Is he too young?

[CLAIREB]

my 5 year old son, has been doing kick boxing for approx 8 months now, but since watching the games in melbourne wants to change to boxing..is he to young for boxing if not where can i find him lessons we are based in Birmingham, UK. I want him to learn some sort of defence so he knows how to look afetr himself. thanks

[James]

A lot of clubs have a 10 year old rule in place,

However id imagine some are more flexable with their junior classes than others.

For insurance reasons theres no way your kid will be put in a ring, and again i imagine a lot would depend on his attitude.

At only 5 he would have to be quite disiplined, take instructions, do whats asked without complaining or shouting or running about disterbing other kids.

The other thing of course is you want him training somewhere you are happy with, im not sure if he intend to watch every session, but boxing 'classes' are not like other martial arts where they take place in the local lesiure centre with the guy who runs kids parties as well. What i mean is the mentallity even at junior level is not the same as 'classes' for other martial arts. Thus you need to a find a place where the trainers do have a certain amount of compassion for a younger kid.

As for finding a gym, its just a question of ringing up your local gyms and seeing whcih do kids sessions and which are happy to give your lad a try.

Just dont end up making the boy do boxercise! :P

[hitmanhatton]

my club in tamworth does under 10s sessions on a monday night 5 pm till 6 pm i think i know its not much and a while away from u probs bout 20 mins mate but once a week it aint tht bad

[alex w]

its a good idea, and if you have clubs that facilitate it, id go for it.
boxing is great, hell learn how to defend himself, but youll end up encouraging him out of the recrnt influx of "computer children" nearly all of the kids at my college wont go outside, dont want to run around... they just want to sit and stare at screens all day.

the only thing i would add about boxing (although its not so prominent with the younger kids) is thatits more serioud than kickboxing, generally. i used to do karate, and in theory im an instructor, and i remember seeing kids get through grading and advancing in belts purely because their parents were happy just to turn up and pay for the belt.
in boxing he really will be pushed, and will go no further untill he can do it. if hes the kind of child whos easily frustrated, or loses concentration/dedication then i dont reccoment it for him


but hey, it can hurt to go along and try a few sessions eh!

[ThomasTabin]

boxing is a good thing. kids start it up because they have some grand romantic like notions of what they think boxing is and only then ever continue to do it once they realize and embrace how far from reality that idea is - either that or quit. most get out of it because they never had the idea of a good work ethic and discipline with them to begin with. at an age ilke 5, he is probably still in that romantic stage so you want to just be sure you learn him on the value of discipline and work ethic. that i think is the most important thing to take from boxing, more important than anything else. its a good time to get those things in him before he gets to an age where so many of us lacked it and needed it most.

[southpaw1991]

i think its a good thing to get children boxing at a young age. theres lids aged 5 boxing at our gym. theres one kid who's about 8 and im sure he's had a fight, the little guys got class. if you get him into it now he'l be amazing but the time hes in his teens. if he keeps it up

[Clint]

rememberthough, don't push him into boxing if its not his thing (not trying to sound like an old granny or anything, but you just gotta be careful with kids that age.)

[greynotsoold]

Several years ago I trained a 4yr old that had an incredible natural affinity and aptitude for boxing. His appetite was voracious, his attention span that of a 4yr old, plus he was a bit of a know it all. The trick was to get him to believe that something new was his idea and to make sure it worked and he'd have it for good.
Later I trained a 6yr old who was only there because his granfather made him be there. He had no interest and thus we had no basis for communication so we ended up playing games until quitting time. Perhaps a few years later perhaps not. The sport isn't for everyone.
I think Thomas is correct in highlighting the work and so on involved in boxing. I found it worked well to make it a game that you had to practice very very hard in order to play well. The most progress I made was after "training" when I'd get on my knees and let the 4yr old take his shots. If he was just winging and playing I'd not let him hit me. But if he used his jab and moved aroundand threw "combinations" I'd let him clip me a few.
Its worth keeping in mind that at 5 he hasn't a fight scheduled. Its just a game and all in fun; if that's his interest let it be that. If he wants morego with it but never push it beyond his willingness to play along. Too young to learn about drudgery.

[Clint]

thats the way my son is. he likes to wrastle, but hes not very interested in boxing at all. (he's 5.)

[hitmanhatton]

but if it is his choice as it says in ur post then let him do as he wants as he may become bored with kick boxing if he rele wants to box let he change around if he wants till he finds what he enjoys most