Son and karate | ADHD Information

My ds has been in karate for 2 years now. I admit that he wasn't trying his best for a while. He was also fooling around. So the sensei took his belt away over a month ago. He asked for it back last week and the week before. Last week the other sensei kind of pissed me off. When my son asked for his belt back he told him that he had to ask his son for it. Then he said he was busy. He was only busy for a few minutes. Also my son hasn't graded since June. His name was not read out tonight for next week's grading. Anyhow I went up to the sensei after class. Before I even opened my mouth he said not yet. He's not ready. I asked himj what he meant. He said he's not getting his belt back yet. I told him that he tried the previous 2 weeks. He said that he had not tried this week. Then he asked how many pushups his son had given mine. I said I wasn't sure since they were at the back. I told him that my son doesn't really care at this point if he gets his belt back since it had been 5 weeks. He replied that it is up to him. Then he said t hat he will put him at the front of the class. I am supposed to talk to him before class next week. I am also supposed to have a talk with my  son. I really wonder if my son needs the short acting Ritalin to go any further in karate. HIs ritalin Sr wears off at the end of the school day.

that may help him to stay focused and in tune with the sensei....I would try it anyhow..

chase has just started in karate and hasn't done any of this yet...testing, or earning belts....

Are Chases' meds still effective when he attends karate class? Does he do well. The only thing I don't really understand is that Brandon used to try and do well. At least most of the time. I just wonder if he is bored. Whenever a new session starts the kids have to repeat what they have learned. Another thing is that the attention turns to the new kids. The senseis seem to forget about the kids that have been there for a while.

his class is very small....maybe 6 at the most

that helps i think, and as far as i know he does well, but he does well in anything if he likes it....he can stay focused, and he loves this

so i am not sure if the meds are still there or if he just does well because of that.

The school that my son is in schedules promotion exams every three months, so they are aware way ahead of time when the next exam will be.  I am a single mom, so it's nice to know ahead of time so that I can put together the money for the exam.  My son also has a lot of respect for the sensai who runs the class, and would not do anything to have Master Tuttle upset with him (he also hates to do Boom Booms, so he makes sure he behaves!)  Master Tuttle has taken time to talk to him when I have mentioned that Sean is having problems in school, and I think that has really made a good impression on Sean.  His goal is to get his black belt by the time he is 16.  This school won't let them test for black belt before then because they must meditate and fast for 24 hours before the test.  I am very happy with the strides he has made in Tae Kwan Do.

[QUOTE=cr12345mr]I'm no karate expert but I'd be finding another karate  class with an instructor that is better at understanding kids.  Also, they are supposed to be teaching respect in karate, but when you tried to talk to him, he totally disrespected you.  I say  they aren't worth the money.< ="text/">// Begin Ad Muncher helper script wYZXso(1,"wYZTimeout('enableDesignMode()', 20);"); // End Ad Muncher helper script [/QUOTE]

I agree! We put our son in Karate and he didn't last two weeks! They were mean and disrespectful to our son, which was NOT teaching him respect. I also didn't like the singling(sp?) out they did to my son, who was new in an old class who knew the routine. We pulled him and fought to get our money back.

Other mother's asked what we thought of the program, we told them. They still enrolled, and I later found out, they also pulled out their children. Not all karate classes have good teachers, just like schools!

Your poor son, how cruel

They should be also lifting his selfesteem! But it sure doesn't sound like it!

Find another class if your son loves karate!

Just my opinion,

Beth

I think I will try to find another karate class. The only problem is that this session began 2 weeks ago. So it goes to mid March. They likely wouldn't give me my money back.

It's true that the sensei wasn't respectful towards me. My son likely doesn't feel like they respect him. Maybe that's why he is not showing them any respect.

 I do want his belt back before we quit. After all I paid for it.

Chasesmom Brandon's class has 30 plus students. Maybe there are too many in the class for the 2 instructors. There are some other who fool around also. There were 2 new boys who received quite a few pushups too.

lovemyboy39106.2471064815They should have told him or you what he had to do to earn his belt back.  That way he would have known and had a goal for himself.They did tell him that he had to participate and not fool around. Then he had to ask for it back. This is what I don't understand. He was trying last week and the week before. Even the sensei said that he was improving 2 weeks ago.But telling him to 'participate, and not fool around" is quite vague, even for an adult.  At 11, he should have been given clearer instructions I would think....I'm no karate expert but I'd be finding another karate  class with an instructor that is better at understanding kids.  Also, they are supposed to be teaching respect in karate, but when you tried to talk to him, he totally disrespected you.  I say  they aren't worth the money.< ="text/">// Begin Ad Muncher helper script wYZXso(1,"wYZTimeout('enableDesignMode()', 20);"); // End Ad Muncher helper script I agree chasesmom. We may be better off going elsewhere. His self esteem may get better.

Which discipline is your son in?  My son has been doing Tae Kwan Do for a little over a year.  It took him about 4 months to settle into the routine of how class ran, and I did switch him from a class with about 30 kids to a smaller class with about 10 kids.  Since then he has tested every 3 months and has moved up thru his orange belt.  He will be testing again the beginning of March for his light blue belt.  I did find that after he took his first promotion exam, from white to yellow, that he became much more serious about learning his forms and moving up.  His medication is totally worn off by the time we get to class, but he really works hard to stay on task during class.  It helps that two of the black belt student teachers are also ADHD, and understand how he thinks. 

He is 11 years old.

this is interesting. I was considering putting my 7 year old into karate for self-control, discipline, respect yet I wonder now if I should after reading this. Maybe I should go watch what occurs and ask around about specific studios I guess.Last night my son finally got his belt back! The sensei gave it to him when we arrived. He was happy to get it back. It was no sursprise to me that he worked harder  last night. My son is in karate. His meds wear off around 3:30pm. The class starts at 6:30pm. He does want to grade for his green belt. I am not too impressed that he couldn't grade last night. It has been 10 months since he has graded.