Martial Arts Classes for Teens
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Martial Arts Classes for Teens
Sept 2010
Looking for a martial arts program for my 16 year old daughter. She's a beginner
but doesn't want to be a a class with young kids. She's not a physical person
(her description) and feels very awkward in sports but wants to try a martial
arts to build strength and improve coordination.
Cindy
Terri Giamartino is a female martial arts teacher with her own dojo
and school on San Pablo and 48th. It is very popular with teens (as
well as adults and young kids). Seems like more teen girls than
boys. Entry level teens work with adults. My kids and I have been
here for 7 years. I highly recommend it. skillsforsafeliving.com
In Alameda, there is a great (sincerely dedicated and fun) martial
arts studio that offers specialized classes just for teens and adults
as well as children. Here is the link to their well done website:
http://www.usakungfustudio.com/
parent of two
She may enjoy Capoeira, a Brazilian Martial Art. United Capoeira
Association in Berkeley has excellent, world renowned teachers. They
are located on the corner of San Pablo Ave/Hearst in Berkeley. Intro
classes are usually at 5:00. It is a very organic martial art that
includes music, singing, acrobatics, etc. She would probably be with
the beginning adults. The community is welcoming and often has other
events (movie nights, etc.)
My son started when he was 5, and is almost 14 now. He loves it and
has gained so much from the community.
google UCA Berkeley (I don't have the exact website).
Good Luck
Capoeira mom
August 2010
I am looking for a martial arts program for my son primarily
to help him be assertive (not aggressive) with his peers.
He's entering a new Middle School this Fall. I would like
to take a class with him (if possible).
Any suggestions?
Concerned Parent
Berkeley Martial Arts, also know as Berkeley Kuk Sool Won is great and
would be great for your son. I've been practicing there for over 11
years, and my son attended for several years. It is a very good
program for kids, which teaches good values including respect, self
discipline, self esteem, persistence, etc. The master instructor,
Thomas Brewer, has a great reputation with kids and adults. Check out
the reviews on Yelp. I believe you can get a free lesson to try it
out. Kuk Sool is a great martial art with great variety that makes it
fun and interesting.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/berkeley-martial-arts-berkeley#query:berkeley%20kuk%20sool
http://www.berkeleymartialarts.com/
Rocky
April 2010
Would appreciate any recommendations for Martial Arts or Karate
classes for a 16yr old girl. She took some classes when she was
young but didn't pursue it. She really needs more physical workouts
combined with something that's fun and group activities to meet
others. Any ideas or places for classes would be great.
teen mom
My daughter studies Cuong Nhu at Hua Sen Dojo in Emeryville and
enjoys it very much. There are lots of women instructors and a
large cohort of teen girls in the upper (brown/black stripe) belts.
My daughter has been lovingly mentored by these now-high-school-aged
girls for years and has developed a lot of confidence from watching
them, being taught by them, encouraged by them, etc.
Most of the teens are in the upper belts, but there are ''family
classes'' where students who are above a certain age and/or belt can
attend (no little kids!). For more info, check them out on the web:
skillsforsafeliving.com
--Mom of little ninja
We have truly appreciated Hoa Sen Dojo on San Pablo at 48th St
(Emeryville) for 7 years. There is a moderately large, dedicated
group of sweet teens. The sensei is a fabulous woman, well-loved by
all. Drop by to watch the teens/adults Mondays or Thurs at 6:30.
www.skillsforsafeliving.com
BTW, I do it too, now.
Check out krav maga, an approach to self-defense/fitness that is a
little different from the better known ''martial arts''. Start by
perusing the website, kravmagaberkeley.com. There are lots of
different classes and different skill levels. Then you could call
and arrange for your daughter to attend a trial class or two to see
if she's interested. Classes are held 7 days/week. The instructors
and the students are friendly. My son has been training for 3 years
and loves it.
anon
Check out Studio Naga in Oakland/Emeryville border. The studio's
commitment goes beyond fitness and self defense ~ the instructors
follow the owner's vision of building confidence and community.
Classes are fun, challenging and available with the opportunity to
train up to 5 times a week.
There is a great mix of male & female instructors ranging in age from
15 - 50ish. The teens are great and come from Oakland, Berkeley &
Albany to train. They are smiling when class is over ~ their parents
are smiling when they pick them up...good stuff!
All students are mentored by black belts so training becomes a more
personal experience. My daughter has been training for 8 years, was
mentored by owner & head instructor Louise Rafkin, and is now
mentoring others.
Studio Naga
5850 San Pablo Avenue 94608
510.652.6242
www.StudioNaga.com
Cinthia
Nov 2007
My 13-year-old son has been attending a karate dojo for the past three
years, and enjoys it. I have become increasingly turned off by the head
teacher's teaching methods; he yells a lot, talks to the students about
''kicking ass'' and tells them to practice until they ''don't suck.'' I
understand that karate is a martial art and that it's tough, but I would
like to find an atmosphere that's a little more zen and a little less Army
boot camp. My son is not afraid to work hard -- he's in excellent shape
and enjoys his accomplishments, but I would like to see martial arts
taught and modeled in a more positive manner. Does anyone have
recommendations for a kenpo karate dojo in South Berkeley or North
Oakland?
peaceful mom
My son has been with West Wind Kung Fu-Karate in Berkeley for about 17 years and is
now Head Instructor at the Berkeley Dojo (University at Sacramento). I read your post
to him and he said there is no way anyone at West Wind would teach that way. We first
chose that school, when he was 6 years old, because they stressed the true ''art'' in
martial arts, and they incorporate the history and philosophy of the discipline in
their teaching, besides being top notch in martial arts skills. As one other student
told me, ''They are like the Harvard of martial arts.''
You can go on a tour of the school and discuss taking introductory lessons. Drop in
and ask for Mr. Shah. Or email me if you have more questions Barbara
Nov 2007
I am looking for 2 programs for a 13 year old girl in
Berkeley:
1. A basic, confidence-building self-defense course
covering ''street smarts'', handling an attacker, etc.
2. Girl-friendly martial arts training, wu shu preferred
but others considered.
a Berkeley mom
For a basic ''street smarts'' self-defence course for girls,
you cannot beat Impact Bay Area's ''Model Mugging'' training.
See their videos and other material at
http://www.impactbayarea.org/. Although they were orignally
set up for women, they have courses
specifically for teen girls, and their techniques and
approach are the best thing ever. Our daughter Sasha took
this training at around the same age as your daughter. She
learned a healthy, confidence-building, and effective
response to street violence that has served her well ever
since. I honestly can't recommend it highly enough!
Michael
I found a news article about 17 years old female student in
Palo Alto who was kidnapped and raped. So I believe this is
really important for teenagers to learn self defense skills.
My daughter has been taking martial art classes for 8 years.
She started when she was nine, and she went to 4 different
dojos because we moved, and one of the dojo had a problem.
We can give you our thoughts about good martial art dojos
considering your child is female and 13 years old.
I believe there are two very important factors to select
dojos. Is the heard instructor a business man or a Martial
artist? And does he/she weigh body, mind, and intelligence
equally or focus on body?
If an instructor is a business man, he will contact you
immediately through BPN or other methods. I often saw
advertising posts right after someone put questions about
martial art. Also the lesson fee will not be reasonable. You
can exclude such dojos by visiting several times before you
pay. Before you select a dojo, you should stay for whole
lessons to observe the instructors’ personality as well as
students who are taking lessons.
If an instructor focuses on body, female students will not
have good lessons at his dojo. Such instructors often show
his philosophy that bigger and stronger body is superior,
and smaller ones or female can not learn martial art well.
They pay more attentions to bigger students while good dojos
and real martial artists do not discriminate students
because of their size or gender. Although it is not martial
art any more if mind and intelligence are ignored, I met
many such instructors at tournaments.
In addition, you should ask whether the instructors teach
sparring since you are considering martial art as self
defense. If they teach, ask about which level of students
can take sparring lessons. Some business martial art classes
teach sparring to beginners. It is dangerous for advanced
students who are sparring with them, because beginners don’t
know how to spar. It will take many lessons before students
can learn sparring.
You should also ask how many years it will take to obtain a
black belt. At a business martial art dojo, you can get it
in one or 2 years while it usually takes 4 to 5 years. When
you daughter starts taking martial art lessons now, she will
be able to protect herself late in her high school years.
She should take a lesson at least twice or three times per week.
My daughter liked Kojosho Karate dojo in UC Village, and the
instructors are real martial artists. They teach beautiful
kata (forms) including animal katas. The grand master who is
a crane master comes once a year and teach beginners to
advanced students. When my daughter was taking lessons
there, they didn’t teach sparring, but she learned basics
really well. She was often asked where she started her Karate.
Unfortunately, she had to move to a different dojo because
we moved. The second dojo was not a business type, but she
had to spar with beginners. Also the head instructor/priest
often mentioned that bigger body is better for Karate, and
small ones can not learn well. He started his dojo at his
church even before he obtained his black belt, while martial
artists need 4th degree of black belt before starting a
dojo. I believe it will take so many years of martial art
lessons before anyone can obtains skills and personality to
teach others. Therefore, you need to know about the head
instructor and other instructors before you select a dojo
for your daughter.
Although it is not Karate, there is an excellent Kendo
(Japanese Fencing) dojo in Berkeley and Oakland where a
grand master teaches from beginners to advanced students.
There is no lesson fee, but there is a dojo fee because of
the rent. They don’t teach self defense skills, although
they spar every lesson. Some members went to a world
tournament last year, and UC male team won against Japan,
became second. There was a high school student from Berkeley
dojo who became second at US Youth Championship. Each lesson
is really hard. My daughter said each lesson is harder than
5 hours of belt testing at a Karate dojo where she had been
or 300 hundreds pushups, but this is the ideal dojo for her.
We trust all the instructors there. Any ways, you should
visit many dojos to see where you can find instructors whom
you and you daughter can trust.
mom of a teanage girl
Sept 2007
I am looking for a safe class, preferably in the
Elmwood/Berkeley area, for learning any of the martial arts
for a 14 year old girl. We are hosting her from Germany, she
is primarily interested in it as strength training, not
necessarily defense. Any recommendations are greatly
appreciated. Thank you.
yvonne
West Wind Karate at 1551 University is an excellent place
for women to learn martial arts. There are many strong,
amazing women in the system as inspiration and their
training is top notch. My son, ''Mr. Shah,'' is the head
instructor and he can set you up for a tour and answer all
your questions. Drop by.
Barbara
Studio Naga has a fabulous program for kids of all ages
(adults too)It is woman owned and run. Its phenomenally
supportive and everyone can work at their own pace. And it
is a wonderful community of people. It is in Emeryville on
San Pablo. www.studionaga.com 510.652.6242
Kyree
Class for a 14-year-old with engaging instructor
Oct 2002
My 14-year-old son wants to begin a martial art, and what's most important
is a dynamic and engaging instructor. We're looking for someone who's a
really good model/leader for teen boys.
Any suggestions for a top-notch teacher?
Lynn
My 7th-grade son has gone to Kuk Sool (Sacramento at Dwight,
Berkeley) for about 1 1/2 years and now is a brown belt in
this rather aerobic Korean-style karate discipline. Thomas
Brewer (known by his students as ''Sir'') expects excellence
from his students - expecting more as the kids advance in
expertise (it will take as long for my son to go from brown
to black belt as it took for him to reach brown) and
stresses values/discipline as well as the physical aspects
of karate. He also has been a good resource for our family
as an ''extra'' adult to talk to our son about discipline,
responsibility, etc. on a one on one basis. At 14, your son
may also be eligible to study with the ''adult class'' which
is quite mixed with teens. From what I see, its great for
teens to be learning with adults, who must themselves be
respectful to ''Sir'' and the discipline of karate.
Karen
We found an amazing martial arts teacher at the TaeKwonDo
Academy in Alameda. Dan teaches a class just for teens. He
teaches them respect, life skills, concentration, many
valuable skills. His focus in teaching martial arts is to
enhance the students self-esteem and respect for self and
others. I am so impressed with him. My son, who is not
athletic, has learned so much about how to do TaeKwonDo.
Even more valuable are the life lessons he is learning. I
spoke with several martial arts teachers before finding Dan.
He is everything I was looking for in a teacher.
Good Luck,
Patti
April 2002
I am looking for a martial arts class for my 14 year old.
Previously, he's gone to the Y kids' karate class, which is
MWF 5-6pm. I was wondering if anyone had personal
recommendations for other places around the neighbourhood
that might have more classes per week; I used to go to a
dojo that had classes 6 days. I've checked the web site,
but there's little mention of frequency of classes.
Must be sympathetic teaching style for a teenager and
within walking distance of Albany High. Maybe I'd go again
too if it would work for a very rusty middle aged mom!
Dana
Hello,
I can heartily recommend Golden Lion martial arts on
San Pablo near Marin. They teach tai chi and kung fu,
primarily the latter to their younger students. I took tai
chi there for over 2 years. The head instructor, Sifu
David Dong, is a wonderful guy, great with kids, and is
excpetionally talented.
Andrew
my daughter takes karate at the Northern California Martial
Arts Association in Albany. the karate for kids (6 and
under) class is 2-3 days a week. i believe the beginning
Adults (14 and up) have classes 3 times a week plus a
Saturday mixed rank class.
they are located on the Albany/El Cerrito border next to El
Cerrito Plaza but will be moving a little further north in
El Cerrito (still very close).
carrie s.
this page was last updated: Sep 26, 2010
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