Some Gracie JJ schools have a child oriented program called Bullyproof. I had a friend whose daughter does it and he raves about it.

Anonymous wrote:There's no such thing as a black belt in MMA. It's a multi-discipline sport that combines standup, striking, and grappling. Plenty of pro MMA fighters have black belts (usually in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Judo, fwiw). If you go to a MMA school that is awarding belts in MMA, run right back out the door.

Agreed. My phrase was "black belt equivalent". As in, an expert - not a beginner or intermediate.

OP, I was an introverted socially awkward girl who did TKD at the end of high school and a bit of college, so older than 8. I would say that is was fun, good physically and helped me gain confidence, and was moderately helpful in terms of self-defense.

For pure self-defense, those weekend seminars are excellent. Taking a martial art for self-defense won't really work at 8, she will just be too small. Martial arts are good for the discipline and the physical aspect (although she may already get that from her other activities), learning to use your body, and having the experience of sparring/play fighting.

As PPs have said, focus more on the school and the instructor. Is the atmosphere friendly or hard-core and competitive? What would you prefer?

There's no such thing as a black belt in MMA. It's a multi-discipline sport that combines standup, striking, and grappling. Plenty of pro MMA fighters have black belts (usually in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Judo, fwiw). If you go to a MMA school that is awarding belts in MMA, run right back out the door.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rather than focus on the sport, focus on the actual Master and studio/dojang.
Find a good studio in any martial arts, and that will help with all the things you are looking for.
Find a bad studio in any martial arts, and you'll just be wasting your money and your daughter won't grow.

For what it's worth, both my kids are in tae kwon do and it's been a wonderful experience for them.

I agree - we looked at multiple studios for my DD. We ended up finding a place that had the right mix of what we were looking for and a decent boy:girl ratio. I knew the original studio wasn't right when all I saw were boys - while DD isn't an overly girly-girl, she doesn't want to be the only girl. Plus, while MMA is nice, let's be honest, unless your kid stays through black belt, it's about learning the tenets.

I disagree. MMA provides useful self defense skills pretty quickly. A black belt equivalent in MMA would be ready to fight other trained fighters. A year of consistent training would be enough to improve skills / responses noticeably.

Anonymous wrote:Rather than focus on the sport, focus on the actual Master and studio/dojang.
Find a good studio in any martial arts, and that will help with all the things you are looking for.
Find a bad studio in any martial arts, and you'll just be wasting your money and your daughter won't grow.

For what it's worth, both my kids are in tae kwon do and it's been a wonderful experience for them.

I agree - we looked at multiple studios for my DD. We ended up finding a place that had the right mix of what we were looking for and a decent boy:girl ratio. I knew the original studio wasn't right when all I saw were boys - while DD isn't an overly girly-girl, she doesn't want to be the only girl. Plus, while MMA is nice, let's be honest, unless your kid stays through black belt, it's about learning the tenets.

Muay Thai, absolutely. Do a quick YouTube search of MT vs TKD matches and you'll see why MT is going to be much better in terms of actual self-defense if she ever needs it (hopefully not!!). Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Judo are also excellent for young girls if you think she'd be put off by the striking aspect of MT. I'd say to try youth wrestling too, but depending where you're located, she may well be the only girl in the bunch--nothing wrong with that, but it's intimidating for some girls/ women and it sounds like your daughter is already a bit shy.

A lot depends on the child and the school. Many TKD schools are belt factories, but the quick rewards and promotion can serve to keep a child interested. TKD also has more aspects that are non-contact, which for some kids is better.

Muay thai requires a lot of shin kicks and involves building up the strength of the shin bones so that the kicks don't hurt as much. That's not a lot of fun.

Muay thai or something like krav maga are better for true self defense. Muay thai is good for girls because it involves more kicking and girls tend to be stronger in the legs. (Same for TKD vs. some other traditional martial arts.)

Capoeira is something else to consider, especially for girls. It's practiced non-contact, so boys and girls and train together, and it has a lot of dance elements to it, too.

Rather than focus on the sport, focus on the actual Master and studio/dojang.
Find a good studio in any martial arts, and that will help with all the things you are looking for.
Find a bad studio in any martial arts, and you'll just be wasting your money and your daughter won't grow.

For what it's worth, both my kids are in tae kwon do and it's been a wonderful experience for them.

Muay Thai is way more practical in terms of self-defense. Don't get me wrong, Tae Kwon Do black belts are pretty bad ass, but there's a reason Muay Thai is the basis of the stand-up part of modern Mixed Martial Arts (think UFC / cage fighting).

She will quickly gain ability to use knee / elbow strikes that are far more effective than fancy Tae Kwon Do kicks.

I'd recommend that and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for wrestling / ground defense, which can be more important for causing damage / escaping in a real self-defense situation.

Many martial arts gyms offer Muay Thai / BJJ / MMA classes all in one place.

I'm also interested in taekwondo or jiu jitsu? Trying to find the right martial arts for her. Any opinions?

I would like some opinions on taekwondo vs. muay thai for girls. I have an introverted 8 yr old girl who is fearless when it comes to physical activity. She already swims, plays basketball, and plays soccer. She's a bit socially awkward and I would like to instill discipline and confidence in her. I'd also like her to be able to defend herself or at least do enough damage to run away should she ever have to and I'd like her to be able to do it with an opponent who may be bigger and stronger. Given thi,s would you recommend taekwondo or muay thai? Why?