How can a five-year-old get a black belt in karate?
January 30, 2010 6:21 PM
Is Varsha Vinod a hoax? How could she be biologically possible?
When I was growing up, my gym teacher told us that our epiphyseal plates wouldn't close until middle school (or later, for the boys) and we couldn't really support the kind of forces needed for weightlifting, tackle football, etc. I imagine karate is just as high-impact as any of these sports. Am I wrong?
When I was growing up, my gym teacher told us that our epiphyseal plates wouldn't close until middle school (or later, for the boys) and we couldn't really support the kind of forces needed for weightlifting, tackle football, etc. I imagine karate is just as high-impact as any of these sports. Am I wrong?
The top couple of results take you to British newpapers, which suggests it's in some way false.
posted by Sova at 6:36 PM on January 30, 2010
posted by Sova at 6:36 PM on January 30, 2010
you don't have to fight anyone to get a black belt; it's not physically more demanding than ballet which other five year-old children do as well.
posted by bluejayk at 6:37 PM on January 30, 2010
posted by bluejayk at 6:37 PM on January 30, 2010
No crazier than 5-year-old gymnasts, like this one (warning: annoying music).
posted by oinopaponton at 6:38 PM on January 30, 2010
posted by oinopaponton at 6:38 PM on January 30, 2010
A black belt merely indicates the wearer is competent in basic technique and principles, and is largely up to the individual school.
This is all more ad hoc than a casual observer might think.
If I'm running a struggling strip-mall dojo, training an expert five-year old is pretty good marketing (reprehensible, but it works).
posted by aramaic at 6:56 PM on January 30, 2010
This is all more ad hoc than a casual observer might think.
If I'm running a struggling strip-mall dojo, training an expert five-year old is pretty good marketing (reprehensible, but it works).
posted by aramaic at 6:56 PM on January 30, 2010
There is no objective measure of what makes a "black belt". The various marital arts all have different requirements, if they even have such a rank. And nothing is stopping you from making up your own version as well, which may be a version that a 5 year old can easily achieve.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 6:58 PM on January 30, 2010
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 6:58 PM on January 30, 2010
That five year old gets one the same way a lot of kids do. No contact sparring, if they spar at all. Forms/kata, drills, that sort of thing.
However, something I'd like to remind everyone. Black Belt does not equal "I am automatically the baddest of the badass." It means you've gotten through all the basics and are ready to start really learning and working on your skills. It means you might be able to teach a few things. Maybe.
Yes, it's an accomplishment. A very large one that people should respect (that this child should not have, imo. NO child this young should have a black belt.) but - it's not Instant Ticket to Badassitude that the media seems to make it out to be.
posted by FritoKAL at 6:58 PM on January 30, 2010
However, something I'd like to remind everyone. Black Belt does not equal "I am automatically the baddest of the badass." It means you've gotten through all the basics and are ready to start really learning and working on your skills. It means you might be able to teach a few things. Maybe.
Yes, it's an accomplishment. A very large one that people should respect (that this child should not have, imo. NO child this young should have a black belt.) but - it's not Instant Ticket to Badassitude that the media seems to make it out to be.
posted by FritoKAL at 6:58 PM on January 30, 2010
I'm guessing you don't mean the fact that she has a black belt but that she can perform, at such a young age, at (expected) black belt level?
The fact is, there really isn't a standard for black belts. When I was really young and I took Karate, I was told the belt system was based of how much time and work you put into your sessions. So you start with a nice and shiny white belt and a gi. You work out a bit and wash the gi, but the belt does not get washed. It turns a bit dirty, dusty, and sweaty and starts to mold. That is the green color, which generally takes a year to get. After another year it gets dirtier and dirtier turning nice and brown. By the third year it has gotten quite dirty and is pretty much black.
There really isn't any research to back up the fact that young kids shouldn't exercise when young. Gymnasts who start young tend to be a little shorter than normal, but actual debilitating damage has never been confirmed.
posted by P.o.B. at 6:59 PM on January 30, 2010
The fact is, there really isn't a standard for black belts. When I was really young and I took Karate, I was told the belt system was based of how much time and work you put into your sessions. So you start with a nice and shiny white belt and a gi. You work out a bit and wash the gi, but the belt does not get washed. It turns a bit dirty, dusty, and sweaty and starts to mold. That is the green color, which generally takes a year to get. After another year it gets dirtier and dirtier turning nice and brown. By the third year it has gotten quite dirty and is pretty much black.
There really isn't any research to back up the fact that young kids shouldn't exercise when young. Gymnasts who start young tend to be a little shorter than normal, but actual debilitating damage has never been confirmed.
posted by P.o.B. at 6:59 PM on January 30, 2010
P.o.B - that's actually apocryphal, regarding the belt colors. It's a cute story, but there's zero basic in history behind it.
Looking at this in more depth - she's the daughter of the guy who runs the school she has the belt from. That alone suggests this is just her being handed a belt before she really deserves it.
posted by FritoKAL at 7:05 PM on January 30, 2010
Looking at this in more depth - she's the daughter of the guy who runs the school she has the belt from. That alone suggests this is just her being handed a belt before she really deserves it.
posted by FritoKAL at 7:05 PM on January 30, 2010
P.o.B - that's actually apocryphal, regarding the belt colors. It's a cute story, but there's zero basic in history behind it.
Maybe. People don't know much about Okinawan Karate history and usually get the watered down histories after it was brought to the mainland. Anyway, it was told to me in an allegorical sense. Although I think it holds true more than people doing a couple of katas and paying some class fees to earn a belt.
posted by P.o.B. at 7:26 PM on January 30, 2010
Maybe. People don't know much about Okinawan Karate history and usually get the watered down histories after it was brought to the mainland. Anyway, it was told to me in an allegorical sense. Although I think it holds true more than people doing a couple of katas and paying some class fees to earn a belt.
posted by P.o.B. at 7:26 PM on January 30, 2010
If you hang out on the various martial arts forums, you'll regularly see snark and expressions of disgust from serious martial artists whenever there's a news story about some little kid getting a black belt.
As others have noted, young Varsha is not doing hard contact sparring or breaking, so her practice is not really high-impact. She's doing a dance, and she's actually doing it quite well for a five year old, but she's not doing it at the level I would expect to see from an advanced adult student.
If you want to see some truly bad-ass little kids, check out the young boys fighting Muay Thai in Thailand. They start fighting full-contact, professionally, at a ridiculously young age.
posted by tdismukes at 9:06 PM on January 30, 2010
As others have noted, young Varsha is not doing hard contact sparring or breaking, so her practice is not really high-impact. She's doing a dance, and she's actually doing it quite well for a five year old, but she's not doing it at the level I would expect to see from an advanced adult student.
If you want to see some truly bad-ass little kids, check out the young boys fighting Muay Thai in Thailand. They start fighting full-contact, professionally, at a ridiculously young age.
posted by tdismukes at 9:06 PM on January 30, 2010
she's the daughter of the guy who runs the school she has the belt from. That alone suggests this is just her being handed a belt before she really deserves it.
Just as a data point-- I once saw the 3-year-old son of the master of my (former) karate style practicing combos with his mom. That chubby, giggly little rugrat had absolutely freaking gorgeous form. He was a blue belt, which in that style was the first step after white, but he looked far better than any of the adult blue belts in our class- myself very much included.
In short, it's not necessarily nepotism. Being parented by an expert in a home where you can eat, sleep, and breathe your sport can confer some pretty significant advantages-- even for a very young athlete.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:00 PM on January 30, 2010
Just as a data point-- I once saw the 3-year-old son of the master of my (former) karate style practicing combos with his mom. That chubby, giggly little rugrat had absolutely freaking gorgeous form. He was a blue belt, which in that style was the first step after white, but he looked far better than any of the adult blue belts in our class- myself very much included.
In short, it's not necessarily nepotism. Being parented by an expert in a home where you can eat, sleep, and breathe your sport can confer some pretty significant advantages-- even for a very young athlete.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:00 PM on January 30, 2010
When I was growing up, my gym teacher told us that our epiphyseal plates wouldn't close until middle school (or later, for the boys) and we couldn't really support the kind of forces needed for weightlifting, tackle football, etc.
Your gym teacher was wrong. Kids can lift weights and play tackle football just as safely as adults can.
posted by ludwig_van at 10:21 PM on January 30, 2010
Your gym teacher was wrong. Kids can lift weights and play tackle football just as safely as adults can.
posted by ludwig_van at 10:21 PM on January 30, 2010
Weightlifting is not safe for kids, despite what my coach in 6th grade assured me. I've paid for it for a long time.
posted by batmonkey at 11:45 PM on January 30, 2010
posted by batmonkey at 11:45 PM on January 30, 2010
Er. This link should have been attached to weightlifting.
posted by batmonkey at 11:46 PM on January 30, 2010
posted by batmonkey at 11:46 PM on January 30, 2010
What were the consequences you suffered, batmonkey? And from what type of training?
posted by stavrogin at 12:41 AM on January 31, 2010
posted by stavrogin at 12:41 AM on January 31, 2010
Hmm, from your link:
Doesn't actually specify a limit, which is kind of annoying.
posted by delmoi at 5:18 AM on January 31, 2010
# Keep it light. Kids can safely lift adult-size weights, as long as the weight is light enough. In most cases, one set of 12 to 15 repetitions is all it takes. The resistance doesn't have to come from weights, either. Resistance tubing and body-weight exercises, such as push-ups, can be just as effective.It also says "free weights and machine weights" are "options". Doesn't really specify a weight limit, but says that:
Don't confuse strength training with weightlifting, bodybuilding or powerlifting. These activities are largely driven by competition, with participants vying to lift heavier weights or build bigger muscles than those of other athletes.So it sounds like it's OK for kids to "lift weights" but not not actually do "weightlifting"
Doesn't actually specify a limit, which is kind of annoying.
posted by delmoi at 5:18 AM on January 31, 2010
Forgot to add, epiphyseal plates don't close up for most people until they are into their twenties. I've never heard anyone say it isn't all right for teenagers to workout.
posted by P.o.B. at 9:09 AM on January 31, 2010
posted by P.o.B. at 9:09 AM on January 31, 2010
So it sounds like it's OK for kids to "lift weights" but not not actually do "weightlifting"
Weightlifting is a competitive sport that involves two lifts, the snatch and the clean and jerk. Powerlifting is a competitive sport that involves the bench press, the deadlift, and the squat. Bodybuilding is a beauty pageant. They're saying kids should train, but shouldn't compete, which is silly, especially if you think it's ok for kids to e.g. compete in soccer or football. All of the Mayo clinic's recommendations are pretty sensible, except for "don't compete" and "keep it light." The countless generations of children who grew up doing heavy lifting in the pre-industrial era didn't suffer for it.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:25 AM on January 31, 2010
Weightlifting is a competitive sport that involves two lifts, the snatch and the clean and jerk. Powerlifting is a competitive sport that involves the bench press, the deadlift, and the squat. Bodybuilding is a beauty pageant. They're saying kids should train, but shouldn't compete, which is silly, especially if you think it's ok for kids to e.g. compete in soccer or football. All of the Mayo clinic's recommendations are pretty sensible, except for "don't compete" and "keep it light." The countless generations of children who grew up doing heavy lifting in the pre-industrial era didn't suffer for it.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:25 AM on January 31, 2010
I've always seen weightlifting used interchangeably with strength lifting and Olympic Lifting that specifically talks about the sport that involves the snatch and the clean & jerk.
posted by P.o.B. at 3:32 PM on January 31, 2010
posted by P.o.B. at 3:32 PM on January 31, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:29 PM on January 30, 2010