angelica d Posted June 9, 2004 Posted June 9, 2004 Hey guys! Last night at the dojo I was waiting for the kids to arrive for class and this little girl, about ten years old or so, came in saying 'Hi Angelica!'. I have a terrible mind for remembering names (duh!) and this girl is a newbie, so I was quite impressed. Then she actually offered to sweep the floor for me, and when the senior instructor told her that I would be teaching her the basics again, she jumped up and down, clapping her hands saying 'Yay!'. I've not been teaching long, so was quite taken aback, but I thought it was really sweet! I have a fan! Has anyone else got a fan amongst their kids class? Just thought I'd share it with you all! "Weaseling out of things is what separates us from the animals . . . except the weasel."- Homer J Simpson
Luckykboxer Posted June 9, 2004 Posted June 9, 2004 This will usually happen to anyone who is put into the position of teaching kids, especially in something that intrigues them. whether it be soccer, karate, chess, basketball, etc. Now stepping up and becomming an instructor, or stepping into that task brings some interesting things. first once you become someones hero, role model, mentor, etc. you really have to be careful about how you come across not only in the karate studio, but outside as well. If you are like most people you will be teaching in or near an area you live, and its quite possible you will run into people you teach outside of class. The parents, the kids will all look to what you are doing, and you are setting an example for those kids... like it or not thats part of the deal. Its pretty powerful, but it can also get to a point where it can be a little scary.. I would take the risk to say that most people in the martial arts, especially ones that are around long enough to teach tend to lead fairly respectable lives that i have seen. Just remember that kids are fairly fragile emotionally... and you are now in a position to make a large influence on these kids live, both positive, or negative. The positives of having kids look up to you is incredible. Hopefully you wont ever have to feel the negatives of letting one down.
CloudDragon Posted June 9, 2004 Posted June 9, 2004 I agree 100% with luckyboxer. You are in a great position to influence this child. Be a positive role model at all times because you never know when little eyes will be on you. Also, kudos to you, your enthusiasm for the martial arts has carried over to this child, make sure it carries over to everyone in your dojo! A Black Belt is just a white belt that don't know when to quit!
battousai16 Posted June 9, 2004 Posted June 9, 2004 awww, that's so cute! i have to little fans, my next door neighbors, ones 3 and ones 5. they see me training in the back yard every now and then and one of them said i was the best in the world. they couldn't figure out why i started laughing, but it was still really cute "I hear you can kill 200 men and play a mean six string at the same time..."-Six String Samurai
angelica d Posted June 9, 2004 Author Posted June 9, 2004 LOL! Whenever I train where people can see me, they just laugh! Luckykboxer, I totally agree with you, its cute but scary that a kid will look up to me after only seeing me once or twice. But I reckon I can be a good role model, so hopefully I won't let them down "Weaseling out of things is what separates us from the animals . . . except the weasel."- Homer J Simpson
xtremartialarts1 Posted June 25, 2004 Posted June 25, 2004 That's very good that you have a little person that looks up to you. As you teach more and more, try to build relationships with more students. Go up to them after class and tell them what a good job they did. Get comfortable around their parents as well. However, be careful. Don't get too close to people or they will start to take advantage of you.
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