Gymnastic training/ Capoeira training for my son

[kaorialfred]

I have a young kid that come in and he's practicing Capoeira. There is another kid a little bit older who is praticing gymnastics. Both are clueless when it comes to weight room. Yet they are both solidly built.

For those who are gymnastics type, have you seen the Capoeira. Do you think its harder than competive training.

I did notice that the Cap guy is very huge, he also has no bicep at all. Now the gym guy doesn't really have one either. I have an 8 year old son and torn to what he should do. I myself did TKD. He's into Capoeira, not to much into the gymnastics. Here in O-town the both schools are far away from where we live.
I was thinking about just trying to teach him myself. I don't know that much about Gymnastics but I am pretty sure starting my kid out with walking on his hands and handstands pushups would help until our living situation changes. Any advice on either. I bought a Cap tape it shows the basics. Its a good start. They two guys I see at the gym are too busy to private teach so. I figure this is good for now. I wont' be sending him doing back flips or jump spinning kicks not yet couple more years.

If you did either one how did you incoporate weights into your routine? What where you guide lines? What is a good age to start gymnastics? How big is keeping skills up even if you don't compete. Does it help your strengh training?

Carlos E, anyone care to comment.

[chicamahomico]

Gymnastics, although not the manliest of sports, is a fantastic way to build an athletic base. In fact I doubt there is any better way to build overall athleticism and conditioning. I would enroll little Johnny in gymnastics but also in another sport or two, we wouldn't want him to turn into a girly man (I'm kidding of course).

[kaorialfred]

Pretty much so C.

I like this Capo stuff it seems so much like gymnastics but at a faster pace. Of course I am also thinking about it. 33 yr old trying to start in gymnastics with his 8 yr old kid, I can just see the stares now

[Prime]

id did gymnastics as a kid. They would get us doing bar work and inbetween skills we would go to another bar and just do endless chinups, in a day i did many many sets of 10+. I think gymnastics is a great sport for a child to get into it gives them exellent coordination, balance and strength. But its tough and if the child doesnt like it its not going to be any fun. I donk know much about capoera (sp?) but if your son's far more interested in that id let him persue that instead, it seems to be very gymnastically based with a good focus on balance and coordination as well. End of the day a child wants to have fun not train their arse off so if you want them to apply themselves and continue to do so you gotta let them do something they enjoy. JMHO

[kaorialfred]

Thanks prime

[Carlos_E]

I have a young kid that come in and he's practicing Capoeira. There is another kid a little bit older who is praticing gymnastics. Both are clueless when it comes to weight room. Yet they are both solidly built.

For those who are gymnastics type, have you seen the Capoeira. Do you think its harder than competive training.

I did notice that the Cap guy is very huge, he also has no bicep at all. Now the gym guy doesn't really have one either. I have an 8 year old son and torn to what he should do. I myself did TKD. He's into Capoeira, not to much into the gymnastics. Here in O-town the both schools are far away from where we live.
I was thinking about just trying to teach him myself. I don't know that much about Gymnastics but I am pretty sure starting my kid out with walking on his hands and handstands pushups would help until our living situation changes. Any advice on either. I bought a Cap tape it shows the basics. Its a good start. They two guys I see at the gym are too busy to private teach so. I figure this is good for now. I wont' be sending him doing back flips or jump spinning kicks not yet couple more years.

If you did either one how did you incoporate weights into your routine? What where you guide lines? What is a good age to start gymnastics? How big is keeping skills up even if you don't compete. Does it help your strengh training?

Carlos E, anyone care to comment.

With gymnastics, the earlier the better. If you enroll your son at a gymnastic club that has a competitive team he will get INTENSE training. We used to train up to 30 hours a week. Even the little kids. The kids would go from 3-4pm to 9pm 5 days a week. If you want to start him off at home, start with basic stretching. Make sure he stretches at least 15 mins to a half hour every day. Full body stretching. You can buy a gymnastic book that will show you basic stretches. You can start him on handstands but make sure they're with good form. (you can pick up a book that will show you gymnastic form) Start him against a wall, make sure he does the basics, keeps his elbows locked, arms and legs straight, back not arched, toes pointed. Make sure you work on his back flexibility, have him do bridges. You can also do basic body conditioning at home. Push ups, pull ups crunches, leg lifts, squat jumps, basically train his entire body using his own body weight.

Training is very intense. We started out every practice with 2 hours of strength training and stretching. Then we move on to working on apparatus and learning new skills.

Considering he is 8 years old I would not start him with weight training yet. When he's older around 13-14 he could start. Gymnastics builds the upper body more so than legs so leg training with weights is very important if you want to make sure he has a balanced physique.

What kind of personality does your son have. Is he a hyper energetic kid who gets in trouble a lot? Is he the type of kid that will throw himself off objects with no fear of getting hurt? If so, he's perfect for gymnastics. If your son is more timid and is afraid of a lot of things and of getting hurt gymnastics is not for him.

Here in NYC they offer adult gymnastic classes. From beginner to advance. Check your local gyms in the area and find out if they offer adult classes. Maybe you and your son can join the same gymnastic club.

[Carlos_E]

Gymnastics, although not the manliest of sports, I would enroll little Johnny in gymnastics but also in another sport or two, we wouldn't want him to turn into a girly man (I'm kidding of course).

OK, I know you're joking so I won't express how offended I am by this comment. I'll ignore it.

[Carlos_E]

People who say gymnastics is not manly have no clue what's involved in the sport. It requires STRENGTH and NO FEAR. How many other sports require you throw yourself in the air or hang from a bar suspended and let go and flip in the air. Coming home with bleeding hands, cracked bleeding shins, heads... I can't remember the number of injuries I had from gymnastics. I used to tear open both hands on high bar weekly. My hands would feel hot and I would get down off the bar and remove my grips to see I had torn the skin off of both palms so deep I didn't have lines there. I wrapped them in tape, put my grips back on , ignore the pain and kept training.

[kaorialfred]

thanks carlos, I appreciate your comments.

[chicamahomico]

Of course you know I am joking, I said that so nobody else would bother mocking it and ruin a good thread. I truly believe gymnastics is the ultimate way to build a child into an athlete, the benefits spill over into everything from wrestling to hockey. Also, like you said, the weigt room is not a place for a child but a gynastic gym is a great place for one.

OK, I know you're joking so I won't express how offended I am by this comment. I'll ignore it.