Quien

Hello. I'm looking for some kind of software for pocketpc which allow me to make a daily control on attendance to class. I mean, having a list and each day mark who has attended and who hasn't. Also, it would be interesting to let me give my pupils some "effort points", since it is a system I started using last year to praise them, but keeping it on papers when you have a lot of classes isn't very comfortable. Do you know any software like this? I have seen several programs but oriented for college teachers with so much options that it gets ususable for this. I want something simple. Maybe I will have to end programming it myself.

Yes, of course, here we have that kind of lessons, as a special training for competitors, but we don't charge for that. I understood it as a way to learn a martial art without previous contact with it.

When I first saw this post, I have to recognize I thought it was a strange question. But then, reading your replies, I have realised how differently martial arts are understood and practised in different places of the world. I explain. I'm spanish, and here you can take private classes of maths, physics...but not for martial arts, I think. Martial arts is understood as an activity in which group practise and pair workd is very important, and not as a subject which could be taught in private lessons. (how many private lessons and money would you have to invest to get a black belt degree?). So, it is not usual -at least I have never heard about anyone doing that- to take private lessons for this things, and I would be interested to know how do you develop that kind of lessons. How do you orient it? To learning some self-defense, to learn the whole martial art itself, to empower individual activities like kata...Also I suppose that being only 2 people at a class limits a little bit the range of exercises you can practise. Are you all american? Any other non-american poster who can tell us his experience in his country? Apart from that, on other posts I have read about assistance control in order to pay the monthly fee. Do you pay for classes attended or you pay a monthly fee and you can assist to as many classes as you want? Here at Spain the most extended way -almost the only way used here, I think- is to pay a certain amount of money each month (at my gym a month costs about 35 €, being a euro a little bit more than a dollar), and you can practise so long as you want, if the tatami is free, and attend your lessons (3 a week, but with special trainings for competitors everyday apart from normal lessons), and also using fitness room, weights... Sorry for my english

I have been teaching kids during these last years and, from my point of view, a 20 minutes class shouldn't be effective at all. They waste a lot of time in doing such simple things as sitting in seiza, making a row...so in a 20 minutes class you won't be able to teach almost anything. My classes last for an hour and I think that maybe 45-50 minutes would be the best. Try to prepare your class in advance so that everything takes place as you thought. 10-15 minutes of warming up and the rest of the class for karate itself, counting on that if you want them to really learn, you will almost surely have to make some games or funny drills between the exercises so that they really enjoy the class and give the best of themselves while practising the new concepts.

Some people hurts sitting in seiza, it is a fact. Do both of your ankles hurt you? Try crossing them behind you when sitting in seiza so that one feet rests on the other one, instead of putting your leg under your sides, maybe it could help as knees don't need to be so blended.

Uuh..thanks a lot. My kids aren't going to be so thanked, I suppose. It is an interesting exercise I have seen in so many war films...but I had never used it in class. Jumping jacks is the same? I use this exercise for warming some times...with both feet going forwards and back together, and one after another.

I think all of us have gone through a time in which we didn't enjoy kata practising and thought it was a stupid exercise. Only with the time you realise how important they are to a martial artist formation, how much of real combat they have, and how they are the only working method to develope some aspects of the martial artist. If you don't realise about it, you aren't working them in a correct way, you are only looking to karate as a sport or a sparring method, or both solutions. It's in a superior kata where you see most of a martial artist techniques and skills, and what makes you realise about his real level in karate. At least, I understand it so.

I think the easiest way is stacking them leaning over bricks or similar on their sides, so that you hit in a place that has air under it. When stacking several of them, make the same so that they don't get all together or you won't be able to break them. Place wood, flat stones or bricks on their sides so that they are stable but with a space between each tile. Force generated by the strike to the first tile will be transmited to the next arc and so on to the rest. I have only seen it done by my instructor, and we usually break only wood boards.

Yes, I completely agree with you. Physical shape is very important for a martial artist, but I also like to distinguish it towards them as a punishment, to make it clear that we are doing boring things wasting the time we could be perfectly using in more productive tasks, so that they behave well afterwards. I like to punish the whole class when a person behaves in a bad way, so that they work as a team, but I also understand that section of the class always behaving properly and having to deal with other people's punishments. You have to see their faces... Apart from that, I'm spanish and I haven't found a traslation for "Squad thrusts\jumping jacks". Could you please describe them?

I prefer using rewards than punishments, but sometimes they become necessary. What punishments do you use? With children, I have noticed that putting them on a tiring stance (such as shiko dachi in karate) for a while works the best, since it is a punishment that you can easily control to be well done (if they stand up or talk, the time starts counting again), and it doesn't interrupt the rest of the class. Push ups don't look like working so well for me, as some of the children don't know/don't want to do them in a proper way. What other punishments do you use?

This game is very interesting since you can do a lot of variations, not only for kids. You can do it with numbers instead of colours and tell a mathematical operation (for example... 3 + 4 +1 -2) and you must run depending on result being even or odd....you can make it difficult in several ways, in order to get them really concentrated.

I suppose I didn't explain it well. I wasn't refering to tell the days you use for each kind of work, but a detailled explanation of classes so that we can learn one from anothers and get some exercises ideas. For example, the first class of the year with my karate kid's class: Running around the tatami. At instructor’s voice: - Touch the ground and jump - Skipping - Lateral running - Open legs and touch twice each toe - Crouch - Changes of direction - Abs and pushups - Quickly creation of groups formed by the number of people instructor says After a while, everybody stands in a circle and start with static warming, from head to toes, and then individual stretching. Camel game: One starts walking with her legs and arms, like a dog, and must touch the rest of the class. When one person gets touched, he goes down and starts chasing the rest, until the last one standing gets touched. Explanation of Suki, and individual work doing several series of 20 repetitions at the voice of the instructor. First slowly, then stronger, looking the technical details. Aplication of gyaku suki to a makiwara. Shoto Uke explanation Pairs work. Aka attacks with oi suki, and shiro blocks it with shoto uke then counterattack with gyako tsuki. Ki-hon with suki and shoto uke and basic movements. Grouped in groups of 3, one gets a ball, another one protects that person, and the last one must try to touch the ball. Pushups, abs and some phisical work to end the class. Relaxation lying on their backs.

Hello. I usually prepare my classes before going to schools, so that I know perfectly what to do there. I think it could be a good idea if you do the same that anyone who wants would paste here their detailed classes scheme, so that we could learn from other's people exercises and copy some of their work in order to save us some class planning. With adults/competitors it would be more difficult since their requirements vary a lot, but for children I think this would be a very valuable post.

Does that kind of homework really help the kids? I understand karate in a way that should influde over they lifes, but well differenced form school activities. I prefer them learning a lot in the class than making them feel overwhelmed for doing their worksheets as a special work apart from their school assignments. Maybe making them do (10 and upper) some small investigation work about their karate style to get the next belt or something special like that...but not frequent worksheets. Just point of views.

Shito Ryu to children at schools. So I want practical books for preparing and improving my lessons. I haven't read the master text, but I suppose it must be a very technical book about karate. I know my style deeply, and I want practical books. A lot of drills, class advices...In properly karate theory I'm quite well provided I think.