Aikido
Contact ○○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; simple locks with a partner and tapping out; holding and moving the training weapon safely.
Levels and ages
Pick an age and a level. We show which arts fit, how much contact they involve and what to expect. Always talk to the coach and, for children, the paediatrician.
Pick an age to see advice for that stage. Arts marked ⚠ are possible but need more care.
Age
Level
40 arts
Karate
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks; the first form (kata), piece by piece.
Kung Fu
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Wing Chun
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks; elbows and knees on pads.
Tai Chi
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; simple locks with a partner and tapping out; the first form (kata), piece by piece.
Capoeira
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●●○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; slow basic kicks.
Hapkido
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; slow basic kicks; simple locks with a partner and tapping out.
Jeet Kune Do
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Systema
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Iaido
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; holding and moving the training weapon safely; the first form (kata), piece by piece.
Hung Gar
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks; the first form (kata), piece by piece.
Kalaripayattu
Contact ●○○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks; holding and moving the training weapon safely.
Taekwondo
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●●○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks; the first form (kata), piece by piece.
Judo
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; simple locks with a partner and tapping out; ground positions and escapes.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●●○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; simple locks with a partner and tapping out; ground positions and escapes.
Wrestling
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●●○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; ground positions and escapes.
Krav Maga
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●●○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Jujutsu
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; simple locks with a partner and tapping out.
Kendo
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; holding and moving the training weapon safely.
Sambo
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; simple locks with a partner and tapping out; ground positions and escapes.
Savate
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●●○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Sanda
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Olympic Fencing
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; holding and moving the training weapon safely.
HEMA
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; simple locks with a partner and tapping out; holding and moving the training weapon safely.
Arnis · Eskrima · Kali
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; simple locks with a partner and tapping out.
Pencak Silat
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Sumo
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads.
Catch Wrestling
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; simple locks with a partner and tapping out; ground positions and escapes.
Shuai Jiao
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; simple locks with a partner and tapping out.
Tang Soo Do
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks; the first form (kata), piece by piece.
Vovinam
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
American Kenpo
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks; the first form (kata), piece by piece.
Luta Livre
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; simple locks with a partner and tapping out; ground positions and escapes.
Pankration
Contact ●●○ · Intensity ●○○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Muay Thai
Contact ●●● · Intensity ●●●
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Boxing
Contact ●●● · Intensity ●●●
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads.
Kickboxing
Contact ●●● · Intensity ●●●
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
MMA
Contact ●●● · Intensity ●●●
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
Kyokushin
Contact ●●● · Intensity ●●●
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks; elbows and knees on pads.
Lethwei
Contact ●●● · Intensity ●●○
The first month usually has: warm-up, stance and guard, the club’s etiquette; learning to fall safely before throwing; basic punches in the air and on pads; slow basic kicks.
How we choose
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises starting with non-contact forms, and US and Canadian paediatric societies oppose boxing for children and teens; the AAP also discourages MMA for young people. So: up to age 7 we only show light- or medium-contact arts without bladed weapons; from 8 to 12 we leave out full-contact arts; for teens, boxing and MMA appear “with care”. At 40+ full-contact arts appear “with care”; at 60+ we suggest light-contact arts and tai chi, which has studies on balance and falls in older adults. Contact comes from our Compare page; intensity combines contact with the fitness profile from our quiz.
You may also like
Parents and kids › · Quiz: which art suits you? › · Clubs › · Belts and ranks › · Martial arts in anime ›
Sources
- AAP HealthyChildren — Martial arts
- PubMed 21873697 — Boxing participation by children and adolescents
- IBJJF — Graduation system
- Kukkiwon — Time and age limits for promotion
- British Taekwondo — National Dan Grading pack
- World Taekwondo
- All Japan Kendo Federation — Dan regulations
- International Judo Federation
- Kodokan Judo Institute
- World Karate Federation
- NCCIH — Tai Chi: What You Need To Know
- Wabukan — Comparar, Quiz, Faixas e graus (dados do próprio site)