For those that are too young

In the past, i saw that kids younger than 7 are too immature to be entrusted with learning karate. I still stick by that. It is akin to giving a child a knife and letting him out in the play yard with it. Things will happen and you never know what that child will do with that knife given its immaturity. You cant take it back once you give it.

However, there is still a need for kids to develop their skills in defending themselves.  I realized that you dont need to teach them how to hurt someone but they can still learn how to not get hurt. This is why the Joint Safe Defense Program was created. It is a purely defensive program that will help a young child avoid or block dangers or attacks but not necessarily strike back. As i always tell my students, blocking is half the battle. If you block everything, you don't get hurt.  Once they are of age, they can eventually learn the strikes and kicks which completes their training. That is a fairly easy step to take once they have mastered their blocks and stances.

The Joint safe defense program was taught to my son first. That year, he was bullied in school and he was able to defend himself. He didn't get reprimanded for fighting because he technically did not strike back, yet he didn't get hurt where it matters. It works.