Kids: Importance of making a proper fist

[kihonkai]

Hi All,

I am looking for some advice. I am a Shotokan student and i often have to learn in a class full of kids becasue i am still a beginner.

I have a question for you all:

Do you know of any good way to get the kids to make a proper fist? Because i am always watching the kids and getting very frustrated at their lack of effort when punching. is there anythign we can do to make them punch with a tightly closed fist instead of punching with a loosley, half closed fist?

Also, i see the kids frequently putting the shoulders right into a punch even though tehy are repeatedly told the correct way topunch is with shoulders square.

Have you lot had similar problems with students in your class doing this?

How can we stop them doing this?

Thanks

Kihonkai

[kreza]

Hi,

I often find myself in the same situation. I'm still learning myself, and as the other adults in the class are generally of a higher grade, there are sometimes situations when I'm solely working with kids.

Rob Redmond has written an article on his website about the "self-appointed sensei", and until I read it, I didn't really realise that I was correcting other students when it wasn't really my place to.

Basically I say concentrate on your own technique. If you're not the sensei, it's not really your place to tell the others if they are making mistakes. I know it's frustrating, but for you, me and others like us, we'd risk imparting information that is in itself incorrect. Unless the sensei's asked you to help teach I would leave it.

I guess this wouldn't apply if you saw them in immediate danger of getting injured, but for loose fists, dodgy stances etc you just have to accept that young children get bored easy and sometimes find it hard to focus in the way that we old and serious people do.

[kihonkai]

Yeah, i hear what ur saying Kreza

But i wouldn't dream of jumping in and telling the kids what to do myself, i would suggest it to my sensei and let him do it.

[ki master]

well just tell them to shift their weht to there fist

[hawkfish]

One thing my Sensei had suggested to help the kids keep a tight fist was to have them bring two pennies to class. If they kept the tight fist, the pennies would not fall on the floor during punching drills.

The only way to keep the kids from putting their shoulders in to the punches is to keep correcting them. We do many drills and the repetition along with constant oversight and corrections when needed from the Sensei's keep all of us in line.

[kreza]

Yeah, i hear what ur saying Kreza

But i wouldn't dream of jumping in and telling the kids what to do myself, i would suggest it to my sensei and let him do it.

Fair enough

[lilkarate75]

have them curl their fingers towards their palm tightly and place the thumb on the second to third knuckle (middle finger). if the thumb is tucked in, you will have a broken thumb if you punch. after they are able to do it correctly, have them punch three times or if they can have them do a straddle stance (a 90 degree wall sit just without the wall. legs should be shoulder width and back should be straight. try it with a chair. it's good practice.).

[AndrewGreen]

Give them something to hold. tell them to squeeze it when they punch. A couple of pencils should work fine.

Other then that don't worry about it. They are kids, they are not detail orientated like adults. They can absorb lots of information and learn really quickly, but they will not learn the same way as adults.

[jaymac]

Alot of good tips, but I go along with Kreza. It is not your place to correct students unless asked to do so. I know that you would not do so anyways. However, if you are noticing it, I am sure your instructor is also. Let him/her handle it. Sometimes instructors do not like to be guided to what they should or shouldn't be teaching by kyu belts.

[kihonkai]

thanks for the advice guys/girls

dnt worry. like i isad i woodnt try to take over the class.

my sensei is very approachable and i know he woodnt mind if i suggested one or two ideas to get the kids to progress in their karate.

thanks for the advice

kihonkai