hey to all

[wheeze]

first of all i am glad i discovered this forum. i have been reading it for weeks and i like the spirit of friendship here. we are starting a school for at risk kids here locally. i teach mixed martial arts which includes Shorinryu Karate, bjj, combat grappling (similar to bjj but with some additional techniques thrown in), and some freestyle wrestling. we are constantly looking for new focus drills and if any of you have any suggestions please let me know. one of the things i am teaching the kids is to be aware of thier surroundings at all times.

we have a real nasty problem with gangs here.

thanks ahead and i am honored by your responses.

Wheeze

[RichardHangHong]

In our club we do a game called "Stranger Danger".

It's essentially a self awareness program that we make fun for the kids to learn.

Start off with them sitting around you in a circle/semi-circle and go through a few safety pointers.

E.g.

1. Tell your parents where you're going before you leave the house.

2. Always know your home phone number and street address

3. Safe places they can go to for help (police/fire station, etc)

4. Safe people they can approach for help (police officer, friends, family, teachers, etc)

5. How to get attention quickly if you're in trouble (yell FIRE, not help)

6. What to look out for (strangers in parks/playgrounds/outside schools who don't have kids with them, etc)

Then go through a few basic self defence techniques to get them out of grabs and holds.

Once they've got all that, line them up at one end of the dojo facing the wall with their hands behind their back and grab them one at a time trying to pull them to the other side. Tell them that if they use the techniques you've taught them well and they get away, they are safe. But if you get them to the other side, then they've been caught by the "big bad stranger" (which you play in this part of course) and they'll be locked away where they can't get out (Said with a smile of course! It's scare tactics, but just to get them to lightly visualise the scenario, not to scare the heck out of them!)

A piece of advice on this game. Wear a groin guard (and shin/instep pads if your legs aren't well conditioned!) as the kids can kick harder than you think most times!

It's really fun for them and after doing it a few times they really become much more aware of their surroundings.

If you want any other ideas I've got plenty to share

Good luck with your school

[wheeze]

ALRIGHT DUDE! thats what i have been looking for! a great idea and i will include it in my teaching. we start a new class saturday. i'll take any ideas you have to offer.

[cathal]

Something else to add are some practical exercises for walking to/from school. For example if they travel in pairs, or groups, practice drills and bunkai in groups. So that way they can be more comfortable not just in walking groups but also with the teamwork they may have to rely on.

Often in MA training we'll see kihon and bunkai practiced individually. If you do the same practicing but in pairs, trios, etc you'll find that not only will have a load of fun but they will get used to the idea that Karate isn't going to boil down to just defending yourself by yourself. Here is an example:

A group of 3

- A few aggressors stop them while walking.

- Closest of the kids is grabbed. The FARTHEST student takes out their cell -or- calls FIRE, FIRE FIRE.

- The one grabbed performs a self defense technique AT THE SAME TIME as his/her friend performs an attack or defense.

So as you can see there is a great deal of different techniques you can train them in, a huge amount of different scenarios, etc.

[RichardHangHong]

No probs wheeze,

I'll come up with some stuff over the next few days and post it up soon for you.

[atalaya]

something i love to do is throw "soft" blocks at my students and have them practice dodging them. Then i have the students practice various defensive and offensive techniques against the blocks. then i have them close their eyes and i throw them at them.

this helps them use their hearing to try and anticipate an attack. then i have them stand in various parts of the room all facing away from me. they get five seconds once i start aiming at them to put their hands up and stop me from throwing a block at them. (this is not some mystical trick, they learn to hear strange footsteps, the way clothing moves and breathing for example). then i have a period where they start with backs to me and i attack them. sometimes to mix it up i give them a handicap- for example, they can't use their arm because it is broken or something like that.

the best is when they get so good you wrap a towel around their heads and attack them. they can get pretty good at defending themselves even like that!