DWx

We did Zoom classes and just this last week opened our in-person classes back up. I have to say video teaching has made me a lot more creative with space and solo exercises. Though we are back to class we can't do any paired work so no padwork or sparring of any kind and we have to keep distance between each student.

My current rank and qualifications are hung up in my home office. but nothing in the rest of the house. I'd consider it on the same level as my university degree... took as much time and effort.

From what I can see from friends most of Europe seem to back training with contact as they locked down hard from the start. I'm disappointed that the UK took so long to lockdown (and that it was a softer lockdown) as we're only just getting back to indoor training now and with lots of restrictions.

These are all great points. Something I've considered for some time, should I ever run my own school again, is providing new white belts with a notebook to start out with, and tell them to write something down in it every night after class. Mark the date, and then just make notes....what was hard, what you found interesting, what you hated, etc...and then I'd have them bring it back periodically just to see things from their perspective. I think they would be quite revealing, and help instructors out in teaching their students. And, to see the adventure through their thoughts, and not how I see them progress. That's a good idea, might start implementing that

Congrats Wado Heretic!

One thing that I thought the American Taekwondo Association did right, regardless of how other stylists feel about the organization as a whole, is copyright their materials. I was going to ask how the ATA did everything. Seems like they have good branding and consistency.

Definitely would buy my own dojang and fitness centre. Could teach students without having to worry about overheads.

Bit late to the party but on the whole my style is very regulated. I do ITF Taekwon-Do and we are well governed from the International level right down. We have to pay an annual fee to own a plaque which gives us the right to say we are ITF. Then we have to affiliate or be a member of an NGB in my country which also govern our activities. Colour belts are mostly unregulated but blackbelts each have a certificate number which is registered at headquarters and then every course you do, international event you attend etc. gets tied to you. Though.... there are 3 ITF's now (debate over which is the "real" ITF) and many groups which practice ITF-style which aren't as well governed. There's nothing stopping someone from buying the dobok and using all the logos and badges even though they shouldn't

Finally have a date to return to indoor training! From the 25th July we've been able to meet indoors but I've been waiting for the go-ahead from the places I rent. Our first class back will be August 5th! No contact or paired work which limits us a bit and every student has to have a marked space on the floor, but so glad to finally be back to class.

I keep notebooks but I'm terrible at organizing them... I also have about 5 half finished ones as I always seem to misplace them I generally take notes on attending courses or seminars. Things that I learnt or I thought were taught and explained in a nice way. I don't really take notes from individual training sessions unless something particularly resonated with me. In ITF TKD we're quite fortunate in that General Choi wrote a very comprehensive 15 volume encyclopedia for the style so I reference that more than my own notebooks. I also have the condensed version which is stuffed with post-its and pieces of paper I've made notes on. I also recently bought the Kindle version and have started trying to add my bookmarks to that. More recently I have started trying to compile and file my lesson plans which I make notes on. What worked, what didm't. My thinking is that in a couple of years time I'll have a huge library of lesson plans to pull from when I need some inspiration. sensei8 you're mom sounds so dedicated and its awesome that she was so involved with your learning!

Trainers. Or I have several pairs of TKD shoes which you'll find flex more and are lighter weight than running shoes but won't stabilise you. They're probably as close as you could get to being barefoot. Adidas, Daedo, Mooto and Kwon are probably the more well-known brands.

Done various ones. Such as 25 for 25 days. Most are about discipline and commitment as the challenge itself is not that difficult, sticking to it is. We do push ups in class but with a focus on explosiveness. Slow down then fast up - ideally clapping. That same explosiveness is what you want when you punch. One of the ones I've been making everyone do lately is 5 explosive push ups every 30 seconds. Every time the timer goes off you do the 5 with as good form as possible. Usually for 20 rounds or 25 rounds. Really works your arms properly as I find with the bigger rep challenges like 25 or 50 push ups, people cheat on the form.

I think it'll be some time before we can train fully again. Though on Monday we can now meet in groups of 6 as long as it is outdoors and we stay 2m away. Elite sport can do contact training in small groups and I know GB Taekwondo are back at it.

Our colour belt and black belt gradings are very different. Colour belt gradings are done in school and are mostly up to the individual instructor. (Though you can only promote up to half your grade). I run mine separate from classes and they take an hour to 2 hours per grade. Students will do all their fundamental movements, forms, sparring (both set and free depending on the grade), theory and board breaking from 6th kup up. Blackbelt 1st through to 3rd are done on a national level and for us that means a 2 day seminar and then you grade at the end. The seminar covers everything from white belt up (though only intermediate and advanced grades are present). and you are watched the whole time before grading at the end in from of everyone. You can be asked to demonstrate anything up to your grade. For 4th dan and above you have to apply to international headquarters for approval and they have to approve your examiner too. On your application you have to show what you have done outside of your school such as seminars, competitions (as coach, umpire or competitor), travelled to other schools etc. and for 4th itself you have to submit a thesis on a chosen subject. (I actually make my 1st dans write a mini-thesis to be submitted to me as it helps me understand where they are with their understanding). 4th and above testing is sometimes done nationally at the same time as 1st to 3rd but more often you have to travel internationally to test at the end of a 3 day technical seminar. My sister for example took her 4th in Austria. 7th is when you become a master and the end of the formal syllabus. They have to submit an application to headquarters detailing what they have done outside of their own training such as how many students they have, how many blackbelts, who they have taught, what courses and certifications they have etc. I'm told the physical test is less exam and more demonstration of your abilities. 8th and 9th are not tested for and are based on what you have given back not on what you can do.

Similar to online teaching, what are your thoughts about online gradings? With COVID-19, a lot are now teaching online and some I know are even doing colour belt gradings online. Thoughts? Personally this is where I draw the line as I do testing days where everyone is on the floor and we cover all their syllabus including testing their application of techniques in sparring. I know Gracie University has used video testing for some time but curious to know if anyone would consider it? I think if COVID goes on for a really long time, I might award some provisional ranks (9th and 8th kups) so we can move on in the syllabus but they would have to test in person to get this confirmed.

The bold type above is pretty much why I've not ever been a proponent of this teaching model. Doesn't mean that this teaching model isn't another means, just to many hiccups for all concerned. Imho. Given that there is no chance to train face to face, this is the next best thing. I'd bet that students have less bad habits with 3 months video instruction rather 3 months solo practice with no instruction.

Did you decide to do it? Or not?

Don't write it off before you try it. In the past I was skeptical about such an approach but I've now been doing online classes for three weeks. It won't ever replace normal class and you can't expect the same level of results from it but it is better than nothing and you would be surprised what you can accomplish. I've been doing Fundamentals (with verbal correction), sections from our forms, sparring combos and general fitness and flexibility. Doing sit ups and push ups to an online video is not really that different from being told to do it in class and I know I push myself harder when others are working hard too. If you want to see what I've been doing: https://www.facebook.com/NuneatonTKD/videos/255321625503182/ Since then we've had guest instructors from other schools come online and teach, and had a yoga teacher come do a regular Friday slot. I'm doing it for a number of reasons: 1. Maintain my community - a very small percentage of my students come to me for self-defence, most of my students (children) are with me to improve confidence, because they're being bullied, because they more focus and self-discipline... I can keep that going via video and ensure that my students feel like they are still connected to me and each other. They love it. Both adult and junior students spend time before and after class chatting with each other. A lot of people here in the UK are not leaving the house except for grocery shopping and this is a chance for them to connect with someone else. 2. Business - following on from the above, if I maintain the sense of community, I maintain how many students want to pay to learn from me. I'm not in this to make money but equally I'm not doing this for charity. When this is over and we go back to normal, I don't want to start from scratch and have to recruit students all over again. I have a relatively new school (started in Sept 2018) so most of my students are beginners and not seasoned blackbelts. I want to make sure as many as possible come back and this is one way of making sure that they will do. 3. Maintain existing skills - I know I'm going to have limited success teaching something new (though I did manage to teach everyone the first half of last week, even the white belts), but I can try to keep everyone on the ball with their current skills. Particularly the children who need more guidance on what and how to practice. I can also keep teaching general concepts and teaching movement patterns for sparring.And if I'm honest, there's personal benefits too. It totally makes my week when I get to see and connect with all my students. I get six year olds showing me the drawing they did that day and adults telling me how they look forward to forgetting about everything and just training for an hour.

Interesting callback and thought. You're right. Yes, very interesting indeed. Something about necessity being the mother of invention? Or in this instance, innovation. Yes it won't totally replace it as its near impossible to do any live or resistance drilling, and unless they are lucky to have someone else at home who trains its impossible to teach sparring. But as far as fundamentals, forms and basic sparring drills it works. Honestly the biggest benefit is keeping that community feeling going. People will stick around the club longer, and will come back to it once COVID-19 is gone, if they feel part of a wider community. I'm making a conscious effort to try to include and connect with everyone as much as possible to keep them all going.

I'll be continuing it whilst we are in this situation. Its' keeping the kids especially engaged and the parents are appreciating it as it helps provide some structure to the week. Plus it keeps me focused with my own training. Definitely challenging trying to teach when you cannot physically correct or engage with a student but if anything is forcing me to become better with how I verbally explain things. It's funny because on KF over the years there have been many posts on whether online training can work, the Gracies have already done it to an extent with Gracie University, but the general consensus was that it was a horrible idea. I don't think it will ever replace direct instruction but having had to do this now I can see it having a place. How are you handling tuition during this time? Are you still charging full price for online lessons? That's a good question as I know amongst fellow instructors here in the UK there are differing views on this. Basically I have given members three options: * continue with the same monthly payments and I comp their next colour belt grading and annual licence (insurance) * reduced payments - they tell me what they can afford from £1 through to the full amount, and I will comp their next grading * freeze payments Regardless of which option they choose they can do as many online classes they want per week (I do Mon, Weds, Fri) and can have complimentary one-to-ones or video reviews. I've also tried to bring added value by having guest instructors such as the yoga teacher who now does 30 mins on a Friday and ran a free 3 hour session with a sport psychologist about positivity and coping strategies. The vast majority have left their payments in place. I've had 3 people freeze due to losing their income and 2 reduce down. And this is out of 60+ paying members. My argument for not freezing the payments across the board is that I'm still bringing value and if anything its harder work running this type of class. I also have overheads still going out like instructor insurances, web hosting, advertising etc. and now have to pay subscriptions for decent web conferencing software.

I'll be continuing it whilst we are in this situation. Its' keeping the kids especially engaged and the parents are appreciating it as it helps provide some structure to the week. Plus it keeps me focused with my own training. Definitely challenging trying to teach when you cannot physically correct or engage with a student but if anything is forcing me to become better with how I verbally explain things. It's funny because on KF over the years there have been many posts on whether online training can work, the Gracies have already done it to an extent with Gracie University, but the general consensus was that it was a horrible idea. I don't think it will ever replace direct instruction but having had to do this now I can see it having a place.

I personally would tell him. Best is he may reevaluate what he's doing and change, worst is he gets upset (but if you're leaving it won't matter).

Did my first online class last night. We had 24 in attendance! Did a 15 min work out, 20 mins line work, 20 mins sparring combos, then the rest of the hour we finished off with core exercises and a cooldown. Given how much lag there was with students set ups, I think with these sessions its less technical instruction and more just drilling drilling to make everyone work up a sweat. Class seemed to enjoy it. Anyone else run an online class yet?

We did a test run with the blackbelts on Friday with Zoom. Great software, but very weird teaching to a camera and not being able to physically interact with people. Also challenging setting up the room and lighting.

I think the biggest challenge is lack of space. Most will have space to do two or three steps max so no chance to do full forms. We could look at individual movements though and small kicking combinatiions. I've got very limited space at home too. We're still on lockdown so no chance for me to go to a sports hall to film.