This is a query that I most frequently hear by mom and dad thinking about having their kid off to an exceptional start in education and in life abilities advancement.

Martial Arts institutions will probably differ in the age range that they will probably take a student. Most like their students to be around 7 years of age. There can be a different reasons for this. Some instructors frankly feel that 7 years of age is actually best because there is much better comprehension of knowledge with the child. Several instructors though merely don’t need to be irritated by smaller children who tend to be much more challenging to manage and who can not comprehend the mature curriculum.

There is one thing, and one thing only, that will always stop a martial artist from reaching the True Martial Art. That one thing is called simply…distraction. To the degree that one is not distracted, to that degree he will realize his goals, and to that degree he achieves the True Art.

When one learns the martial arts one learns these strange patterns called forms. On the surface, the form is nothing but an encyclopedia of technique, of having a curriculum which will teach him higher and higher ranges of art, and lead him to deeper and deeper depths. It is under the surface, however, through the refusal of distractions that one must seek the True Martial Art.

Okay, we need a warning, like check with a doctor before you do this. Or maybe a psychiatrist. Or maybe just make sure you’ve backed up your brains on hard drive.

Back in 1967, I had just start Kenpo Karate, one of the Tracy Brothers offshoot branches, and the head instructor decided to put on a breaking seminar. I don’t know what he was thinking, maybe he had a side business selling insurance or something. At any rate, the potential for disaster was looming.