re: Are kids who take Karate more or less likely to get into a fight?

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Speaking of experience, you want to walk away from each and every fight that you can unless bodily harm of you or your family is immenent. Verbal assaults, let it fricking go. So what if your pride is damaged or you look bad in front of your friends. You get into a fight and use your training and hurt the poor fricker, he is going to sue you more than likely or try and press charges. Not very pleasant situation trust me.

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Couldn't agree more.

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every kid I knew that was in to karate was weird as hell and mostly just used their mad skills on trees and shite

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This is correct.

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Chief Illiniwek claimed he knew karate but I never saw him use it. I think he may have been pulling my leg.

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Chief Illiniwek, the official mascot of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign? I had to google that one.

Let him take karate if he wants to do it. Karate is not a great skill, in my opinion, for practical applications. If you want your son to learn to strike have him start out with boxing.

Martial arts, martial farts. Get your kid a gun.

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If you want your son to learn to strike have him start out with boxing.

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Could not agree more. If it's a half arse worth a shite gym, you will at least learn how to stand properly and throw a decent punch which is about 100 times better than the so called tough guys that may be big and huge but throw windmill haymakers that my 90 year old maw maw could dodge. If they stick with it, they can learn the finer points such as good footwork, throwing a combination, and sparring with an opponent where they can actually feel what it is like to get hit, which is something a lot of billy bad arses have never even felt.

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If you don't think karate can teach you how to strike with great skill, do a little research on Mas Oyama and let me know of any boxers that did that on a regular basis

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This sounds fishy:

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Oyama tested himself in a kumite, a progression of fights, each lasting two minutes, and each after the featured participant wins. Oyama devised the 100-man kumite which he went on to complete three times in a row over the course of three days.[5]

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He was also known for fighting bulls bare-handed. In his lifetime, he battled 52 bulls, three of which were purportedly killed instantly with one strike, earning him the nickname of "Godhand". Many martial artists believe that the bulls he beat were at a disadvantage, because they were tamed and tied with nose rings and rope when Mas Oyama fought them.

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Also, the kumite is a real thing.

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Believe me when I tell you I know it is real.

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It is not like the kumite you probably saw on Blood Sport though.

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Are you trying to say that movie was not accurate? I would love to see you say that to the real Chong Li's face.

Any Martial Arts, if taught properly and learned properly is about self discipline.

Be like water, my Friend...Bruce Lee

It's a great thing for him to get into at that age. He ought to actually have some muscle control by then and can really develop into a sharp martial artist if he is really focused. The biggest concern is the school that he goes to. I would highly recommend taking a look around at several clubs where youcan observe a class or two, and aactually see how they are run. Try to avoid ones in a shopping center, or ones that the instructor is under 30 and has something like a 6th or 7th degree black belt. It usually means he isn't highly trained or respected in the martial arts world, but rather paid for his belt. A general rule of thumb is that with Tae Kwon do or a Japanese Karate style is that it should be a minimum of 4-5 years to earn a black belt. After that, each degree should take at least that number of years to test for the next rank (ie a 3rd degree black belt spent 5 years to get 1st degree black, 2 more for second and 3 more for third.) After they reach 5th, which is master ranking, the degree is more based upon their teaching and contributions to the martial art. Ask the instructor what organization granted his ranking. For example, a Tae Kwon Do master should have his belt from other the World Tae Kwon Do Federation or United States Tae Kwon Do Grandmasters Society or another organizing body. Be wary of spending your money on some guy who claims his school is "a combination of X and Y" styles. You ought to be able to tell if it is worth the money to send your son to a certain school just by watching a few classes and sitting down with the instructor to find out his credentials and how he runs his club. Do not enroll at a place that seems unorganized, has a lack of clear discipline in a class, and seems to bounce from one thing to another in an hour class. There should be a clear flow and organization to the content of the class. When students are practicing techniques, see if instructors are actually correcting poor form, or are just counting and going through the motions. Martial arts classes are expensive and can be very beneficial if done right. If done poorly, then your sonwill just be tthe kid with enough knowledge and confidence to get himself into trouble.