How Long Are Karate Classes? – Knoxville TN

There is a long tradition of commonly held beliefs on the length of training in all forms of exercise and in the duration of education sessions. Most are confirmed by research of the past and the present. With this in mind, what is the best length for children in Karate classes that combine the physical and mental?

Karate classes for children are 45 minutes in the best case scenario and for adults around 1 hour. There are many studies showing aerobic activity over 1 hour and learning sessions over 50 minutes has diminishing returns and increased chances of injury.

If this is the case, and it is backed by research, why do some martial arts classes and school classes last up to an hour and a half? Is it that some mistakenly think longer is better or that ‘sticking it out’ in longer sessions build mental and physical toughness?

Maybe so, but research and experience tells us that if you want the best return on the time invested, it is better to stay within the body’s limits for mental and physical performance. That is 45 minutes for kids and under an hour for adults.

Why is the best kids martial art class length 45 minutes?

Karate and grappling classes both are filled with the mental education and physical exertion. Children and especially younger kidz will have a point in a class where they are distracted and simply hanging in to the end. So, what is the best length for a kidz Karate class?

Karate and martial arts classes should be 45 minutes in length for younger and beginner children. As they grow and become more experienced in the arts, 50 minutes allows for more instruction but within their mental and physical boundaries.

My classes at Master Booe’s Karate Kidz are all for children and are all 45 minutes for younger and beginner children. Advanced and older children take 50 minute classes. Parents can bring their kids once or twice per week to fit the temperaments of their kidz and their family schedules.

Why are adult Karate classes best kept under 1 hour?

Though at Master Booe’s Karate Kidz I don’t do adult classes, as you can see from my About Me page I have spent countless hours training myself and thousands of other adults for the military, police forces, competition teams, and martial arts schools and gyms. I am well aquatinted with adult limitations.

Karate classes for adults are optimal at around 1 hour in length. Adults do best in 1 hour training sessions with a substantial rest before another. Adults training for competitions or military service may need longer to build tolerances, but learning technique should be kept at an hour.

One of the other important considerations is safety. When training lasts over the hour mark, exhaustion begins to set in and carelessness in technique and execution comes with it. Mistakes begin to compound as well. This all equates to a significant increase in the chances for injury.

Much research has been done on exercise and its beneficial effects on mood and phycological health. This even applies to length of training. In a study done published in the journal Psychological Health, it was found that over 40 minutes of physical exertion, the benefits to mood cease.

Why are educational classes normally 50 minutes in length?

Along with the issues around physical training, there are mental limitations as well. Most all colleges keep their lecture classes limited to 50 minutes as well as many high schools. What does this have to do with Jiu Jitsu, Karate, Judo, or Kali classes?

For the best results in Karate or any other martial art, classes for adults and kids should be limited to 50 minutes. There are times that longer sessions are needed for conditioning for competitions and other situations. Yet, for most adults and all children 45 to 50 minutes is perfect.

This is not to say that adults can’t take a break and then begin another session without experiencing diminishing returns. The break would have to be long enough, but it could be done. Children on the other hand shouldn’t train for more than 50 minutes in a day to avoid injury, over training, and burnout.

In a study published by the American Psychological Society in their journal Advances In Psychology Education, researchers found that not only was attention dramatically decreased by the 50 minute mark during lectures, it was interrupted every few minutes and increased in frequency and duration.

Another study conducted by researchers at Catholic University, Washington, DC and published in the Journal Of Chemical Education found similar results. Not only was a loss of attention noted in short intervals throughout a lecture period, these episodes increase dramatically as time went on.

The human brain and body have limitations that have been noted through experience and research over the centuries. We know that for children 45 to 50 minutes should be a limiting boundary. Though adults can go over this for certain reasons, it also holds true for them. This limitation seems to be a human one.

The Karate Class Length Wrap Up

For those that are wondering for their child how long classes are at Master Booe’s Karate Kidz, the answer is the safe 45 minutes for younger children and beginners and no more than 50 minutes for older kidz and advanced students.

Though we don’t teach adults specifically here, we do have teens and adults that participate in family style classes and they do well with the same time boundaries. The human body and mind are simply designed that way.

If you would like to have your little Karate Kidz come in an try out a FREE 45 minute class, contact me and I will set up one that works for your family’s schedule. My classes are designed with a child’s limits in mind and safety is one of my top concerns.