SloMo

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. More and more children are starting martial arts. This is great in promoting the art and parents like the discipline and respect that their children learn. However, teaching martial arts to children is not like teaching adults, as any instructor who has done both will tell you! You are not teaching tiny adults!!! I cannot stress this one enough. Repeat it to yourself whenever you get frustrated. You are teaching kids. Their motivations for coming to class are not the same as an adult. I have broken down the reasons into three categories. I know that there are other reasons but these seem to be the major one's that I see most often. The "How Hard Can it be?" Group: I saw a Jackie Chan (or Jet Li) movie and I want to learn to do that! Okay, these kids quickly learn that it's going to take hard work and years to learn. The trick with them is to show them what they will attain. Have some of your advanced students show off a little to them. Let them see what they will really learn. Either you will hook them right off or they will decide that it isn't what they want. The sooner you do it the better! The "My Parents Are Making Me do This" Group: My child is hyper, inattentive, disrespectful, doing bad in school, etc... fix them! Here you have a double problem, an unmotivated student and parents who expect miracles. First, get the student hooked. Don't talk or focus on the problems the kid may be having. Instead, talk to them like their parents are not even there. Ask them what they might want to get out of coming to class. Show them how much you love the art and they will start to think that this could be a good thing. Show them what they will learn and make sure that they leave that first class having learned something. Teach them a kick, a block, a stance, something that will allow them to feel like they accomplished something. Now you need to manage the parent's expectations. If you have any good parents (they are worth their weight in gold) have them talk to the prospective student's parents. They will regale them with talks about how great their kid is doing and how much they love it, etc. You also need to spend some time with the parents yourself. Find out what they expect and help them understand that it's not a quick fix. Talk to them about some of your other students and the ways they have improved. You might turn them into another one of your great parents! The "My Best Friend is Doing it and I Want to Try it" Group: Joe/Jane talks about this place all the time. I want to see what's up! You almost feel you can't lose with a new student like this. They have a general idea of what goes on. They have a friend already in class. What could go wrong? Lots! Competition between friends – sometimes the new student will compare themselves with their friend. This can lead to the person getting discouraged. You need to teach that student that they have an identity in the class other than "friend of Joe". You'll know that you succeeded in this when they show up for class even when the friend that got them into class doesn't. I try to have them do the warm ups next to their friend to help them get over that initial nervousness but then I separate them for the rest of class. That way, they each leave that first class with a different experience that they can share with each other. Friend does better than the student that brought him to class – this happens more often than I thought it would. Here you need to focus on your original student. We all have to deal with students getting passed by other students but it is different when it's a friend that you brought to class that is doing it! It's not an easy one to handle but you need to boost the original student's morale more often so they don't feel like they are a loser. I know that I'm just touching on some much larger issues, but hopefully this helps some of you.

Here's something that happened in one of our kid's sparring classes. We had two kids ( around 10 years old or so ) sparring. They were doing fine with some of the advanced students and instructors shouting encouragement, hints, etc. When all of a sudden, from the back of the class we hear someone yell "Kick his *butt*!". ( OK, that wasn't the word that was used, the word that was used was part of the problem ) The room went quiet and I was reffing the kids so I couldn't take my attention away for too long but I did turn to see who said it. It was the mom of one of the kids who was sparring. So, how would you handle something like that? I should mention that the grandmother of the other kid who was sparring was sitting right next to her and didn't look happy.

I feel for you, it happens a lot but I've been lucky in that we have some great parents that really help with their kids learning. It's really rough when you have siblings progressing at different rates. But, we need to keep our integrity so I find, like most everyone here, that communication is the best thing to keep it from being a problem. We try to let the kids know well in advance when tests are coming and if someone is or isn't ready to test.

Like I tell all the new students, everyone feels goofy for the first few classes, EVERYONE! So, besides the good advice already given, go with the flow. Good Luck!

I'm 38 myself ( wow that seems old when you type it! ) and I'm not as fast or flexible as I was when I was 18 either... but who is? My change didn't come from age so much as getting into a career and having a family. They take up a huge part of my life that I used to spend on things like bike riding, playing football, martial arts, etc. I still do those things but not nearly as much as I used to. My dad's favorite saying, which I agree with more and more as time goes on, "Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!"

Thanks! It looks like a great article.

My son ( who is in elementary school ) is doing a science project for school entitled "Why Do Martial Artists Yell?". He is trying to find some references ( other than me ) that he can use. Does anybody know of any good articles or discussions about this? I know the answer ( at least, what I tell my students ) but he is looking for some other points of view.

Well, I'm going to find something good in the show ( I did spend two hours of my life on it! ) and here it is. I wish the entire show was just showing the people who were demonstrating the weapons. I've seen a couple of them at the US Open tournaments and Ming ( The woman doing the fans and wu shu sword ) is extremely talented. But I wouldn't call what she does "Xtreme". She doesn't flip or do twisty things in the air. Matt ( is that they guy they were following? ) was pretty weak in the weapons form because ( IMHO ) he showed no proficiency with the weapon at all. He could have been holding two hot dogs in his hands for all the actual weapons moves that he did. I think XMA has it's place and it doesn't try to pretend it's anything more than what it is. I think PEOPLE try to make it more than what it is. I hope nobody gets too insulted with this comparison but it reminds me of pro wrestling. It's fun to watch, you appreciate the skill, and you can see the training it took. It's entertainment.

Couldn't have said it better myself! Don't worry about what is a good fit for your body, find something that you enjoy. Try out a few classes. If it doesn't feel right then it probably isn't right for you.

Hey TKDMom, Don't try to meet force with force. I have a student in my kids class who is small for his age. He's very accomplished but his sparring is very weak. He makes the mistake of trying to spar like he sees the older ( and taller ) students do. Because of his size he doesn't have the physical mass to be able to counter the way some of the other people do. I'm teaching him how to evade, and use the other persons force against them. If someone throws a round kick he steps back out of the way and uses his hand to push the kick past him. It usually will throw the other person off balance and give him an opportunity to get in, which is the proble he's having. He also moves a lot which tires out most people he spars before he gets tired. If you are enjoying TKD, then stick with it. You will get better at everything over time. The important thing is that you have fun.

I just watched the Discover Channel show on XMA. I'm beginning to think that the Discovery Channel is forgetting that it's supposed to educate and entertain. I was hoping to see more "science" of what the people were doing and why but..... oh well. OK, now my question. Do you think the back flips, tumbling and 540 kicks are here to stay or are we trending back toword the traditional stuff. The reason I ask is that I saw a video for last years US Open and while some of the top winners were the extreme gymnastics, one of the top people was a traditional form ( I wish my forms looked that good! ) Do you think judges are looking less at the jumping around now or are they going the other way and looking for more flash and less substance. I apologize now to anyone I offend with comments like "flash vs substance" but the most gymnastic thing I've seen any style teach is a dive roll.

Beaches Martial Arts out at Jax Beach. We mostly work out of St Paul's gym.

For the good schools it is. My personal opinion is that not every martial art is suited for every person. So giving a few free lessons helps everybody in the long run.

There is nothing wrong with asking for clarification. Although it is the responsibilty of the head instructor to make sure everyone is teaching things consistantly. In our school we run into things that someone learned a little differently. We have regular meetings where we bring these up and come to a consenses as to the way we are going to teach. But I would as for clarification from the assistant first. Odds are it's a simple misunderstanding or just a slight difference in emphasis. I'm sure the assistants do not want to have you do something wrong in front of the head instructor and then be told that you were taught that way by one of the assistants.

7 - 14 is a pretty big range. I find that you can keep a 7-8 year old's attention for no more than 1/2 hour. If possible you might want to break up the class into smaller groups based on age. Sometimes the younger kids and cause the older kids to feel left out because of all the extra attention they require.

Another technique you can use is to bring students to the front to demonstrate something when you see them do it well. Not perfect but better. It helps motivate the kids to want to be used as an example and if you have a kid who isn't working hard, if you see them put some effort into it. Make a big deal out of it. Saying something like "Now that's what I've been looking for! Come up here and show the rest of the class" really pumps some kids up. Also, what ages are the kids you are teaching? That's really important to know.

One more thing. I would hesitate to give them pushups. Punishment is my choice of last resort. Personally I feel like I didn't do something correct when I have to resort to having the kids do pushups or crunches or any other physical "motivator". I make it a point to compliment each student twice every class. I think you will find that it will help you more in the long run to use positive motivation rather than negative. Now, that's not to say that won't use pushups or something if I need to. But that's more of a punishment for when they do something really wrong and they know they must have messed up really bad if I make them do it. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

I like a lot of what I read here. And making it fun is extremely important as everyone here can tell you. Another important thing is to manage your own expectations. With kids you are going to get a huge difference in how they perform, attention, how fast they learn, and energy. Don't expect the kids to learn at the same rate. You almost have to set your expectations for each person individually. You'll reduce your stress level a lot if you can do that. Keep your energy up as well. Adults for the most part cnan motivate themselves sometimes but not kids. If you have a low energy day the kids will respond to it. Good luck!

Does anybody know of a site where I can get the tenets of TKD in Korean? We're looking to incorporate them into our manuals and such.

I have a more basic question to ask everybody. What defines a new style? My personal thought is that a "style" is a system of martial arts that centers around some basic theories or concepts or philosophies. TKD, Wing Chun, Judo, Savate, Boxing, Etc all have some basics that the style revolves around. I teach TKD but I have studied Wing Chun as well. I have incorporated some of what I learned into TKD ( Especially when the opponent is close in ) but I would not call what I teach a "new" style. I teach traditional TKD with a little of my experience thrown in. I hope I'm not bad mouthing anybody here but to create a whole new style that is truly original would be one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish. Is picking bits and pieces from different styles creating your own? Maybe, it depends on why you pick what you do and how you meld them together. I think even styles that say that they just do what works have core basics to them. Maybe they are not formal but I would consider criteria like "To be able to defend yourself quickly and with minimal energy" or "With minimal risk" or whatever to be a basic concept behind the style. Judo focuses on throws, Aikido on holds, TKD on kicks, Wing Chun on controlling the center line, ATA on making money ( kidding! ), boxing on conditioning. ( my pardons for over simplifying these styles, I know they have more to them that this ) My point is that a true "style" should have a some sort of core that it builds from, some sort of foundation. Any thought about my thoughts?

Hey Kieran-Lilith, teaching can be scary stuff, and nerve wracking as well. Here's what I tell the kids in my class when they start out. 1) Be confident. If you act confident then a lot of your problems go away. Like the student telling you that you were doing it wrong. COnfidence is in the way you stand, the way you speak and the way you teach. 2) Always follow a critisism with a complement. This is more important when you are teaching kids. 3) Don't just tell someone how to do something, show them. That's a few pointers to get you started. I personally have some issue with someone getting on your case while you are teaching. It undermines your authority. I try to speak to the students after class and offer pointer. If they are really messing up I may come in and ask them to assist someone else but I think slamming the person in front of the class is usually counter productive. Good luck and stick with it. Your instructors must ahve seen some good stuff about you in order to put you in front of the class!

What's a good place to find movies like this? Online or not online?

That's it!!!!!! The full title is: Shaolin Master Killer Wow, thanks everybody! Now, I just have to see if any local stores have it....

I could very well be wrong about the title. It's been a while! I'll look up the 36 Chambers movie and see if that's it! Thanks!

OK, I'll hail someone as the Martial Arts Movie God if they can give me the title to this movie that I saw when I was a kid ( about 25 years ago ) Here's what I remember..... I first saw the movie on TV ( they had a saturday afternoon action theater on TV that showed Kung Fu flicks ) I think it had the word Shoalin in the title... But I could be wrong The basic plot is that some nobody guy want to learn kung fu and gets into this temple where you have to learn one skill at a time before moving on to the next. When he gets there he jumps the gun, goes to room 100 or something like that and the the teacher there throws him out with his mind.. ( I know I know.... ) One of the skills is he has to jump across bundled sticks floating in water. If you fell in you couldn't get food until your clothes dried off. Another is he had to follow a light without moving his head. They placed knives next to his cheeks so that if he moved he would get cut. This goes on.... He wants to leave but the temple doesn't let people go usually so they tell him that if he can beat one of the masters he can go. He tries several times, keeps losing until he invents the 3 sectional staff. OK, so the movie sounds pretty stupid. But I loved this flick when I was a kid and I've been trying to find it for my son to see. If any of this rings a bell with anyone PLEASE let me know! Thanks!!!