Taekwondo and Aikido for kids

We have been sending the kids for Gym, and I must say that it has been very good for their development. However, Nathan has kind of fallen out of love with Gym, due to the number of girls practising the sport. He has therefore decided to opt out of gym, and Daddy has given him 2 choices: either Gym or a Martial Art.

Voting for the latter, we have been window shopping for martial art classes, that can fit into his schedule. As parents, we want to maximize our time with the kids on the weekends, and therefore, we wanted classes that catered to kids on the weekdays.

The good thing about most of these Martial Art Classes, is that they offer Trial Classes for kids which are mostly FREE. Now the question was, with the buffet of Martial Arts catered for kids, which one should our boy major in?

As Daddy is a Hollywood Action Movie Junkie,  Aikido has left a deep imprint in Daddy’s mind, ever since he watched Steven Seagal in action. I mean, he is TOTALLY Cool…he just throws those bad guys off him, as if he is just flicking flies off his sleeves. Needless to say, we first checked out the Aikido classes for Nathan.

As we were mindful of our Budget, we first checked out the Community Centres for Aikido Classes. The thing about Community Centres is that most of their classes are on weekends, so the odds of you finding a good weekday class near your vicinity is not too good. Thankfully, we managed to find some centres near us, and they were located in Toa Payoh. The first centre we tried out was hosted by Kenshin-Kai Aikido.

Trial Classes at Kenshi-Kai Aikido are FREE, and true to their motto, their instructor was friendly. Kids and Adults use the same Dojo, and kids classes use a small space of the Dojo, as the adults practise their moves. Classes here are cheap, at less than $10 a lesson, and even the uniforms are cheap. They only charge $35 per uniform, and I was told that this was the special Instructors Price given by the supplier (Therefore, when other places charge you more than $35, there is a BIG profit margin involved).

I happened to meet a friend at the Aikido classes, and she told me that Kenshi-Kai Aikido is not part of the Aikido Association of Singapore, although I don’t think this will be of consequence to us, unless one becomes a Black Belt and needs to go for competitions.

How were the Aikido classes?

We went on a Monday night, as there was 1 instructor to about 14 students. There is no limit to class size, and basically, all the kids were put together for training. I felt that there were a bit too many kids for 1 instructor to handle. Nathan had his first exposure to martial arts here, and he was a bit lost, as he did not have much insight on what was happening. You see, I did not let him watch those Steven Seagal movies that Daddy loves to watch. But he was elated that the Gym was air-conditioned, compared to the Gym classes he attended at the Chinese high.

Daddy was not sure about whether to commit yet, and we decided to try out the most Branded School in Singapore for Aikido, to see how different was the Best School in Singapore.

AikiForest is located at the Outram and Toa Payoh Safra, However, Trial Classes here are NOT FREE, and we had to pay $24 for a lesson.

How are classes at Aikiforest?

Instructor ratio was much better here, as classes are specifically catered to kids. There are 2 instructors for 14 students and there was a more active use of games to teach the kids the skills of Aikido. With the smaller class ratio, the instructor was more focused on giving instruction to the kids.

My observations about Aikido?

Firstly, after attending lessons in both schools, the kids hardly broke into a sweat. There is not a strong emphasis on physical training, as compared to Nathan’s previous Gym Classes. I felt that the classes did not burn as much calories as his Gym classes.

After watching the instructors engage Nathan, I had my suspicions about Aikido. It is a great martial art, but it seems too difficult for the kids to grasp. I talked to one of my friends, who used to be represent Singapore in Karate, and she confirmed my suspicions. Aikido is about locks and holds, and because the kids do not physically feel the pain, nor do they have the fine motor skills, Aikido seems a bit difficult for the kids to learn the martial arts quickly. Furthermore, lessons are only 1 hour and once a week, making the mastery of such locks and holds, an even tougher task. Unless, they are totally immersed in the culture of Aikido, picking up the skills involved in Aikido may be difficult for kids.

I therefore turned my attention to TaeKwonDo.

Yes! Something that emphasis fitness, and just the simple emphasis on Kicks and Punches.

The good thing about Taekwondo, is that everybody offers Trial Classes FREE! Time to go shopping!!! All 3 centres reviewed here are part of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation, which means that they belts are recognized and is of consequence, if the school has Taekwondo as a CCA.

We did a quick google search and we went to the most expensive school. We just wanted to see what the BEST could offer, and how good they are at engaging the kids.

Hankuk Taekwondo  has got 3 Centres in Singapore. We tired out the Centre in Orchard which is located at Tanglin Shopping Centre and we were impressed!

Review of Hankuk Taekwondo

The Dojo at Tanglin shopping centre is Big! They take up at least 4-6 unit space, and they have a very well nice waiting room for the Parents when you wait for your kids. All Taekwondo Trial Classes are 1 to 1 sessions, where the instructor gives the new padawan undivided attention.

Nathan was given personal attention by Master Lee from Korea, and he was certainly a very good motivator. In 5 minutes, he got my quiet boy to shout like a man, and ready to give combination kicks and punches. I saw the classes before we came in, and they even use music to motivate the kids, as they went through their exercises. I was definitely impressed!

However, lessons here are priced at $150/month and uniforms cost $85 (If the instructor price is $35, this is quite a healthy profit). Discounts are given, if you are willing to make long term payments. If you sign up on the spot after the trial lesson, the school will waive the $50 registration fee.

But nevertheless, you get a really good instructor, if he teaches your kid! If you are not put off by the price, this is a school worth considering.

Next up was Induk TaeKwondo

There are located near Mountbatten MRT and near the Singapore National Stadium. Trial Classes here are FREE!

Review of Induk TaeKwondo

The Dojo here is Big and even Bigger than the one at Hankuk Taekwondo. Using the old School buildings near the School of the deaf, there was lots of space for training.

We went for the trial class, and the local instructor was friendly. They did the similar combination exercises, that we saw at Hankuk Taekwondo, and trial classes were also 1 on 1.

Pricing here is definitely cheaper with lessons less about $28 per lesson per month. Most schools charge a monthly rate of about $110 per month (They charge the same fee, regardless if there are 4 or 5 weeks in that month) Uniforms here are a whopping $95, and there is a registration fee upon sign up as well.

We had problems finding the school, and as the traffic getting to Induk Taekwondo from Nathan’s preschool in the evenings, made the trip difficult.

We went for 1 more trial Taekwondo class, and this was the school that we finally settled on!

Review of Kyung Hee TaeKwondo

Located at Beauty World Centre, Kyung Hee TaeKwondo is the smallest of all the TaeKwondo schools mentioned in this review. Renting only 2 unit space, the Dojo is small in comparison to Hankuk and Induk Taekwondo.

However, the Korean Master here is a Black Belt 7 Dan, and he used to teach at the Korean International School. He currently teaches at UWC (United World College)  on Wednesdays. His credentials are certainly impressive!

Trial Classes here are FREE, and during the 1 to 1 session with Nathan, he took Nathan through similar exercises  conducted at Hankuk and Induk Taekwondo.  He is friendly, and he is able to engage Nathan, which is always an important factor. Unfortunately, no filming was allowed, and I can’t show you any footage.

The Korean Master here teaches all the classes and there are 2 instructors in every class. Pricing here is $30 per lesson, and the uniform here is sold at $55. With his ability to communicate, I was sold the class.

Tips for Parents

Some of the important things to consider when choosing classes are travelling time, pricing and the main instructor. As classes are mostly 1 hour long, there must be something for Parents to do, when they are waiting for their kids.

If the centre is in the middle of nowhere, this might be a problem for Parents.

As these sports are instructor dependent, the instructor must be able to connect with the kids. At the end of the day, the student can only become as good as the Master.