Have you thought about signing your child up for a Tae Kwon Do class? My oldest son took this class when he was younger and my 7 year old just started last month. He loves it and tested for his “yellow” stripe last week. He was thrilled when he was able to break the board on his first try. The class goes over self defense with strangers as well as bullies. I am even picking up a few pointers in there. The instructor said, no matter how much bigger your attacker may be than you, no one can handle having their eyes poked at. So, when you are defending yourself, and you can’t over power your attacker, remember to go for their eyes.
After taking his first Tae Kwon Do class, it was like Bobby had just realized how powerful his legs could be. He was kicking everything! I even caught him kicking his bedroom door shut instead of shutting it normally. This was when we had to have a talk about how kicking things wasn’t good in the house because he could put holes in the walls, etc. He has calmed down on the kicking, but has found out that he can easily practice his patterns while watching instructors on You Tube.
Here’s a video of what he should be doing now, after a month of class:
His class is held at the local gym and is very reasonable on price compared to going to a independent Tae Kwon Do class. The uniforms, sparring gear and belt tests all have reduced gym rates, instead of the higher rates that are charged at the instructor’s independent Tae Kwon Do class. The classes are arranged by belt ranks so that each class focuses on different skill levels.
Here’s Bobby, the picture is a little blurry, but he was in the middle of a kick.
If you are looking for an after school activity, then I would highly recommend finding a Tae Kwon Do class. There are mostly boys in our class, but there are also girls in there as well. I take a Kickboxing class and I look forward to it every week, so I think this class would also be fun for little girls as well.
What kind of after school activities does your child do? If they aren’t enrolled yet, then what kind of activities have you thought about looking into?
