Well, I'm not a parent, but I am an aunt of a kid who became a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do at age 13. (He gave it up to work on other things after that, because he couldn't advance to fourth-degree until after he's 18.) He started karate when he was eight, and as a quiet kid, karate went a LONG way towards building his confidence, as well as teaching him life skills like discipline and good manners. I don't remember my brother/SIL being bombarded with things to buy (of course, they are in NE TN, so I'm not talking from local experience). It was a lot of money, but it really bene