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Parent Coach Desk

All sports · Sport guide

Martial arts, for the parent in it.

Every read, drill, calendar, pathway, rule, and recruiting note we have on martial arts. Use this as the front door.

18 pieces.

Several worn practice belts hang from wall hooks in a training hall, plain fabric lit by soft window light.

Gear file

The martial arts buying guide

A gi is usually included with enrollment. What you buy depends on the style: BJJ needs a heavier gi, karate a lighter one, taekwondo a dobok.

Cheap to start. Many schools include the gi with enrollment. Sparring gear adds up at the intermediate level.

What to buy for martial arts →

From The Drawer for martial arts

Cost

What does martial arts actually cost?

Pre-filled annual estimates by tier. Edit any line.

Pathway

Martial arts by age

What good looks like at 7, 10, 13, 15.

Calendar

The martial arts year

The standard commercial dojo calendar: classes two to three times a week all year, belt testing in quarterly windows, optional tournaments a few times a year. No season, no tryouts, no bench. The schedule risk is the contract, not the calendar.

Rules

Rules at-a-glance

Five-minute primer.

Reads

Martial arts articles

age 15-plus · Jul 6, 2026

Belt mill or legitimate school: the advanced-level test

The warning signs are easy to spot at white belt. At black belt and beyond, the belt mill gets harder to see and more expensive to leave.

age 15-plus · Jul 6, 2026

Black belt at 15: the real odds and what it actually takes

Some schools sell a black belt in two years. The ones worth training at make you earn it in four or five, and let you fail along the way.

age 15-plus · Jul 6, 2026

Martial arts and the college application: what it actually does

No coach is calling about your kid's forms score. Here's what a decade on the mat is actually worth on an application.

age 15-plus · Jul 6, 2026

The competitive circuit: what actually exists past high school

No school is offering a scholarship for this. Here's what genuinely exists instead, and how to evaluate whether it's worth the travel budget.

age 15-plus · Jul 6, 2026

When your kid doesn't make black belt, or doesn't place at a tournament

The car ride home after a failed test is quieter than after a loss on a field. Here's how to handle both.

age 5-7 · Jul 4, 2026

The Belt Test Nerves Aren't Your Kid's. They're Yours.

He walked to the mat looking completely unbothered. We were the ones gripping the edge of a folding chair like it owed us money.

Drills

Martial arts drills

7 drills total. Most recent shown.

→ All martial arts drills

The Sideline File