ninjanurse

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Back kick or wheel kick/hook kick to the head are my favorites.

It disappeared along with the cartilage in my knees!

Welcome to KF!

Welcome!!!

Welcome!

Welcome!!

Welcome to the forums kstinson! A McDojo is a term used by some to describe a martial arts school that "sells" rank much like a fast-food restaurant-fast and of questionable substance. Hence, a McSensei is someone who runs one of these schools.

Congratulations!

If you can keep them separate it is better but there are times when exceptions can be made. Due to class sizes & time I had at one time invited all advanced juniors to the adult class-now I am able to have a class just for them so theyare again separate. It worked out fine because they were advanced students and knew what the expectations were. In general, I do not move students up until they are at least 12 and are physically capable and emotionally ready as we teach additional curriculum to the adults and train much harder.

Congratulations!

That sounds great. Aikido is on my bucket list!

Welcome!

Welcome! Never too old....never too late!

I incorporate the same warm up drills in all classes but change the pace of them a bit for new students. They eventually pick the tchniques up and then are able to speed up to match the class. So far so good......

Thanks for the input. I already have four year olds and they do fine with the program we have. The 3 year olds will be doing things more along the lines of gross body movement, balance skills, following directions, etc., -not a lot of martial arts. He wants to move the 4 year olds to this program too but I should have some flexibility like I do with 6 & 7 year olds-I hope!

Anyone out there have experience with a program designed specifically for 3 year olds? Our Master Instructor is planning to implement one and my feeling is that 3 year olds are inherently a lot different than 4 year olds (of which I have a few). I am looking for experience, horror stories, etc., as I want to get a feel of this before I have to jump in.

Regarding TKD schools:At my school the adult classes are bigger than the kids classes and I expect the kids to make appropriate contact just as the adults do. I do not discourage full-contact at any age/level/group and I make it very clear from day one that it is a "contact activity". Regarding Semi-contact: Contact is contact-it is the amount of force used that makes the difference. I prefer to use a scale or percentage when instructing so that each student learns his capabilities along with control. It is unfortunate that many schools, regardless of style, limit their students to "semi/light" contact and they never experience the full use/potential of their techniques. Of course, in a society that sues at the drop of a hat, liability often supersedes practicality.

In regards to female students there are no rule changes or preferences given. If any student hits another too "hard" (male or female) the receiver is expected to say something or continue to take it without complaint. My biggest trouble is getting 9-14 year old boys to hit the girls hard enough!

I have 2 classes on Saturday. The first is for advanced belts* and is 90 minutes long (0830-1000). We run (2-4 miles depending on the week) and do conditioning, then spend the rest of the time tweaking curriculum. The second is a 45 minute "open class" for all ages & belts that usually has 10-16 students-mostly family members. We work on Basics, a select area of curriculum, and then open it up to whatever they chose to work on individually. I plan to add another "open class" in the future-probably competition or specialty focused. *advanced belts are brown, red, & black and the class is mandatory for any red or black belt getting ready to test. They must attend a minimum of 6 for each testing cycle.

I guess I am in the minority too. My teaching is to style is to teach the "patterns" to students and them tweak them as they progress-gross movements become finer, larger movements become smaller, simple becomes more complex, etc. This develops the habit first so that reaction becomes quicker sooner.

I always try to incorporate partner drills into everything-even basics and forms occasionally but I think solo work is just as important in developing other aspects of the arts-muscle memory, concentration, meditation, self-discipline, etc.

What exactly are "power drops"?