Shihan Syed Mohiuddin
Founder and Chief Instructor
Lion Budokan Karate International

Karate for kids only or all ages?

Karate nz is no doubt instilling some great characters in its practitioners since many centuries. As with any other sport, people of different race, religion, and age participate in this disciplined self-defense sports to keep themselves healthy and fit. They find the source of gaining and maintaining the level of self-confidence through Karate.

Having been in training for the last three decades, I have realized that some parents prefer their kids to learn karate so their discipline levels can be improved. Some parents/guardians are bold enough to join with their wards to become the part of karate clubs. This decision becomes a win-win situation for kids, their parents and also for the club. These kids go along way when they see their elders are participating with them.

At Lion Budokan Karate International, we held combined training for people of different ages.However, the intensity of their exercise is different. Our classes are classified based on their training levels; A beginner is someone who has recently joined the club, an intermediate is someone who has been practicing with us for at least over a year, an advanced player is someone who has completed about 2-years of training. Most of the Karate Clubs across the globe offers family membership packages, which is the evidence that every member of the family can actively involve in this sport regardless of their individual goals.

People come with different goals including but not limited to Getting fit, Gaining self-confidence, Learning Self Defense to be prepared for that unfortunate event and gain Black belt etc. In my opinion, the benefits of learning Karate nz if classified by different age groups are as below:

Kids (6 years to 12 years): This is the perfect age for children to join a karate club. Other than the technical stuff that promotes him/her with the belt levels, he/she also develops

● Hand and Eye Co-ordination
● Ability to work with the team
● Build communication skills
● Build athletic qualities (Agility, flexibility and stamina)
● Build listening skills
● Improve focus and concentration

Early Teens – early 20s: Unfortunately, parents do not have much of a say at this stage of children. However, if a teenager is excited to learn karate than this is probably the best age to start training. I have my reasons to justify this, but that’s out of the scope of this article.
Therefore, getting to the point, teenagers can have the following benefits of joining karate

● Develop their physical abilities to keep up with the challenges at their age
● Build Self-Confidence
● Ability to talk and mingle with new people as they change schools, work on projects with the teams at their schools or workplace
● A great credibility and chances of getting a job if they achieve their black belts or at least show that they are in regular practice of Karate

The mid-20s – Late 30s: At this age, you are probably in the workforce and dealing with the increased levels of stress at your workplace. Dealing with relationships, facing a challenge to find that leisure time to spend with family, travel, traffic, aiming for success and fear of failures and what not.

Well, most people this age prefers to go to Gym which is excellent. As long as you are confident that you will be consistent and won’t miss a session – you are on the right track. But if you do not have proper goals and not clear of what do you want to achieve by going to the gym, then you instead join a karate club. The curriculum and the belt system, the network you build, the fellows you make friends of who motivate you and work with you at every stage is sure to help you reach your goals – gaining black belt for some and training harder and learning something new every day for others.

The 40s +: If you feel that you are too old to join karate training at this age then sorry, but the fact is you already are – agreed! I believe you do not grow old by your body, but you become old by your mind. I suggest you need to train your mind first, get your way of thinking about the age right first. If you manage to convince yourself that age is not a barrier to learning anything new, then you can surely achieve what you have set for yourself – I have recently seen a 70-yr old lady who has completed her Black Belt course and is still training as of this writing. Salute to her for her consistency and hunger to learn something new that is keeping her fit and growing her network of good friends day by day.

Thanks for reading this article.