Both of my sons are in tae Kwon Do, my oldest has been in it for 4 years and is one belt away from blackbelt. I think it builds self confidence and commitment to goals. It has been good for both of my sons, the youngest is in kindergarten and has just achieved yellow belt and he is pretty proud of it.

I wouldn't say that it will make him into leathal weapon anytime soon, fighting skills are really a way down the road but the point really not that but to get the self confidence to stand up for themselves. That's 90% of the battle anyways.

You might want to ask Mike H. tomorrow.

He is a Black Belt instructor.

So is Chris M.

Strip mall tae kwon do is great exercise and will help develop coordination and balance in youngsters. It is a good thing for kids and most love it. It is not however an effective form of unarmed combative in my limited experience unless one puts in a great deal of time and effort to master it.

Other combative forms deliver the goods with less training...but much less style.

Almost without exception the YMCA trained boxer who spars a couple of times a month will knock a black belt "karate fighter" stiff in a couple seconds.

The issue with most tae kwon do is that it is a stylized system of forms that unwind quickly when it gets to hands on. It focuses on kicks a great deal at the expense of striking and unless one trains a great deal a punch is faster than a kick and while it is true that a kick is much more powerful than a strike a hard cross to the chin is generally lights out pretty quickly. Some schools do not even allow force on force sparring and many advance through the belts without ever being hit very hard. This puts them at a huge disadvantage when faced with one who wants to rumble.

The twins train at a krav maga and boxing school which are striking combatives as well as great exercise. Unlike tae kwon do they are often bruised from being hit but they keep coming back for more.

Your little one is probably not up to boxing in which the tae kwon do would be good for him. Find a couple of schools to visit and see what's what. Still, if he is small and shy one of the more physical techniques might be a good thing.

Byron