They tried Karate but became bored with it fast. You can't hit anyone. It ended up being a "Hold one foot as high as you can and make small circle movements" torture fest for them. In other words it wasn't fun. Enter the local city sponsored recreation classes. I took them to "Judo/Jujitsu" class. They love it! It's hands on goodness where they can touch and fight each other. And since you take turns, everyone wins. First thing was respect. The next was a fall. The next was how to grab and submit someone that points a finger at you. I think he gives them Japanese lessons also. Each class is 90 mins and they get to do 2 classes a week. 20 classes cost $25. The teacher is only a brown belt, but for my 8 & 9 year olds that's fine. Here is the guy teaching it. http://jigokudojolansing.com He's no total expert, but for what he is teaching, and the price he is doing it at, I think he's awesome sauce. Is there anything wrong with classes like this for kids? The only down side I see is soon they will break my holds on them, and speak Japanese which I don't know. - Pass-a-fist