Choosing the right Martial Arts for your child in Portland
It can be tough out there parents, I feel your struggles. The carpools, the 5 o’ clock activities. The over scheduling. The siblings in several directions. We get it. You make the time, energy, and love to look after your kids, and you want the best opportunities possible for them right? That’s why after reading this article you’re not going to fall for the old martial arts school in a strip mall routine. You’re going to be willing to drive an extra 5 minutes to the right place for your child.
I grew up in Portland, and after my parents made the mistake of letting me watch the Karate Kid and Enter the Dragon I was hooked. By 8 years old I was constantly begging to take martial arts for kids. I was looking for exactly the type of classes like we offer at River City Warriors in Tigard. Unfortunately the internet didn’t exist back then so there wasn’t a way to vette the offerings out there. Martial artists pride themselves on their lineage, ranking, and certification. What I’ve discovered over the years is there are several people content with faking it. They falsify their heritage, they lack any kind of certification, and often times are teaching subjects that they have little to no experience in. A common trend in the industry is to switch the subjects being taught as things become trendy and popular. For instance when I was a kid my parents enrolled me into a school with “JKD” on the outside, Bruce Lee’s style. Only YEARS later did we come to find out the man had no knowledge of JKD and had actually only dabbled in karate. He bought a black belt which he wore in class and proclaimed to everyone he trained with the top Jeet Kune Do instructors.
Of course you want to avoid this situation at all costs. And almost as equally, you want to avoid ineffective martial arts for kids. The solution is simple, let’s throw down some easy tips to avoid pitfalls and get your kids on the right track.
1. Check the credentials. Are there real certificates on the wall that don’t look hand printed and filled out by the head instructor themselves. Martial Arts in Portland and the U.S. is completely unregulated. You are relying on the honesty of the instructor to ensure you have no regrets. THOROUGHLY CHECK!
2. Are there packed adult classes? This might seem counterintuitive since you’re looking for martial arts for kids, but it’s a great metric of the depth and knowledge of instruction. This also means that as your child grows up, he won’t outgrow the (usually fake) martial arts. He or she will be able to use their skills their whole life. Which leads us to point....
3. You wouldn’t enroll your child into Guitar or Piano lessons and say to yourself “it’s just a kids activity, so I don’t care if they learn anything.” Of course not. After you’ve checked that adults are around, you can be sure that a real skill can be developed where your child is training. Much like that guitar, if they start at 4 years old they should be phenomenal by the time they are age 20. Kids that do martial arts are like sponges, make sure they absorb the right thing.
4. Belt factory? We typically envision a black belt for kids in the martial arts. That paradigm has changed in the last few years. In Portland you’ll find places where advancement takes place over a period of 4-7 years. That’s a good amount of time, if you think about what it takes to become proficient at any skill in life like speaking a language, playing music, or another sport. RUN, run far away from places that offer a black belt in 2 years. That means the quality isn’t there, and they’ve designed the course to take extra money from your wallet every month with exorbitant belt testing fees.
5. Upgrades? No thanks. Be extremely wary of the common practice of upgrades. Along with far too quick belt testing, many instructors will approach you after a short time, 4-8 weeks, when your child is excited about doing martial arts. They will tell you that your son or daughter is ready for the next step, and that they can join a special program to work towards their black belt at an accelerated rate. Sometimes they’ll say this is the ONLY way to get to black belt. Often called Black Belt Club, Leadership Team, etc... I know, sounds legit, and of course it’s going to cost YOU more money. Think about it this way, if your child is in martial arts setting their OWN goals, what does it have to do with your pocketbook? Secondly, if this special information is there to begin with, why would the instructor withhold it? Simply put, because they want to charge you more for instruction your child should be getting in the first place. It’s a strong gimmick, and something we would never do at River City Warriors near Lake Oswego.
To recap: Look for credentials, classes full of adults, a 4-6 year path of progression, and no gimmicks! If you can find all of these things under one roof you are quickly on your way for finding the right martial arts for your child. I urge you to take the same consideration and care as you would enrolling your kids with the right language teacher, music teacher, or any artisan craft. You might have to drive a little farther, search more initially, and pay for quality lessons, but your son or daughter will thank you later when they have life long value added from taking martial arts.
For more information on Martial Arts for Kids in Portland check out River City Warriors Bully Proof program featuring Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Jeet Kune Do. They offer quality programs, no upgrade fees, no testing fees for kids, and quality classes that build character and promote growth.
Good luck in your quest and if you have any questions please feel free to message us directly. If we don’t have a program in our immediate area we’ll be able to direct you to a high quality location near you if you live in Oregon.
Joseph Heller began studying martial arts as a child in 1986 and has continued to do so to this day. In 1998 he discovered what would become the core classes at River City Warriors. This included Muay Thai, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do and the Filipino Martial Arts of Kali and Eskrima. After more than 20 years of study he opened RCW with the promise that it would enrich the lives of each and every student.
You can contact Mr. Heller at:
