Kid continues to have weak punches, kicks (Kenpo Karate)?

My 9 yr old girl has been learning Kenpo Karate for 4 years. She is very slim in her build, and weights quite less for her age.

She has mastered the katas well, and has taken part in tournaments. But, she seems to perform everything like a choreographed move. There is no strength at all in her punches, kicks. She's been sparring for 2.5 years, but just seems to be using very weak punches, kicks.

I spoke to the Sensei's and they only say "she is doing a good job". I encourage my kid to put more force in punches, kicks. She does for 1 or 2 classes, and then she is back to usual loose/weak punches/kicks.

Sensei's say she will get the strength as she grows. I'm not sure. Other kids younger than her show much more strength in punches/kicks. She is in karate mainly to learn self-defense. If her punches/kicks continue to be weak, seems to be no point.

Any inputs appreciated.

Kid continues to have weak punches, kicks (Kenpo Karate)?performing arts

Bah to all the other responses...your problem is that you're daughter is hitting with the wrong tools. A nine year old girl cannot generate the power from a punch to do ANYTHING to a full grown male....understand this and learn it well. You should be teaching her things that actually work....nasty things...eyes gouges, elbow strikes because they hit like a blunt object, palms that won't hurt her knuckles, ect. Kicks aren't going to do crap because she's a girl, if a nine year old kicked or hit me (i'm a 21 year old male) it would do absolutely nothing. Teach her awareness and prevention, and if she needs the extra then make sure it's where it counts.

Also it sounds like she tries for a few classes and then stops, it could be that she just doesn't care as much as you sad to say. She's just a little girl she doesn't get why you want her to hit harder she may be interested just for the fun or might be very bored with the style. Kempo also has many weaknesses...most stylized arts do. Get her in some self defense courses taught by police officers ect...trained people. In a real fight your daughter, by training in kempo, is not going to get into form one and strike an attacker...she's going to scream and freeze up, possibly cry, and get hurt badly. Fighting (real life death fighting) is much more chaotic then you understand.

Kid continues to have weak punches, kicks (Kenpo Karate)?binoculars opera theaterI missed this one but ice is correct no way a 9 year olds punch in going to hurt a grown adult, they have to be taught defense techniques that work!! Report It


I learn ju jitsu and i'm under the average weight of all the other students in my class. My sensei has always advised me to use speed rather than strength i find it really more affective than strength
Let it come with time. She's only nine, how strong do expect her to be? The most important thing is that she has fun and doesn't lose interest. As long as she has the forms down practicing them will aid in strength conditioning.
I would suggest not worrying about it.

Putting a lot of force behind a punch that doesn't hit anything can stress and/or injure the schtuff in the shoulder.

If she occasionally demonstrates the appropriate level of force, then she knows how to do it and if she needs to hit someone she'll do it with whatever force she decides the situation needs.

Understanding the dynamics of a fight and the use of force is *far* more important than either perfect form or throwing your hands around with full military power all the time.

Besides, you really don't *want* to hit people with your bare hands, that's what sticks, bottles, and bricks are for.

Ultimately whichever variant of Kenpo she is studying may not be right for her mindset and body. There's 100s of arts out there, you may wish to try and find one that suits her better. Akido is great for self defense, Jujitsu/Judo teach a lot of rolling and falls which have a great utility outside of fighting,

Also she may (look, I'm extrapolating from very litttle data here) just not really enjoy what she's doing all that much. Something like Capoeria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira may be a little more interesting and give her some of the skills she needs.

Ultimately wait until she's 18 and buy her snub nosed .38. That hits hard enough.
Take her out of Kempo and get her into a reputable Wing Chun school. Her strength will not matter as she progresses. This art was invented by and is best suited for women.
Don't expect adult performance from a child. A nine-year old girl isn't going to be able to effectively defend herself against an adult, and shouldn't be expected to. When my daughter was nine I could hold her off with one hand, and now she's 14 it takes both hands and some leverage.

As your daughter grows she will develop more strength as well as the savvy to know why you want her to know how to defend herself. Self defence isn't a high priority for kids that age, and maybe she doesn't see the need to put forth that much effort with no real threat. For her it may be a fun hobby, not a life or death situation, and that is as it should be right now.

Obviously you care for her greatly, but let her be a kid, without the burden of having to grow up at nine so she can defend herself on her shoulders. When she is older everything will come together. In the meantime, keep the burden of protecting her on your shoulders and have a great time with your daughter.
Well let me put it this way. Full grown adults doing kenpo karate generally have weak punches and kicks too, and you are correct, there is no poiint in them doing it.

I have lost track of how many blackbelts I have seen beaten up on the street by average drunk guys.

The reason for this is most traditional martial arts are about business.

And you make more money convincing the average guy he is getting something for nothing, than teaching them the truth.

Which is why the senseis will convince you, your daughter and another 30 or 40 million people world wide they are doing real well, exchange membership fees for some more coloured belts

The sport to learn hard punches and kicks is boxing, kickboxing, and muay thai.

Not surprisingly these are the only arts where fighters make a living of it.

Especially in boxing's case where there are millions of dollars at stake you would assume the guys have looked at every possible way to hit harder, and started doing it already 100 years ago.

Take it from a soldier and heavyweight who has crosstrained and been hit with everything from kicks, punches, throat strikes, karate chops and even a frying pan or two, the full contact sports are the closest thing to real life.

They hit two or three times harder than anything else out there.

If you can find a boxing trainer or kickboxer around who teaches kids(And they are around, and its a good atmosphere-the pros and high level guys stick to their training, and the kids do there's, and the pro's look after them)

your kid will double or triple their hitting power within a few weeks.