Those "special" students that we all have...

[blackbelt_tn]

martial arts takes sooooooo much memorization, and the select few kids don't have it. I normally don't have a lot of patience, but when it comes to these students, i just seem to be really patient with them, to a point. idk, I guess it just depends on their willingness to learn. Be patient, teach them like you learned!

[bushido_man96]

martial arts takes sooooooo much memorization, and the select few kids don't have it. I normally don't have a lot of patience, but when it comes to these students, i just seem to be really patient with them, to a point. idk, I guess it just depends on their willingness to learn. Be patient, teach them like you learned!

It is true that most children don't have a long attention span, but I think they can still retain material, after studying it for a while. Good points, there.

Welcome to the Forums!

[tekki]

I teach mostly kids, and I find it very easy to tell the difference between the kids for whom it comes difficult because they have below-average natural ability and the kids who don't want to be there. Patience is key for the students who fall in the former group. Fortunately, I find having the requisite patience very easy. I can easily sympathize with these kids because as a child I myself was athletically a late bloomer. To have the opportunity to to work with students like this and get to lead them into a state of physical competence and increased confidence is really where the rubber meets the road in karate as far as I'm concerned.

You need to have patience with the kids who don't perform well because they don't try too. This is a harder patience to garner, I do admit. What frustrates me the most is the injustice that these kids get to be there, wasting time and energy that could be spent on those who actually want to learn karate, and when I think that there are kids who would give their right arm to take karate but cannot due to parents who cannot afford it, parents who can't or won't take them to the dojo or parents who forbid it because they misunderstand karate due to their narrow minds. But there have been a number of times I have seen kids who I write off as non-interested who eventually have the proverbial bug bite and fall in love with karate, double up their effort and go on to accomplish great things. My goal when I teach is to be there for whosoever will and properly convey what I've learned. The day we begin writing kids off is the day we lose much of what is special about our art.

[KarateTips]

How do you guys deal with that student that just doesn't get it? You know the one. You say, "Step forward with your other foot," and they move their hand to a different block position. You say, "Other hand," and they step back....

Hi,

I find that my reaction depends on my "state" at that moment. If I'm having a good day I usually laugh on the inside and say something like "Step forward with your OTHER left foot..." which 99 times out of 100 makes the student laugh too, which is important...

I know some instructors get really angry when a student doesn't make the connection between what they hear and what they want their body to do, AND the instructor expresses their frustration. Some even punish the student for "not listening" with pushups, etc.

What does this do? First it makes the student feel inept and secondly makes them feel bad for trying. Not a great learning combination! How long would you stick around with someone who made you feel bad for trying?

If I'm in an unresourceful state, I find my reaction is more serious and it's very challenging to keep my patience, especially after the 10th time in a 5 minute period. At this point I try to change my state to a positive outlook by forcing myself to smile and encourage the student.

I think as instructors we've got to remember that most people ARE trying. Congratulate them when they do well, and nurture their development, instead of stifling it with anger and frustration.

It's also important to realize that different people learn in different ways. I have one kid in my program right now who totally just "doesn't get it" in regular terms. I was explaining to him how to do a pushup, and asked him to lie on his tummy and bend his arms... His response was to lift up his shirt and point at his tummy!

So I had to SHOW him what a push up was and then he could do it no problem. Some people learn better visually, some through actions, some through auditory commands. I believe our role as instructors is to teach on all 3 levels to increase the learning rate for all students rather than dismissing someone as "slow" or having "A.D.D", etc. Quite often it's the teacher in us that isn't communicating in the most effective way for that student - kinda like trying to plug a European appliance into a US socket.

- Jason

[Sigung Chambers]

For the students who need extra training: Did I mention quality over quantity? So how can we achieve this? Yes, we do and although Kajukembo is a unique art in that we have something for everyone to be their best in defending themselves, we have to take in consideration of each individual student. Each student is different in both physical and mental attributes. Do not get hung up on students not gaining skill or understanding of 1 or 2 techniques. Yes, try your best to help and teach them, but if they are not going to get it then find a way to encourage and lift them up with what they are understanding. You may be training then on a drill which has stances, punches and kicks and they get 2 out of 3 right then you have accomplished your goal. Let them know what they are good at and did correctly and then let them know that they will get it in the future once they get the bigger picture together. So how is it that we achieved our goal? Remember my puzzle concept. When we as an individual look at the same thing, a lot of times we see the same thing differently until we have the whole puzzle together and even when we have the puzzle together we still see things that others do not. I remember when I was Bass fishing with a friend for tournaments I could see the same structure ( possible location that may hold Bass) that my friend would see and we agreed that we should catch a Bass, but we both always fished it differently. Different methods and or different baits Sometimes only one of us would catch a Bass and sometimes both of us would catch one. And sometimes the Bass just would not bite the bait at all. But we would go back to the same location and structure later and catch Bass. Most the time we accomplished our goal and placed in the Bass tournaments we entered. We ended up getting 3rd place for the whole tournament year. In saying this, some students will get ever skill and some will get most and some will get a few. Even some students will get none of the drill. It is our job as instructors collectively to insure that the students get the most out of their training. All students will learn with each class, but not necessarily the one drill you are training them in, however, they will improve and learn other skills. Although you may feel that you have failed, you have not! You have accomplished much! That one drill has improved something, you just have to look for it and then build on that. That is what makes Kajukembo unique. Be sure to take note for future reference of the skill that needs improvement and figure out a way to help him or her better understand it the next time you cover this skill. It is a part of the student and instructors growth as well as building a good relationship between the Texarkana Kajukembo Ohana. Note: This is also a great opportunity to mention Private Lessons to help the student who needs extra training outside of regular class. If you choose to give him or her the private lesson then this will give you time before the appointment to reevaluate and tackle the task with a different approach.