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Martial arts

For the grown-up beside a child who loves martial arts.

The child's own door is Martial arts on Spark & Anvil.

The sideline card

Three numbers to notice

  1. The belt order. In many styles the kyū ranks count down toward 1st kyū, then the dan ranks count up.
  2. A knockout bracket: every match sends one competitor out, so 8 entrants need 7 matches.
  3. Points differ by technique; in many styles a kick to the head scores more than a punch.

On the way home, ask: “What did you notice about how the bracket was drawn up?”

Ask because you are curious, and let any answer stand. Print this page for a half-page card.

Understand it

A short course for you

Where it came from

A little history, and what nobody knows

Two bronzes

Olympic judo gives competitors who lose in the quarter-finals a second path, the repechage, which is why each judo weight class awards two bronze medals.

Whether two bronzes are fairer than one is argued, and not settled.

Source: Repechage (Wikipedia)

Your child's ladder · on Spark & Anvil

The same idea at every age

  1. Ages 3–5Which Belt Comes Next?
  2. Ages 6–8Count the Moves and 1 more
  3. Ages 9–14A Number Line With No Zero and 1 more
  4. Ages 15–18The Physics of a Board Break

Your child will meet this idea again at every age. The tools and courses here are the part for you.