Instructing kids class

[40 cent]

hey guys,

i am currently a blue belt in kyokushin karate and have been training consistently for about 2 years. i have recently began helping my sensei take a kids class one night a week. i just help in demonstrating technique and so forth, but my teacher wants me to take a simple part of the class in order to help my own teaching abilities.

im responsible for taking an activity to last around 10 to 15 minutes that will help in developing karate skill but will also help in maintaining interest and take the 'drain' out of relatively hard and mundane training for kids.

i need some ideas. i took a relay type exercise last week which started well, but it was far from creative. my question is, i need as many, and varied activities as possible that help areas such as footwork, stamina, technique, whatever, just as long as they are fun.

thanks very much for any help. cheers.

[1st KYU]

footwork game. have everyone spread out. you call out 1- everyone shuffles foward with jab, 2- back with a cross, 3- left jab-cross, 4 cross-jab.

if they hesitate they sit out, if they get the punches in the wrong order they sit out, if they cross step they sit out..etc.

you go until the last person i standing and that is the winner.

you should tell them to sit out if you see them mess up, but make them aware if they know they did it wrong they should sit out on there own. it makes them practice honesty.

[ditto01]

Two things I enjoy doing is to show a few techniques and how they would actually be used as a defense. Then from the front of the class I initiate the offense and have everyone in the class do the defense. Like I slide forward, they slide back. I do a backleg roundhouse, they answer with a front leg round house. It makes them think and keeps their interest.

Another is to call off techniques fairly quickly and they do it whenever it is called out. Pushup, hop, kicks, punches, stances, etc. It helps their listening and cardio. If they are having a high energy night, it works of some of the energy so they can concentrate when you move to forms or improving techniques.

[opaque333]

One thing we do with our kids is to line them all up at one side of the dojang, then when we say go they have to to 1 technique for every step they take and go all the way to the other side of the dojang. If they take a step and dont do a technique they have to start over.

We do that a couple times, then we put down a challenge for them to do it again, but this time they can only do a technique once.

I think it helps to make them think and realize how many techniques they actually know, as well as to get out some extra energy.

[ladyj]

put a martial art spin on an old game: Sensei Says stationary front stance left leg forward. Sensei says progressive reverse punch.. backfist. Simple but the kids love it. Just remember you're training different levels at once so it has to be a technique that beginners can do as well as intermediate and advanced. We like to split our classes up when we do this. Good luck and don't give up.

[40 cent]

ok thanks for the help. what about in terms of just 'fun' exercises that arent necessarily karate based. for instance just fitness games or exercises that i could 'pass off' as being 'stamina' and footwork' training, without resorting back to tiggy :s.

i just want a couple of exercises to break up the class and keep the little ones excited.

[Kicks]

Traffic Cop:

You are the traffic cops giving directions to a group of 4 students. When you point to their left they side step or sheffle step to the left; when you point to their right they go to the right; when you point to the rear og the class they back step or back shuffle step; when you point to the front of the class they run forward. You can also point to the ground and they have to flop on the ground and bounce back up pumping their feet as fast as they can.

Chicken Fight:

Two students square off. They are standing and lift one foot, crossing it over their other knee. They grab that foot with both hands. On your command they try to knock the other person down without letting go. If they let go they lose. You can also have a bunch go at a time and last one standing wins.

[Kieran-Lilith]

Building on what opaque333 said, it reminds me of something we do in our dojo. It's not necessarily fun, but it gets them to concentrate and practice....and, in the process, most end up hating the exercise, but that's okay, it's good for them. Marching lines. They all line up, two or three or more rows. They do one technique down to the other end of the dojo, on the count. They line up at that end. During the process of sending them down there, like when they're on count 5, start the next row. It works. We all learn the techniques effectively. And you could do something to make it entertaining, I bet....I dunno, give prizes? Hmmm....or turn it into a race, I suppose....You could have them bounce on one foot down there to improve balance, maybe?

[Ben Martin]

Dodge ball!

[Sensei Rick]

always make your games have a martial art purpose so that the parents know that they are getting instuction at all times. They are paying for a karate class after all.

A good way to do this is "buy and in". Let's use dodge ball from above. it's a fun game but not very martial art. When a student get out, let him "buy an in" by performing a number of kicks or maybe even a quick kata or any martial technique to give the game value. Your student's will practice and not even know it.