimentary week of classes - then it might not be the place for you.

Look to see where the Master's earned their belts. Are they with a National Federation of Martial Arts? The Dojung where Greg earned his black belt, the Grand Master (SaBuNim) is a world-reknown Master. People from Korea are on a wait list to come work for him here. Master Nam and Master Yi ROCK!!! They love my boys!! They teach my boys!! :)

I'm glad you posted this question, because I am currently shopping around for a school in my area and have been a little obsessive about it. Some of the posts on here so far have been useful to me as well. I agree that at such a young age, there isn't a whole lot of learning martial arts going on in the class, and for that reason I wouldn't opt for an expensive class. Maybe a large class at a community center would be fine if you aren't too serious about him learning martial arts, but it exposes him and you never know - he may take a real interest down the line? But it will be a fun social experience and great exercise no matter what. As for listening and discipline, I agree with Cheryl that these are things that primarily are learned at home BUT these lessons are also developed in class rooms and other social settings. As a preschooler (my son is barely 3 and I'm dying to get him started) I will be pleasantly surprised if he learns anything, especially discipline, but my intention right now is to expose him and for him to have a good experience. Most places start at age 4 I've found. However, a smart master will encourage you to come in and observe with your child prior as much as you like. And they frequently offer the minimum of a free class, one place I am looking into which has one of the most prestigious masters in the area offers two weeks of class free. (I haven't found out how much they charge for the classes though!) I am coming from a different perspective than you because I have a lifelong love of martial arts, as well as the mythology and philosophy that goes with it. I guess I'm projecting this on to my son, but if it turns out after a while that it isn't for him, I won't push too hard. If you are more interested in the benefits on his well-being than you are in his ability to learn physical techniques, then you may want to research the history of various martial arts. Some community centers / gyms / etc. offer parent-child Tai Chi classes, for example, which is known to reduce stress, ailments, and sharpen the mental faculties. Good luck!