Children and the martial arts
And that's assuming that your child has the skills of a Lee or a Gracie or a Tyson - skills that these very talented, very dedicated men took decades to develop. This brings me to my second point. I'm aware that, especially in the make-your-child-feel-good-at-all-costs environment of the United States, a lot of little kids have been awarded "black belts." Well, although it should be obvious, a child black belt doesn't have near the skill level or experience or understanding of an adult trained by the same teacher at the same school. Teachers are much less strict on their young students than they are on adults, and that's as it should be. To teach a student how to fight, an instructor must be harsh, strict, and demanding. And the student has to learn how to tap into her killer instinct, to overcome any natural inhibitions he might have about intentionally hurting someone. Because in the end, that's what defending yourself comes down to: hurting your attacker more than he can hurt you in as short a time as possible. Call me crazy, but I believe children simply shouldn't be taught how to think that way; they'll have plenty of time to learn how to mean when they grow up, and they shouldn't have to learn how to defend themselves. That's why they have parents and teachers and police officers. For a kid, karate class should be about exercise and fun, about learning how to focus and how to set a goal and achieve it. Not how to maim and kill.
I think it's obvious that it's unrealistic to think there's any way, humane or not, to give a child all the skills and attributes he will need to take on an adult who wants to do her harm. But what about teaching your daughter how to defend herself from the schoolyard bully? This actually segues nicely into the next section of this article:
Advice for parents in choosing a school for their children
As with adults, choosing a dojo for a child involves deciding on a style and a school. If you live in a major urban area, you'll likely have many many choices.
The right style
It's always important to remember that most martial arts were developed for survival. As such, they tend to contain some rather dangerous techniques. You would never presume to give your child a loaded gun to carry around, so why would
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