Sandan-

you know when you are there when you don't have to think about what you throw, it will happen with time... good kuck

When you take over a club, you need to take control right away. I had the same problem when I took over my sensei's club. Students ( usually younger) will see what they can get away with for the first while. If you let them get away with anything form the first class on, they will try for as much as they can get. Just keep to your game plan and everything will work out. Taking over a club at a junior rank will always be a challenge until you show them you can provide as much guidance as your sensei. Chris Sandan, FKSA

Round house kick is one of the most difficult to do because you have to pivot, balance and stop the kick from being over extended. This kick will also come with practice. One thing to look out for is when yo kick, do not let your arms fan out for balance. This will become a habit which the body does for balance. It will show up everywhere in your training (basics, sparring) and will become you enemy as in sparring oppoents will taje advantage of this opening and in basics, you will be critiqued over and over. The only advice I can give is practice it like crazy and keep your knee up.

These guys have all gave great advise. Any technique needs a lot of practice to become effective with good form & power. The point of kata I always teach my students is the more you work on speed the more your power & form will suffer, the more you work on form the more your speed will suffer, the more you work on power, the more your speed and form will suffer. The key here is listening to your instructor at what they have to say and practice, pratice, practice. At your rank, your are still very new to kata and your techniques will improve with time. Good luck

I am not sure at what stage you are at but the first thing you need to do is find a good location that will fit the amount of students you are planning on teaching with a price you will be able to afford. This can be the hardest part of creating a school (that's our problem here) If you are creating a school from scratch, having help is always good. Maybe a member from the school you are a member of right now. Once your students start to progress, you will need assisntance as you can only teach one group and there will eventually be different levels. There is loads more to plan for. This is only the beginning of a long and fun journey. I hope you are successful and wish you luck!

Totally agree...

Don't use kids short term improvement as a gauge of success. Kids are very different to tech. One thing I have used is repetition. Don't move onto the next technique or whatever you are doing until they have an understadning of what you are teaching. If it is the basics, like a block, make sure they can do it before moving on. Katas are a little different. I start with the first technique, once they have the first one down, we move to #2 then back to #1 and 2 and when they are remembered, we move to #3 and so one. I have left class many times thinking 'that class was a write-off' but really it wasen't because you are moving them forward, just at their own pace and not what you feel is their pace.

Great feedback everyone. I had somewhat of the same situation when I took over a club. I found the dis-respect to be short term. In my case it wasen't as bad as I was already a Shodan (1st Dan) and was running the class a lot when my Sensei was away. The key here is to take no crap, anytime!! Always follow through with disciplining and the respect will follow. The students are actually putting there feelers out to see what they can/can't get away with. This usually happens from a disipline perspective which you have probably come across. Your situation around the students telling you they don't need help, that's unacceptable. I would have a one-on-one discussion with the student and tell them this is how it is going to happen and if you don't accept instruction then you will need to resign from the dojo. This would be in addtion to having a meeting with your Sensei. You will find this will get better after awhile but the biggest challenge is making sure this does not wear off onto other students (younger ones).

Be sure not to keep your guard up too high or you will leave this area open. The rib cage is a favourite area for points.