bushido_man96

Perhaps you could talk to the pre-school coordinator about getting a chance to come to the school and talking to the class or having a meeting with the parents about what you have on offer.

What kind of recognition in particular are you looking for with the grades?

These are all very good points to consider as well. Thank you everyone, for the responses so far. Great responses!

This is so true. That was one thing that was nice in the ATA was that they had a structure laid out for becoming an instructor, and we had various clinics and what not that we participated in to work on teaching techniques.

How many years have you taught, just out of curiosity. I've been doing it a while, too. I don't think a kid's perception of the techniques and an adult's is necessarily different, or should be taught differently. Adults need to learn self-defense just as much as kids do. After all, more kids get bullied than adults do. If you can teach kids to successfully stave off bullying, then why can't they be a black belt?

Weaver would be the typical shotgun/rifle "hunter" stance you see. Isosceles would be with the body square to the target, two hands on the pistol grip, with the feet parallel or just a bit staggered. This is how LEOs learn to shoot, to keep a much of the vest presented forward as possible. Its also a very stable platform to shoot from. I usually close one eye when I shoot. You can try to shoot with both open, and some people do it well; I just don't do practice it, really. Sometimes I'll open both eyes, but squint the non-dominant one so I can focus on the sights better.

I enjoy Gae Baek quite a bit.

You say you won't give a full dan grade to anyone under 16, but your son will have all that adult, full dan grade knowledge by the time he is 12. Why make him wait? Or any other student? Will you make them wait, and then take a "full dan" test when they come of age, charging them more for that testing? Many would call that a "McDojo" ploy to gain more money. Or, you make them stay in the system at that age longer, therefore bringing more monthly dues out of them; another one of those money-seeking McDojo ploys. I'm not saying you run a McDojo; I know enough from your posts to know that quite the opposite is the case, Dobbersky. But, can you see what I am getting at in the "fight against child black belts" cause that keeps going on?

Here is the important question: Is the quality of instruction and the knowledge learned at the school good quality and effective? Everyone sees the money going in there. Yeah, some seems questionable, like with the stripes, but, no one is asking if the instruction is good and if the curriculum is reliable. I would pay a bit extra if the school is that good. Especially since it takes a bit of money to keep good schools around, for the most part.

That would be fun, and I know there would be value there, for sure. Although I feel you would have considerably more experience and knowledge in Tuite, but whereas someone like myself or Alex would have more experience in using Tuite/joint manipulation to bring someone under control for arrest and detention, as opposed to just breaking someone, and where as a different instructor might use it as a way to get away and affect an escape.

Thanks for the response, MP. I can see this as a good idea, too. With that said, especially your last statement, if not an ammy MMA fight, what about some level of competition pertinent to the style? Also, in regards to the MMA idea, I can see value in making a student go out and find the instruction they would need in order to compete in the MMA ring by rounding out their abilities; if they need ground experience, by finding that somewhere...perhaps like a high school student taking up Wrestling for a few years to gain some ground experience.

10/12/2012 AM session at the clinic. 45 minutes.

I don't think Kata really has to be a mainstay in order for Karate to be Karate. Other styles successfully complete their curriculum without kata, and Karate could do so, as well. I'm pretty sure there was a time when there was "empty hand" with out katas, and the katas were designed as time went on. Now, just because you drop the katas, doesn't mean that Karate becomes "just Kickboxing." It can become that, if you want, or, the focus can remain on self-defense through only the bunkai practice, along with other paired work to improve self-defense aspects. I think problem lies in that Kata has been such a big part of Karate for such a long time that no one thinks it should ever be removed.

I just wanted to throw this out there to see how much of a mix I can get in responses, and why everyone feels the way they do. So, the question is, what would your thoughts be on making at least one "cage fight," or more appropriately, one MMA fight under the belt, a requirement to test for a black belt? Now, notice I didn't say winning was a requirement, just competing in one fight. Let everyone's thought processes commence!

I don't think this has to be the case and definitely not always a symbol of a belt factory. You're not teaching them martial arts itself. If anything it's teaching the life lessons of martial arts with a bit of motor skills thrown in. We have a Little Warriors programme at my school and the kids go through that then when they're old enough they start the proper programme from white belt. It often gives them a leg up on other students because they already know the procedure and what's expected of them and have better control over their techniques than total beginners. Maybe you could call it a glorified gymnastics programme but it is a great way of attracting students who can then feed into your main class. And you can think of it as 1-2 hours of your week doing something which can generate money for you to use for proper students: buying equipment or help subsidise their training fees. I'm still trying to figure out why its bad for a 10 year old to earn a black belt. If he starts at 5, then that's 5 years in a program. Why do we all have to be old to be masters?That said, I don't think just because there is a kids program = belt factory. Our Little Lions program runs a completely different belt system than our regular program, and is designed to prepare kids for regular classes when they get older. At our school, if it wasn't for the kids program, we probably wouldn't be generating enough income to keep the adult program alive. Now that our school is coupled with a gym, we have the gym memberships to help keep us afloat, too. So that's another way to think of things; parents are always looking for activities for their kids, and many activities only run seasonally. MA programs run year round. And just because you start a kids program doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your standards to the adult programs. As for the answer to the question, I think definitely marketing to the parents is the way to go. One idea would be to see if you can link up with the local recreation department, maybe run your program through that rec department, and try to get things going from there. Lots of parents flip through those magazines to look for their children's activities; I know I did it for my son when looking to start activities. That's one way to go.

I see what you are saying here, Bob, but I see what Danielle is asking, too. And after being an instructor for so long, I can understand your answer. But, I think what Danielle is asking, is when, as a Martial Artist in general, did you start to see not only that a technique was "wrong," but why it was wrong, and what said student was doing that made it wrong or inefficient or whatever. I don't think I can pinpoint when this came about for me. It was probably around the time I was earning my original black belt when I was in the ATA. I was doing more teaching, and I was learning to not only see what it was that a student was doing wrong, but also figuring out how to correct it, and how to describe this to each individual student, as each one learns differently. I'm still getting better and better at this to this day. Its kind of fun for me when a student presents a challenge in being able to ascertain where they are going wrong, and then explaining it and demonstrating it to them so they understand and register how to work on correcting it. Its one of the truly fun aspects of teaching.

Great response, ShoriKid. Good points.

That does make sense, thank you. Are you a student in your school, or are you the instructor?

I so envy the guys who can do that.

Thanks. There is a lot to remember. Can't imagine what it is going to be like once I get out of being a white belt!! You'll be surprised how much sticks with you. Just keep reviewing and practicing.

Yeah, a dramatic movement like a head kick could get a good flinch reaction out of them.

Teaching kids does present its own set of very rewarding challenges as opposed to teaching adults. But what I find odd about your question is that you talk about what it is kids can learn in comparison to adults. I've never had a problem with teaching kids proper mechanics in things, like not leaning forward on a lunge punch, or getting the feet right in stances, or getting the proper hip movements involved. Instead of concerning myself with what kids can learn, I instead focus on how kids learn. It takes a different approach to teach kids, and therefore to get them convinced of the same things I teach adults. Now, it is up to each instructor to make sure they do a good job of being consistent with promotion when it comes to their child students.

Man, that's a bummer. I guess, at any rate, what we've learned is to wait until its closer to time, and not be too early.

All good points, Reaper. Especially about psychology. Training the mind in that way, to deal with fear and overcome, is probably the most important aspect of self-defense.

It depends on how strongly each person feels about their knowledge and skills, and it could very well be a conglomeration of two people not necessarily competing for the lead, but each one contributing mightily to the topic at hand.