Hppy, When my kids were in karate, the focus was also on form. When I was a personal trainer, one of the programs I offered was a weight training program specifically geared to young teens. They are so eager to develop and it is entirely possible for them to lift safely but they need to be taught how to do it. Many of them were school athletes and frankly witnessing their no pain-no gain techniques, I got angry thinking about what their coaches were teaching them but was in no position to contradict, only educate. This brings me to the subject of kids and athletics, I wholeheartedly agree that the intensity of training is excessive for growing bodies let alone taking place in unsafe areas- on the Tarmack, really? There are just too many sports related injuries in kids most of which are from overtraining. How many young adults are there out there who have had multiple surgical procedures related to sports injuries and are now living with reduced function and chronic pain? If we can just bring it down a few notches, the games would still be good, skills and teamwork would still be learned- maybe even better, and there would be significantly less injuries.

R