Presas Arnis in the Family: Train With Your Kids

I am an Arnisador. I am a father. And, sometimes, I get to be both.

Most martial arts schools are set up with classes for adults and classes for kids. We tried introducing my daughter to karate a few years ago and she took a few classes, but, I am sad to say, it didn’t stick.

Why?

I wasn’t invested. Karate class was just something I had to do – a place I had to go – on a Thursday night after I had worked all day. I enjoyed watching her along with the other parents of the three dozen other elementary school kids in a gymnasium, the din of so many bodies making it nearly impossible to hear the direction of the instructor.

The moment we stepped out of class, that was the last time karate came up until the following Thursday. The topic going silent meant it was never established outside of the dojo. Eventually, she lost interest, and we signed her up for soccer.

Later that year, I signed myself up for Presas Arnis at Kindred Protective Arts, and it wasn’t long before my wee one stood alongside me in family class. KPA doesn’t offer a strictly kids class, just a family class.

Kindred is in the name, after all.

Why is this better?

You guessed it. It’s not just for me. It’s not just for her. It’s for both of us. 

It also means we’re both accountable for our practice at home. Now we both know what stick disarms or sinawalis we need to work at home. Our training sessions are now guaranteed because we both needed to, and one of the best ways to learn escrima, kali, Kombatan – any Filipino martial art, really – is to cross hands with a fellow practitioner. You learn from each other.

Despite the cooperative approach, the parent still becomes the de facto instructor at home. You are responsible for not only knowing things like footwork for drills, sequences for sumbrada, but for learning it well enough that you can successfully convey all of those concepts to your child in consumable chunks. 

If you can do that, congratulations, you know the material quite well. If you can’t, at least you’ve located your weaknesses.

The most important reason I train arnis with my daughter is for the bond, the ritual. Each class is a time for us to be together. Arnis a part of our family lifestyle.

This post is one of three in the coming weeks focused on training with your children. Next week: How to train at home.