Kung Fu
- Thread starter julray
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Yes, anything that athletic will translate to SB.
My DD was a second degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She wound up having to quit because the conflicts with softball were just too much. If you can find an independent studio that won't rope you in with a contract, go for it. Learning "forms," as well as sparring and board breaking, requires a lot of discipline, coordination, and memorization skills. It also helps a lot with flexibility and overall conditioning. But beware of the contracts! Trust me on this...
I think it's a great idea... you may consider cross fit classes as well
on the recommendation of a friend whose son played for the Reds I encouraged both my DD & DS to try Taekwondo. His son was a large power hitting 1B and he said TKD helped him immensely with agility and movement.
TKD has been great for both my kids. Not only for an off season sport, but also has very direct benefit to FP in regard to movement, agility, breathing and power generation. Also relatively low impact and uses additional muscle groups to the typical FP groups. Great for personal discipline and mental focus as well.
As CMMom noted, just do some homework on where you go. There seem to be a lot of daycare style studios springing up around my area who just want to enroll as many as possible and employ less than qualified instructors. We got lucky and found a little private studio close to neighborhood where instructor/owner only teaches form and sparring and does not get involved with tournaments or big promotion. Be careful though, my DS loved TKD and now chooses it over baseball when there is a conflict. Actually its a terrific actively that you and whole family can engage in. DW and I both started as well and its great to participate with the kids instead of just watching them.
Also if there are options in your area check out Aikido, Karate and Tai Chi. They seem to focus on human movement like Taekwondo and Kung Fu do as well.
TKD has been great for both my kids. Not only for an off season sport, but also has very direct benefit to FP in regard to movement, agility, breathing and power generation. Also relatively low impact and uses additional muscle groups to the typical FP groups. Great for personal discipline and mental focus as well.
As CMMom noted, just do some homework on where you go. There seem to be a lot of daycare style studios springing up around my area who just want to enroll as many as possible and employ less than qualified instructors. We got lucky and found a little private studio close to neighborhood where instructor/owner only teaches form and sparring and does not get involved with tournaments or big promotion. Be careful though, my DS loved TKD and now chooses it over baseball when there is a conflict. Actually its a terrific actively that you and whole family can engage in. DW and I both started as well and its great to participate with the kids instead of just watching them.
Also if there are options in your area check out Aikido, Karate and Tai Chi. They seem to focus on human movement like Taekwondo and Kung Fu do as well.
Last edited:
- Feb 3, 2011
- 1,880
- 48
I'm glad you posted this. Several months ago, I began thinking kung fu might potentially help DD with in-game focus. I never studied it myself, but it has always had that mystique with me. She also needs to learn self-defense, so in my mind, starting with kung fu might allow for an easier transition into judo or BJJ, all of which will make her work on core strength. She enjoys occasionally watching UFC, but no longer has any interest in participating in combat training herself. She was into doing armbars when she was younger, but has grown out of it and not rejects any suggestions to try martial arts.
Yes...I had DD take Taekwondo @ 9yrs old... of course thro the former Team USA Coach. We had his... still fighting Fav.Student open a group right down the street. I had her go until he said she was ready to get her yellow belt...Then took her to a pitching lesson, and had her do her 12'x12' thing for a warm-up. Then showed her the pitching motion... and said "This Game is Easy" 
