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Find karate camps and programs near you

OurKids.net lists karate camps across Canada. Click on cities listed below and find camps in your city.

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The benefits of karate for kids

Karate camps and after-school programs teach skills that have been practiced for thousands of years. The discipline has a philosophy of respect, courtesy, and a positive attitude that inspires kids to grow. Here’s a look at some of the benefits, in detail:

The focus is on individual improvement. Some kids simply do better with individual sports. In karate, the focus is on bettering yourself, one step at a time. Some competitive team sports can lead to kids being blamed for a loss, for example. That never happens in karate. 

They grow in confidence. Karate focuses on self defence. Ideally, you hope never to have to use tactics you learn in a karate class or camp, but the knowledge alone gives kids a sense of confidence in their physical abilities. This can be especially important for young women. Closely related to this, kids gain confidence as they achieve belts. There are specific techniques they must demonstrate to attain each belt, and in this process, they learn lessons in goal setting and gain self esteem. 

Emphasis on self-control and self-improvement. Focused attention is a central aspect of karate. Kids learn to control their physical movement, but they also learn to control emotions. The “ready stance” from which they begin, and to which they return regularly during training is a kind of resting awareness that can be applied in everyday life, if taught and practiced properly. The ultimate goal of karate and other martial arts is intense control of the self.

A variety of physical health benefits. As part of regular karate training, kids improve their physical fitness, as well as coordination and fine motor control. Karate, more than any other martial art, focuses on footwork and leg flexibility. 

Related camps and programs you might like

Across our website you’ll find many camps which will also be of interest to kids in karate. Here’s a quick look: 

Kids who are in various sports camps will find that karate can help them with flexibility and leg strength. It will be especially helpful for kids in soccer camp, basketball camp, or who are into skating, gymnastics, or track and field.   

Yoga class and camp for kids, as well as meditation camp, is a worthy complement to karate, giving kids a focus on stretching and breathing that comes from these disciplines.

Martial arts camp can be introductory to other related disciplines that kids may, in fact, find more interesting or stimulating. Specific types include taekwondo camp.

How to find the best karate camp

When choosing a camp, parents tend to focus on location and convenience, but there are other questions they need to ask camps in order to find the right one for their child. Here’s a brief glance at how to find the right one for you:

• How many years’ experience does the camp have?
• Are all the instructors police checked?
• What contracts or waivers do parents need to sign?
• Are parents allowed to sit in on and observe classes?

The following are some more general questions that parents should ask about any camp:

• Does the camp have any policies about food, related to allergies or special diets, etc?
• When is the daily pickup and dropoff, and how rigidly are parents expected to follow these times?
• What are kids expected to bring? And what will they take home from the camp?

Learn much more from the rest of our guide: