Rateh

I have made "home report cards" for the children to take home. There are 8 different themes. This week is responsibility. The report card has a list of various common responsibilities for children, as well as empty spots for the parents to add their own. Then the parents mark each day if their children fulfilled those responsibilities. On the bottom they circle "yes my child showed responsibility this week" or "no my child did not show responsibility this week". The children turn in the home report card when they hand in their attendance card at the beginning of class. If the parent has circled "no" then an instructor will speak with the child and their parent to find a way to help them with their home behavior. Each rank is required to have turned in a certain number of "home report cards" to advance. For example, to get white belt, they must turn in one home report card. (Other requirements to earn white belt are: to attend two classes, and to show in the second class that they are retaining information from the first)

As a female, if I wanted to kill someone, I'd hardly need a knife or weapon to do it.... PS. please don't take that as a threat toward yourself or anyone else

I've always worn a t-shirt under my uniform. I buy t-shirts for just that purpose. Never once did it occur to me that was too much, or made me more hot. It is just something I do for modesty, the same reason why I wear knee length shorts, and under-shirts for low cut tops. Just the way I was raised I guess.

I'm a gal. I have never worn women specific tops before. I have just always worn whatever the men and children were wearing for the school I was training at. Currently its just a black pullover dobok top with matching pants. I honestly don't understand what makes the women tops any better than what I'm wearing. The belt ties around my middle and pulls my top together anyway. The only problem I've ever had is that it comes completely untucked when I do a lot of jumping jacks. But I think that has more to do with the fact that I tie my belt a bit loose, plus I have seen plenty of children with the same problem. If I was going to make a perfect uniform, the only thing I would change is the length of the sleeves and pants. Or maybe a mix-n-match of one size of pants and a different size of top.

As a female, if I were to attack someone, I would hope the person would at least try to defend themselves.

The school where I train and teach is run by a Korean gentleman, but we use almost only English. There are a handful of Korean words, and we use them virtually every class so all of the students know them at white belt. I was never good at learning languages (tried both German and Italian in school), so I'm glad that's all we use. I always feel like I'm butchering the words as it is.

I think that defending oneself and going toe to toe in the ring for a match are two very different things. I am a small woman. I could defend myself against a larger man. I could not go toe to toe against one in the ring. In the street there are no rules, the goal is to get out of the situation as fast as possible. In the ring the rule-set is completely different. Comparing the two and saying if you can do one you should be able to do the other is comparing apples to oranges. That's like saying if you can box you should be successful in an Olympic sparring competition. Two completely different situations with two completely different sets of rules.

Generally divisions are listed as novice (white, yellow, orange), intermediate (green, blue, purple), advanced (red, brown), black belt (black). If your school doesn't do belts in that order, then the instructor just decides what ranks they consider in their school to be novice, intermediate, and advanced. Like my school has purple belt between yellow and orange, so purple is actually considered novice.

In taegeuk 6 I believe it is, you punch while stepping backward. Its a palm block/strike with the hand that ends up in front, and a punch with the hand that ends up in back (reverse punch). First the palm, then the punch as you land the stance. The stances are front stances. The form is a WTF Taekwondo form. As far as what kicks you can do from what stances, I'm sorry but I don't know the Japanese names for kicks or stances.

I agree that its all about where you live. Most of the time if a price is per session its in the uk, where prices are generally much lower for training. So its not really fair to compare prices when you are considering whether a dojang is charging too much. In my experience in various places within the us, most metropolitan areas charge $100+ a month for training, with some going as high as $250. Of course you will find places that charge less than other schools in the area (not counting rec and fitness centers), this doesn't mean that they are better or worse. In other words, while this price seems pretty high, it might be right around what other schools in the area charge (maybe on the high end of that, but still within the same ballpark).

I had an instructor once who didn't charge after you became a black belt. You also had to teach at least 200 hours as a brown belt to get your black belt. It turned into an issue where the instructor would hold people at brown belt because they were teaching his classes for free, and paying to do it. As far as what we currently charge, its $120 a month. Which is right in the range of what the other schools in the area are charging. And of course higher than the fitness and rec center type classes are charging (which is around $60 a month).

So, I have tendon problems with my feet, and I have difficulty breathing when I exercise. For those of you who have physical ailments, do you ever get like...really optimistic about your physical abilities? Today, for whatever reason, I did stuff I shouldn't have and injured myself. I know better, but I did it anyways! I ran really fast during warm-ups and hurt my foot. Then during sparring I got really into it and went too long and was more out of breath for longer than I have been in a long time. I know that I can't do certain things fast, or sometimes even at all, with my tendon issues. I know better than to run fast across the room. I know that I have to take a break to breath or I could end up lying on the floor. I know better than to just spar all out without taking any breathing breaks... Why did I do this today? Is it optimism? Is it stupidity? Has anyone else done anything like this?

I've always hated the "full contact against an adult" as a reason for not having child black belts. As an adult woman, coming in at just under 5'3" I am smaller than most middle schoolers today. I would not do well in a full contact match against an average sized adult male. I do think that there should be junior black belts, for students under the age of 15. 15 is generally the age when your brain has fully developed into an adult brain, at that point what they are lacking is simply life experience, and you can't put an age on that.

Thanks for the responses so far. As far as running it in a rec center, that is not an option. I am running it as part of a full time school, I will just be in charge of the 4-5 program. We do have a website and a facebook page, putting up pictures or video of parts of classes would be great, once we get the program going. As far as the whole babysitter/belt factory idea, I'm not concerned. While this program is new to this school, I have 12 years of experience teaching young children. No their program will not be nearly as complicated as the older programs. No they wont be doing contact sparring, knife defense, or anything of that nature. But they will be learning martial arts, the basic fundamentals that they will build on as they get older. Additionally, they will be earning white belts with colored stripes through the middle. I personally believe that it should be just as difficult for an adult to move from white belt to yellow belt, as for a 4-5 year old to move from white belt to white belt with a yellow stripe. Sure its a whole lot less to know and remember, but why in the world would I expect a 4-5 year old to be the same as an adult. And why in the world would I hold them back at the same rank for 2 years just because they AREN'T an adult. They are children, they learn as children, they remember as children, they have the coordination of children...but that doesn't mean that the CAN'T do martial arts, it just has to be techniques and requirements that are appropriate for...children! Now, back toward my original question. I'm thinking of using pre-schools to market. Now the question is, how will I get their parents on board? If you had a 4-5 year old in a pre-school, what would influence you to have them join a 4-5 year old martial arts program? Obviously I need to help them to see the value of what I am teaching, the question is, how do I go about that? I'm thinking flyers by themselves will not be very effective, I know at daycares and pre-schools the parents are given hand-outs and flyers all the time, and most of them don't read them... Thanks again for the suggestions, I look forward to reading more.

I remember as a new instructor I would watch a student do a technique, and I would think to myself that something is definitely wrong...but what? It took probably 2-3 years as an instructor before I could look at most techniques and immediately know what was wrong. A few more years and I could identify the root cause, and learn what worked on correcting a student. For example a student is kicking the target with the side of their foot for a roundhouse kick...what is wrong? Well generally they are kicking with the side because they didn't turn their hip and bend their knee. But further than that, they didn't rotate their base foot. (Which makes them unable to turn their hip, and from there unable to kick with the instep). So you can see how one act influences another and one cause CAUSES another. I'd say the more students you work with, the quicker you will learn to identify what is wrong, and what the root cause (or causes) are. Working with a few students for years will not give you nearly the experience of working with a hundred students over one year. (And if you don't teach, so you are only ever correcting your own body, it will take much much longer to learn to understand the causes) Every body moves differently, everyone has different trouble, but eventually you will see that most people have the same general reasons why their technique isn't working.

Hello, I have been given the opportunity to run a 4-5 year olds program at my taekwondo school. Without getting into the details of the program, how would you go about marketing to directly target 4-5 year old children? Any advice would be helpful, you don't need to be an expert, just throw an idea out, thanks so much!

At tournaments that I have been to ranks have been divided as: Beginner (White, Yellow, & Orange), Intermediate (Green, Purple, & Blue), Advanced (Red & Brown), and Black Belt This would seem to imply that, at least in the united states, belts follow a similar order in most schools. Schools may not use all of the colors, or be in the exact order, but from what I've found: if you have a white, yellow, or orange belt you are probably a beginner, if you have a green, purple, or blue belt you are probably an intermediate, etc. So White-Orange-Purple-Green-Brown-Red-Black would fit, as would any number of sequences. While I have heard of red being a beginner rank, I have not experienced it in any of the schools that I have trained at. If red is used its generally one of the ranks right before black, or used for higher black belt rank.

One thing to remember is that you don't have to do everything every class. They have their whole lives to perfect their basics. A good way to move through the basics effectively is to focus on one area or one aspect. For example do only kicks that day, then you have plenty of time to work on the techniques without rushing, and still move on to more curriculum. Or maybe you spend the basics portion of class working on hip action. Focusing on one aspect at a time will help the students focus better on perfecting that specific aspect without being distracted by trying to get everything right. This is especially helpful for beginners who get overwhelmed with all of the things they are doing wrong. Alternatively, if you have a small class, then have each student work on a specific area. For example, as you are going through basics you might notice that one of the students isn't chambering their back hand properly, so throughout basics just focus on correcting that one thing for them. As I said, just remember that they have forever to get perfect, if we focus on everything every day the students would never leave! So pick and choose what you want to do for that particular day, and stick to it. Bonus, if you are working on one aspect through basics, continue focusing on that same aspect for forms, sparring, self defense, etc (whatever else you work on for that class). This will help re-inforce the message. Good luck!

I'm ok with the handshake-pull in hug. The kind of hugging that was done in my last organization regularly is the "friend" hug. One arm low, one arm high, no hand shaking. Or occasionally the side hug, where you stand next to them and put your arm around them and squeeze their shoulder (which I'm also ok with).

The last organization I trained in, the instructor over Utah required head instructors of studios to hug their students. I didn't grow up with a lot of hugging, and it has always made me uncomfortable. I will say that I learned how to take a hug because of this expectation. However I still haven't learned to be comfortable giving hugs. Personally in my teaching I prefer to do pats on the back and things of that nature. Less intimate.

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Welcome!

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. In this article, I will discuss how you can proactively and reactively manage the behavior of a child in a martial arts class that you are leading. Proactive A proactive effort is something that what you do before a behavior occurs, to prevent said behavior. 1. Start the first day by giving clear expectations. 2. Be consistent in all of your expectations and discipline. 3. Tell students what TO do, not what NOT to do. 4. Compliment and praise those students who are behaving correctly, pointing out exactly what behavior they are displaying that you are pleased with. Examples include: "I love how Jason is looking at me while I'm talking," "Marcus is doing an excellent job keeping his hands still in ready stance" and "I really like Alice's attention stance; she looks just like a statue." Reactive This is when you must react after a behavior has occurred. 1. React immediately. If you wait then the child will not identify the behavior with the consequence, some children may not even remember the behavior. 2. Be consistent in how you deal with the behavior. The students need to know they can trust you. They also need to know you will be fair. 3. Before you use a punishment, remind students of the behavior you are looking for. Most students will fall in line when reminded. 4. Push-ups. Many new instructors do not believe any longer in using push-ups as a punishment. Push-ups are an appropriate wake-up call to students. It tells them that you are serious. It reminds them that you are in charge. 5. Focus on the behavior, not the child. 6. Make the punishment mean something. As soon as after the punishment or reprimand as possible, address the child privately to discuss their behavior. Explain what they did wrong, what was wrong about it, appeal to their better judgment and discuss other, more appropriate options. Example: "Instead of whining that you are thirsty, politely raise your hand and ask if you can get a drink." Then have the student practice raising their hand and asking. 7. After the punishment or reprimand has been sufficiently explained to the student, with the right choice understood; immediately praise the student when they demonstrate the correct behavior that you just discussed. Continue to notice said correct behavior and praise it accordingly until you feel that they will continue to display it even without your praise. Don't forget the other students when praising said student. Instructors who use the proactive methods effectively will find that they need to use reactive methods less and less. Age Appropriate Ways to Manage Behavior 3-4 year olds are looking to please. They do not understand big words or long sentences. Make your sentences short and use words and phrases that are familiar to them. Demonstrate and be an example of the behavior you are looking for. Have younger children (5-6 years old) who are well disciplined assist in their classes. This gives the 3-4 year olds someone to look up to who is close to their age. The closeness in age helps them better identify with their role model. Appeal to a 3-4 year olds sense of mean/nice; they will respond better if you explain things in those terms. Example: "It is not nice when you cut in line because the other students want a turn, too." Remember that 3-4 year olds are still learning what is appropriate. They need gentle guidance in the right direction, consistency and reprimands as appropriate. This age group learns best by doing and lectures are generally useless. 5-7 year olds are still looking to please. They understand more than 3-4 year olds, but still need simple directions. Always behave as you expect them to behave. Children 5-7 years old are learning about right and wrong. They need to know how their actions affect others. 5-7 year olds also need to learn their options. Most mean well, but they just don't understand the consequences of their actions. As always be consistent. With pre-teens (9-12), you should appeal to their sense of fairness. Make sure they understand how their actions influence those around them. Children of this age are more likely to become resentful if they feel that you are treating them unfairly. ALWAYS explain exactly what it is that they did wrong, and why you disciplined or reprimanded them for it. Children of this age like belonging to a group. Of all age groups, the pre-teens are more likely to respond to group discipline. Address the whole class in group discipline, state what "they" are doing wrong and compliment "them" when they correct their behavior. Teens want to be treated like adults. Make sure that they understand that the more responsibly they behave the more self expression and independence they will receive. Explain to the teens that if they act like children, they will be treated accordingly. If they act like adults, again they will be treated accordingly. Let the teens choose drills, warm-ups, the number of times they will perform a technique, etc. Also give them time to work independently, as well as in loosely supervised groups. Teach your teens to be leaders and give them opportunities to practice. When they act inappropriately, appeal to their sense of responsibility. Teens also need to know that their opinions are valued, so give them opportunities for self expression. Remember that you are trying to mold them into well balanced adults, but they aren't yet adults and responsibility given to them should be appropriate to the situation and student. Many of these points can apply to more than one age group and not all children fit into these categories. This is just a general guide to get an instructor started. The more consistent you are with your class management, the more the students will learn self discipline.

Interestingly, the WTF form Koryo (a taekwondo form), uses two step in FRONT side kicks.

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