Sensei's Under Pressure

[Shotokan-kez]

My sensei has the same problem. There are very few good adult students in our club, and the kids do mess around, including my own son sometimes which i dont let him get away with! I get frustrated because when i train on a wednesday night i am the only adult, with me being at a high rank i get annoyed and often find myself telling the kids off! My dream and ultimate goal is to run my own dojo and this is one thing that worries me.

Kez xx

[Sohan]

I have the same issue in my kids class. I have 3 or 4 kids who really try and do their best, and the others are just there to run around and play. It's frustrating, even though I don't have any financial stake, because it takes time from the kids who really have ability and desire to improve.

Last night, I allowed my 7 year old son, who is quite talented, to work out with the white belt/green belt adult class because he simply wasn't getting what he needed in the kid's class. He loved it and the adults got a kick out of a 7 year old keeping up with them. I can do that for him, but I still am searching for ways to help the other good students improve without being bored by the "time-gobblers".

With respect,

Sohan

[kivikala]

I can sympathize with instructors and the "pressure" they have in keeping a good kids program operating. I normally run a mixed adult & kids class but once upon a time, insanity overcame me and I created a separate kids class.

It was great, it was fun to teach, the kids were good and the money was more than the school made from regular classes. Then came the grading. Between the kids and the parents I don't know who was worse. Trying to "please" everyone was a mistake because the person who was the most unhappy was myself. It was a juggling act to be fair, keep students, please parents and keep to my own standards. Stress, ya. Nothing big, but just everyday a nagging issue here or there. It sucked the fun out of teaching. So I stopped the kids only classes and returned to my mixed classes and everything returned to normal. I was happy, the students were happy, all was good again.

I have to applaud instructors that have the nerves of steel it takes to run a successful kids program and not go nuts trying. I do enjoy teaching kids. I now teach an occasional kids class in another school, but I don't have to worry about any of the administrative headaches (i.e. grading, attendance, whatever), all I do is teach. It's like being a grand parent who gets to visit and spoil the kids for a day. Life is good.

[Angel05GT]

i dont know if he does this already or not, but put out the suggestion that the kids have to bring in signed papers saying that they are behaving in school and keeping up there grades, and have weekly reports from the parents making sure they do what theyr parents ask them to. and if they dont get anything signed they dont get to test. or sumthing to that effect. i dont know, just a suggestion

[Brandon Fisher]

This is one issue I am going to confront when the parents come in to discuss the classes. I like to have a good time sometimes I am just the biggest kid but when I am serious I am dead serious which is most of the time. I can get down on my knees and play with the kids just as well as teach a very hardcore class. However I have always been able to control the kids for the most part with exception of a few and retain them also. I don't do anything special except be myself.

Testing will be scheduled once a month and everyone who wants to test must sign up no later then 2 weeks prior to the scheduled test day.

[luckorskill007]

We have turned kids away who are too young/immature to start. Yea it our us financially but in the long run it improved our martial arts program

[patusai]

First of all I was told to watch your students do kata and from there you can see how good your's is. Students watch us and perform like us sometimes. However, sometimes it is the student's too. Young students are...well...young students. Some are really not ready to be able to perform good kata. Their attention span is very short, among other things.

What upsets me is when people feel that the belt that they have earned was well placed around their waist because they worked hard for it and...there are those (looking down their nose) who have not.

We should all worry about our own belts and our own MA and quit looking around at others. They don't matter! If we are ever called upon to use our MA to defend ourselves the only thing that would matter was how well we were trained and how well we trained. How the students at my rank or above at XYZ school, at that point, means absolutely nothing.

[Takeda Shingen]

Age old problem..maintain tradition or give into to needs and expectations of "paying customers"..fortunately, I have been in dojos both small and large with one common denominator -- the Sensei was true to objective standards of rigid discipline and promoting only those who were mature enough to handle all aspects of being a sempai....karate is more than ability, it is understanding and carrying on tradition and values of humility, respect, etiquette, perspective, and sublime spirit. If he is a true Sensei, he will do the right thing.

Osu!

TS

[jaymac]

I think a mock grading is an excellent idea. If they pass the mock grading, they should receive a stripe or something on their belt that would indicate that they tried hard and are ready for their test. This way, others will see it and maybe try harder next time. By the way Scully, don't feel bad, your instructor is definitely not the only one dealing with this type of problem. Most of the people in here have seen the same thing in their own dojo occuring. The word McDojo gets thrown around too easily by some. There are student who go to train and are serious and do well in representing themselves, their school, and their instructor. There are some, who are not interested in being the best. But don't you think that even those kids who are not the best, have improved themselves in some area?

[Triskel]

I've seen sthe same thing in my dojo, fortunately Sensei is not having trubles to keep the dojo open, and in fact he's choosing who can and who can't apply for an exam...