Mended Little Hearts Open Forum

ATA Karate for Kids Martial Arts is a great program.  There are no calisthenics.  They work on form and character.  You would want to talk with instructors when they reach the belt when sparring is added.  However, I think you could ask if his Sparring Partner could only be an instructor who would be able to avoid his to the chest but allow them a true sparring experience so they don't feel singled out.  Your child would be able to spar to their ability and learn in a normal environment.  The program is wonderful for building confidence.

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Robin Davis
Madison OH
(440) 428-2562
(216) 905-1514
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-05-2017 09:27
From: Margaret King
Subject: Martial Arts experience?

Hello! Thank you for the cooling towel idea. That is awesome. I was wondering if anyone out there had experiences with their heart kid or themselves being in martial arts with heart condition. My son is almost 9 years old and has hlhs. He is interested in taking martial arts. I feel like he could use the discipline and focus and physical outlet, but I want to make sure it is safe for him and that there wouldn't be too much physical impact. There are a couple teachers I have found broadly in the area who specifically teach kids with special needs, but that's such a wide category! I feel like a regular class full of able-bodied students might be too much for my son to keep up with. Our local Y, especially, incorporates a lot of running laps as a warm up to their classes, so we have exited that. If my son sees the other students running, he will want to do it too no matter how tired or out of breath he gets. So I don't even want that in the equation. Was just wondering if anybody else had experiences they could share!

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Original Message------

ATA Karate for Kids Martial Arts is a great program.  There are no calisthenics.  They work on form and character.  You would want to talk with instructors when they reach the belt when sparring is added.  However, I think you could ask if his Sparring Partner could only be an instructor who would be able to avoid his to the chest but allow them a true sparring experience so they don't feel singled out.  Your child would be able to spar to their ability and learn in a normal environment.  The program is wonderful for building confidence.

------------------------------
Robin Davis
Madison OH
(440) 428-2562
(216) 905-1514
------------------------------

Original Message------

I talked to the local instructor here, and he said they work with special needs kids and even had protective gear especially for them, of course there is no contact with the heart kids, but they get to kick and punch stuff without getting hit back. Unfortunately my HLHSer wasnt interested,  i think it would be great for him! 

Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S7.

I assume you've checked in with his cardiologist regarding limitations?  With my daughter (TOF) we tried to let her be her own guide in activity as early as possible.  We always had a chat with her instructors about watching for signs she was overdoing it, and to remind them to allow her to rest as needed.  Everyone gets out of breath when they are out of condition (as her cardiologist reminds her), so in order to increase her fitness some of that is always expected and not necessarily a bad thing.  She was able to find sports that worked for her- ice skating when she was younger, now rock climbing (!)  

To more specifically address your question, there are a lot of schools of martial arts.  I am betting that your guy is attracted to the "hard core" beat em up styles that look like so much fun to small kids.  Something like Aikido, which relies more on using your opponents momentum and strength might be a better fit though.  Or possibly something like kick-boxing, which is more lower body?

Best of luck with finding the right fit.

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Kim Lipton
Berkeley CA

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Original Message:
Sent: 06-05-2017 09:27
From: Margaret King
Subject: Martial Arts experience?

Hello! Thank you for the cooling towel idea. That is awesome. I was wondering if anyone out there had experiences with their heart kid or themselves being in martial arts with heart condition. My son is almost 9 years old and has hlhs. He is interested in taking martial arts. I feel like he could use the discipline and focus and physical outlet, but I want to make sure it is safe for him and that there wouldn't be too much physical impact. There are a couple teachers I have found broadly in the area who specifically teach kids with special needs, but that's such a wide category! I feel like a regular class full of able-bodied students might be too much for my son to keep up with. Our local Y, especially, incorporates a lot of running laps as a warm up to their classes, so we have exited that. If my son sees the other students running, he will want to do it too no matter how tired or out of breath he gets. So I don't even want that in the equation. Was just wondering if anybody else had experiences they could share!

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

oops, never mind the kick boxing, I don't know WHAT I was thinking.

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Kim Lipton
Berkeley CA
(510) 528-4970
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-06-2017 12:03
From: Kim Lipton
Subject: Martial Arts experience?

I assume you've checked in with his cardiologist regarding limitations?  With my daughter (TOF) we tried to let her be her own guide in activity as early as possible.  We always had a chat with her instructors about watching for signs she was overdoing it, and to remind them to allow her to rest as needed.  Everyone gets out of breath when they are out of condition (as her cardiologist reminds her), so in order to increase her fitness some of that is always expected and not necessarily a bad thing.  She was able to find sports that worked for her- ice skating when she was younger, now rock climbing (!)  

To more specifically address your question, there are a lot of schools of martial arts.  I am betting that your guy is attracted to the "hard core" beat em up styles that look like so much fun to small kids.  Something like Aikido, which relies more on using your opponents momentum and strength might be a better fit though.  Or possibly something like kick-boxing, which is more lower body?

Best of luck with finding the right fit.

------------------------------
Kim Lipton
Berkeley CA

------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-05-2017 09:27
From: Margaret King
Subject: Martial Arts experience?

Hello! Thank you for the cooling towel idea. That is awesome. I was wondering if anyone out there had experiences with their heart kid or themselves being in martial arts with heart condition. My son is almost 9 years old and has hlhs. He is interested in taking martial arts. I feel like he could use the discipline and focus and physical outlet, but I want to make sure it is safe for him and that there wouldn't be too much physical impact. There are a couple teachers I have found broadly in the area who specifically teach kids with special needs, but that's such a wide category! I feel like a regular class full of able-bodied students might be too much for my son to keep up with. Our local Y, especially, incorporates a lot of running laps as a warm up to their classes, so we have exited that. If my son sees the other students running, he will want to do it too no matter how tired or out of breath he gets. So I don't even want that in the equation. Was just wondering if anybody else had experiences they could share!

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android