Children and Adults Take to Tae Kwon-Do Differently

Does Tae Kwon-Do come easier to kids than to adults? 

In short, yes. 

Thanks! See you next week! (just kidding)

To be fair, it doesn’t come easily to either. Certain aspects of Tae Kwon-Do come easier to different age groups, though.

For instance, the four main concerns adults tend to have are: 

• Am I too old?
• Am I too out of shape?
• Am I going to get hurt? 
• Am I going to look stupid?

Kids don’t tend to worry about these things as much. Getting hurt is a bit of a universal concern. But, for the most part, kids are pretty gung-ho about the physical aspect of Tae Kwon-Do. 

Adults tend to be more reserved. They often begin coming up with many personal objections as to why they won’t be able to do it. 

When many adults first enter the dojang to meet with me and see if they really want to pursue Tae Kwon-Do, I do a quick assessment. It’s just a couple of innocent questions, like “what do you want to get out of Tae Kwon-Do?” and “what got you interested in Tae Kwon-Do in the first place?”

There are, of course, no right or wrong answers, I’m just curious what got them to the dojang in the first place.

I tell them that I started martial arts because it looked cool! 41 years later, and it is still a huge part of my life. I never expected that to happen. That tends to set them at ease, and then they open up and tell me that they got beat up, or they’re getting bullied, or they want to build up some self-confidence, etc. 

After I’ve done my assessment, that’s how I begin teaching that person and instructing my assistant team how to approach a particular student. 

With young kids, it’s much simpler. Most young kids will tell you they started Tae Kwon-Do because they just want to kick and punch! Meanwhile, though, their parents are in the background mouthing to me, “discipline!” “Self-confidence!” 

I think kids tend to find that part of Tae Kwon-Do training difficult. Namely, the more character-based benefits like discipline, learning to stand still, being respectful, things like that. Adults take to that stuff pretty well, on the other hand.

So, does Tae Kwon-Do come easier to kids than adults? Statistically speaking, the answer is yes, but I think that is because there are simply more kids involved than adults. When I first started, the opposite was true. There were hardly any young children in martial arts. 

The real answer is Tae Kwon-Do comes easiest to whomever is most dedicated to getting the most out of it, regardless of age.

Master Gorino’s Tae Kwon-Do offers a trial program for individuals and families in Buffalo, NY and the surrounding areas that allows you to get a feel for the different classes, meet our instructors, and experience our dojang. It’s a great way to see if Tae Kwon-Do is right for you. To learn more or to sign up, register online or call (716) 836-KICK (5425) and a member of our team will follow up with you on next steps. We look forward to helping you achieve your goals. Pil-Sung!