My kid has so much energy. Is taekwondo a good fit?

By Master Milad

Parents often ask this one a little apologetically, like they’re warning us. Don’t be. A kid with a lot of energy isn’t a problem kid. Honestly, I’d rather start with that kid.

Energy isn’t the problem

It’s very hard to teach someone how to have energy. It’s much easier to teach a kid who has plenty of it how to control it. That’s what focus is.

Focus isn’t a lack of energy. Think about the last time your kid was lost in something they loved. They weren’t low energy. They were locked in, with all of it going to one place.

That’s the real story with high-energy kids. They don’t have too much energy. It’s spread across ten things at once. Give them something they love, something that challenges them, and an adult who says “Hey, you’re good at this,” and they dial in.

I’ve coached a lot of those kids. Taekwondo gives all that energy a job.

After a day of sitting still

Think about your kid’s day. School asks young children to sit for most of it. That’s not a knock on teachers (plenty of our parents are teachers). It’s just how school has to work. But young kids need to move, and by the end of the day a lot of that energy has been bottled up for hours.

Taekwondo gives it somewhere to go.

Why taekwondo fits a busy kid

Taekwondo is a routine. Kids know how class starts and how it ends. For a busy brain, that’s a relief.

What happens in between is never the same twice. Repetition is how skills stick, so we disguise it: same kick, new drill, new challenge.

We also keep downtime to a minimum. There’s the odd break, but for the most part, they’re moving the whole class. A busy kid doesn’t get the chance to get bored.

Most of our kids train twice a week, usually with a day in between. That’s often enough to build a habit, and spaced out enough that it stays fresh.

And there’s always a next goal they can see. Our Little Ninjas (ages 4 to 5) and Tigers (ages 5 to 7) earn a stripe every week they come. Stripes add up to tip belts, they learn their curriculum, and then they test for their next belt. Short-term goals every week that turn into long-term success. A kid who won’t sit still for a worksheet will work very hard for a new stripe.

They also learn to wait their turn. For some families, that’s the bigger win.

Our favourite trick: catch them being good

We put the spotlight on the kids who are doing a good job. Everyone else figures it out fast: if I want attention, I have to do a good job.

And the kid who can’t stop moving? We wait for the moment he stands still. Then we stop the whole class. “Wow, look at him standing still. Everyone, look. What a great role model.”

Watch how long he stays that way.

Even the little ones

Our Little Ninjas and Tigers classes surprise people. Four- and five-year-olds focusing, trying hard, moving together. Parents who teach for a living, from elementary school to university, tell us the same thing: you get the best out of these kids. How focused they are, how well they work together, how in unison they move.

Got the opposite kid at home? (My child is shy. Will they be OK at their first class?)

For the skeptics: “Your classes are big. Won’t my kid get lost?”

Fair question. Some of our classes are bigger than you might expect, and that’s on purpose. A big class works when there’s depth on the floor. Ours comes from our Leadership Team, students we train to help teach and, one day, to become instructors. (How does taekwondo teach kids to lead?) That’s how we keep plenty of hands on the floor.

The job is simple to say and hard to do: no kid slips through the cracks. Every kid gets seen, corrected, and noticed when they do something right. We call it legendary student service.

Wherever you look, watch a class before you sign anything. Look for instructors who catch kids doing well, a routine kids can follow, and enough instructors and helpers on the floor that nobody’s lost in the back row.

So, is taekwondo a good fit for a high-energy kid?

For most of them, yes. We won’t promise miracles. What we will do is give that energy a routine, a goal and a reason to aim it.

Bring the energy. We’ll give it somewhere to go.