Rateh

Constant practice engraves it. You might want to try saying the kata as you do it though. My youngest students can never remember the name of anything. So whenever they do blocks I make them yell the name instead of kiahing. When they do kicks I make them say the name of the kick. Maybe with so many to remember, if you have to remember the number, then say the number for every technique in the short forms.

Jo was the first weapon kata I learned. Unfortunatly I moved and had to start at a new school. The only thing I remember is what Holland said, about moving up and down the weapon a lot. I've never learned to do that with the Bo, but that might also be a difference in style/school.

We have dojo t-shirts. Because its vegas it gets very hot during the summer months, actually it already hit 100f here a couple weeks ago. Students are allowed to forgo the ge-top and just wear a school tshirt when its hot outside. Everyone in the dojo has at least one, some have two or three. We charge $20 dollars for them.

For timing for some things, like bowing in etc, it can be good to have a lead person kiah. Kind of like they are saying "bow" or "step back" etc. It might seem odd, but most good teams do this, it keeps them together without having to look at eachother.

Good job! I only just got my orange, and I've been here a year!

Our school has 3 female instructors and the head instructor, who is a male. So most often it is him that is called "ma'am", rather then us being called "sir".

I too have been told to visualize an attacker. Unfortunatly I have very poor visualization ability (ie I can't really picture anything in my head, much less an attacker). Otherwise it depends on what I am trying to achieve... If I am learning a kata, then I focus on the next move. If I'm practicing in general, on a kata that I have known for a very long time. Then mostly I focus on nothing, only occasionally do I pay specific attention to something that I know I am weak on in that kata. (Like locking out my back leg at a specific point, or looking before a certain turn, etc) If I'm practicing a kata I know fairly well, but havn't known it for ages. Then I focus on all of the small points that I know I need work on in general. Or I pick a specific thing to work on, such as power, breathing, etc. If I am competing, then I focus on nothing. I would discribe it more in detail, but I havent competed in a long time so I can't recall specifically. When training students... First I have them focus on the techniques, doing the right ones in the right order. They should be able to do the kata quickly without thinking. I like to tell them that I should be able to wake them up at 2 am and ask them to do the kata, and they would be able to. If not, they haven't memorized it well enough. Then I have them focus on stances. Then I have them work on other specifics, like keep your hand at your waist, punch to the center, etc...these are different for each student. Next I have them focus on well...focus...keeping their eyes pointed at the target, and looking before they turn their head. This is also the stage where I work on their breathing. Finally power is added. BTW this is also rank equivalent...early belts focus only on memory, stances, and specific issues. Intermediate belts add focus, breathing, and power. This is just me though...but I guess I thought it could be helpful.

I've watched nearly every episode since the beginning. Love the show, including the season finale. The fact that it seems impossible for them at the moment, just makes it all the more exciting for later.

lol That reminds me of a time in our dojo where a similar thing happened. Only the other way around. I'm the main beginner and young kid teacher, and I'm female. During testing the kids accidentally called the head instructor ma'am. Later during the testing, this little kid had to do pushups. Afterwards he said "10 Ma'am, done Sir" to the male sensei who he was doing pushups for. All the parents laughed. Sensei told him he almost got it right...

I think it would also be very good for them if you could come to their tests. It would probably mean a lot to them, if you showed your support and pride in their achievements in this and other ways. I also agree that it sounds like your an instructor in the making. I dont know your rank, but maybe as you get higher up you could speak with your instructor about training towards that, if thats something that you would want to do.

Kids are perfectly capable of good technique. I agree many senseis dont expect as much as they should from their children. As far as the son, let him go at his own pace, test when HE is ready, not when time is up. Theres nothing wrong with taking your time through the ranks, in fact its much better to do taht then advance when you are having trouble with ur basic material.

Yes the first couple times will be them learning how to play. After that when new students come into the class, they can learn it just from watching the rest of the class, because the core of the class will understand it.

Also, being cooped up inside during cold weather, makes illnesses more likely to spread, because everyone is in such close quarters.

We recently started a star card program at our school. We run it two different ways... For the youngest kids, they get a star every day that they are good in class, half a star if they are kinda good, and if they are bad, they dont get a star. They earn a purple stripe for every certain number of stars (different depending on the childs rank). Normal stripes are black, and they still test for those like the older kids. For the older kids, they get a star if they do really well in class, or if they get really good grades etc. They earn prizes with different numbers of stars. Perhaps something along these lines would work. BTW the cards are just a index card with the name of the child on it. It is the childs responcibility to keep track of their own cards. The stars are just basic star stickers.

As an idea, you may want to watch a karate movie or something once or twice during the week. This would also be a good thing to do after lunch, and the younger ones can take their nap time during the movie if they wanted to.

Well... If you aren't female, it might look particularly odd with you wearing a sports bra.

I've forgotten far more than I remember. Comes from moving and so switching schools and styles. The ones I remember right now, aren't traditional but are instead school forms, so none of you would know them.

just got one a couple weeks ago https://www.myspace.com/rateh

The essential way of internal kicking techniques?

Um... Open kata competition isnt MENT to be like traditional kata. I'd be SHOCKED if the stuff someone did in an open kata could be used in a real fight. Frankly, if someone did an open kata like that, they clearly have no idea what an open kata is. It's a totally separate devision from traditional, and to expect it to look like traditional is wrong. As far as open form competetors being able to do traditional as well... My instructor has been competing in both for many years (around 10-15). He has excellent basics for traditional, as well as being able to do all the fancy 540s and stuff for open. I myself have competed once or twice in both of the devisions. I love the feel of a traditonal kata, the sharp powerful basics. But I also love being able to do the more flashy kicks etc. Both have there place, and neither takes away from the other. Both take a lot of precision and control, power and agility. Sorry for the ranting, but it urks me when I hear people saying "that wont work in a fight" about open form competition.

10 mins for sparring? Is everyone going to spar at once, or only a pair at a time? If its only a pair at a time, that isnt long enough at all... Otherwise it sounds pretty good

Well, my mother says i went to a tournament when i was very young (1 or 2 years old), but i dont remember that... My first memory is when my brother (1.5 years younger than me) took a parent-child karate class with my father when i was five years old.

I dont get payed, and that bothers my bf. Hes not my spouse, but we intend on getting married some day. I teach 10 classes a week, as well as sitting on the testing panel once a month.

For kids our beginner classes are 30 mins, our intermediate are 45, and are advanced are 1 hr. The classes run 4 days a week, and we encourage students to go at least 3 of the four days. There are three basic things i focus on in beginner classes...basics, takedowns, and kicks. I usually do one a day, sometimes i do two in one day. Basically you just dont do everything every day, but if you come 3 days a week, you will go over everything at least once a week. When i take the attendance, we dont do cards, i put a letter instead of an x for here. K means we did kicks, F means we did forms, S means sparring, etc. This is how I can keep track of who has learned what, so that I dont keep teaching the same things to the same kids, and missing things. Oh and our class sizes are small, average beginner class is 10 kids, intermediate is 5, and advanced is 12. At least right now, it fluctuates of course. Sorry for the rambling.

When we have a large class (too big for running laps), then sometimes we warm up with "run and get the bag"....make 2 or three lines of students on one side of the dojo, and put the same number of small hand pads on the other. The first student in line runs and grabs the pad on their side and runs back and gives it to the next student in their line. The second student runs and puts it back, then tags the third student, who goes and gets it again. The game continues till everyone starts to get tired. Another warm up i do in the beginning class is "the commands game". All students start on a line facing toward the rest of the dojo (they are going to be running). After reviewing commands (i ask them what each one means, and then what language it is in, because we use japanese and korean), we start the game. If i say go, they run, if i say stop, they stop, if i say go back, they run back, if i say attention, they get in attention stance, etc, all in japanese or korean. Usually i start off with the whole class just doing go and stop. Then I do two or three students at a time, who are at the same level, with the more advanced beginners doing harder commands, and the newer ones doing only stop and go still. In the intermediate class i started doing sensei says with japanese and korean. The first few times they can keep their eyes open. After that they have to close them so that they can't watch the other students. Obstical course is also a popular warm up, i change it depending on what ranks and ages are in the class. One thing that i do (even for the 3 and 4 yaer old white belts), is they have to set up and put away their obstical course. For the younger ones i tell them each what to do. For the older ones, i tell them to set it up, and help the ones who dont know. When its time to put it away, i give them a time limit, say 45 seconds to have everything away and all students standing in a ready stance at the wall. In the beginners class they have 1 pushup for every 3-5 seconds over. In the intermediate and advanced class they have 1 push up for every second they went over. If they are really lousy and dont work together, that can add up to over 30 or once or twice 50. On to end of the class games... Jump over the rope is a game we play, especially in the beginning class. It teaches to jump properly for flying kicks and diving rolls. Hold the rope at the appropriate level for the kid to jump, they run and jump off of one foot and land on two. Progressivly get it harder for each student. Jump over the river is similar, but instead of hight its distance. Tricks on the mat is when we put the big mat out (1 to 1.5 feet thick) and they get to jump over the rope, or sometimes without the rope, onto the mat. They can do any trick they want, but they cant do one they have never done before, and they have to land on the mat and not hurt themselves. This was a favorite with our 9-11 year old boys. Dodgeball is done with all the students agains't the wall, and the instructor throws it. I try and aim just above the knee and lower, because when i started then i hit a few boys in the groin -.-. If you get hit, then u go sit at the mirror and wait for everyone else to get out. "stop and go" is another game i made. You use a handpad, with the hitting surface being go, and the handle side being stop. All the kids start on the line facing you. First one is always running keeping your hands up in fighting position. When you show the pad side, they run, when you show the other side, they have to freeze where they are. If they dont freeze they get 3-5 pushups (i used to do 10, but that takes forever in the beginning class). Next time down they might do front kicks, then maybe crawl. I like to change it up between karate techniques and silly things. Crawl is the best one for catching students, they get so into the crawl they forget to watch for the stop signal. In the intermediate class we do kata races. Do your kata as fast as you can (dont have to have good technique, but there has to be SOME technique). Whoever messes up is out, whoever finishes first without messing up wins. Intermediate class also plays "sensei doesnt know anything", where i pretend im a brand new whitebelt and i know no karate at all. Its their job to get me through Ichi (our first kata), telling me which way to go, fixing my stances, showing me how to punch correctly, etc. Thats all i can think of at the moment, if I think of more i might type them. Hope it wasnt too confusing to read.