Training with younger students

[Sday29]

I trained with some my own rank. but she was only about 8-9.She no fast and she mucks around alot. Once she leant on my punch and i quickly took my fist back about 10cm and punched her lightly. I feel i can't train my best because she is slow and have to be slow to to keep in time with her. Is there anyone else in this situation. and how do you deal with littler kiddies

[KarateGeorge]

When working with younger students, I use it as an opportunity to really focus on control and technique. Even if they're holding a kicking shield, I can't just whale on it like I could if an adult were holding it, as I'd send them flying across the room. Same principles apply when sparring with them. What would be considered medium-contact sparring with another adult would likely crumple an 8 year old.

Remember, you're both there to train. So even though you may bave to go "light" with a younger person because of their age and stature, you can still push them to grow in their skill, while at the same time focusing on an aspect of your own training.

Edit: Also, welcome to the forums!

[brickshooter]

IMO, adults and children should train seperately. At the very least, put them on different sides of the room with different instructors.

I find that adults tend to be distracted by children. And children tend to be intimidated by adults. Moreover, children require different instructions as they're unable to self-correct.

[KarateGeorge]

I think it's good for children to work with adults. If a child has to defend themselves against an adult who's trying to cause them harm, it can help them feel more confident that even though their options may be more limited due to their size, there are still things they can do to protect themselves. The intimidation factor mentioned that children have is exactly why they should have opportunities to train with adults.

However, I wouldn't pair an adult with a child, if the adult is either a) not comfortable working with a child or b) someone who I'm not confident could exhibit sufficient control to not send the child flying across the room.

I think adults should generally be paired with other adults for their own training, but just because they may partner up with a younger person during a class session doesn't mean they have to forfeit gaining any benefit.

[Soheir]

I think children should have an opportunity to also train with adults, they most propably get a lot out of it. And it may not be a bad thing at all for an adult eather, for example in sparring, there is some techniques that you just don't very often get a chance to practice with more challengin parners. You just gotta figure out what can You get from the training with That partner.

[DWx]

Welcome to the forums Sday29

George pretty much expresses my feelings. Training with kids should be a great opportunity for you to refine your control and technique as well as maybe a chance for you to teach a little too.

Both me and my sister have always been in the adult classes right from when we first started training (me 10, her 8 ) with no problems whatsoever. Now as an adult I'm also allowed to train in one of the kids classes to help push them a little and also play the big bad attacker

Very young children should probably be separated but an 8 year old should be able to cope IMO. If she's mucking around her attitude stinks a little but there's not much you can do about it. Maybe speak to the instructor?

[joesteph]

What's sometimes a help regarding younger students is that they may remember better, or catch on more quickly. I don't know the ages people think of when they say younger students, but I've been taking double classes, and the first class has the younger ones, meaning grade school age. At the very least, it's a great class-long warmup for the adult class.

Tonight, my teacher was reintroducing me to more moves in the last form I'd studied earlier in the year. The boy with me is in grade school, has a higher belt than I do (red, probably 3rd gup to my green belt 4th), and was learning these moves for the first time. When we worked together as a team, he was remembering how to get from A to C (as in he remembered B, but I didn't). The more we practiced together, the better I remembered, and I got somewhat more flowing.

[evergrey]

The little ones participate in breaking class, but otherwise under 13 go into their own class. There are some teens in the adult class. They are by and large pretty well-behaved and respectful.

I get a bit nervous doing kumite with the young shy ones, because I am a beginner and do not have as much control. I do worry about coming on too strong and bullying without meaning to, so I go easier and try to be encouraging. I don't try to coddle either- this is Kyokushin! But there's no point in breaking your classmate's spirit or being so aggressive that they can't really do anything but back up.

I can always go full bore on my sensei after class, as he usually invites me to spar.

Otherwise, everyone encourages everyone else, and the spirit of mutual support and camaraderie is strong. I don't really mind having the teens in class with me. We're a big family.

[tonydee]

I agree with earlier advice - you need to use the opportunity of having a less challenging opponent to practice other things. But also be patient - I'm guessing you're fairly young yourself - a little frustration now, and a little generous patience with her, will be something you'll be able to look back on with good humour in a few years time when you'll doubtless have moved on to a higher rank, and it's nice if she has good memories of your sparring together too.

A great goal during such training is that after every movement you make - step, attack or block - you're in position to hit your partner somewhere they're not defending adequately. You shouldn't always carry out the attack (discussed below), just check it off mentally when you achieve the potential. When you do this in sparring with your peers you won't achieve 100%, but here you can start more consciously and deliberately refining the habits that will get you closer to 100% against people closer to your own level.

Challenge them gently by showing them you could hit them - not every time (that's too overwhelming), but just so they're blocking a couple to earn the right to attack themselves, so you outclass opponents rather than rely on strength or speed. Be good natured about it, allowing them a little offensive run if they can keep some pressure on you then coming back at them once it peters out or becomes too misdirected.

Go as slow as you can while still putting them under enough pressure to control things - the better you get the slower you can go. This is important because one day you'll be older and slower, and you want to have become efficient before that day comes.

Breaking that down:

• footwork (particularly - work on stepping closer to your opponent as you block - perhaps diagonally, or making a step preparatory to a particular counter),
   
  hand coordination: use both arms - sometimes alternately, sometimes deliberately breaking your habits and exploring how you could block or attack with the hand you don't instinctively, habitually use. Use any difficulty as feedback to improve your stance to enable good use of both hands, while maintaining a defensible position
   
  overlapping techniques (so you're preparing your strike even as you block, but to avoid overwhelming your partner you should simply go very slow)
   
  concurrent techniques - complete a block and an attack, or two attacks, simultaneously; do this very slowly as juniors have to get used to watching for both and working out how to cope: perhaps abandoning their own attack in order to block yours, or choosing to block one attack while dodging away from the other
   
  when you block, mentally prepare a grasping or unbalancing block... you don't have to follow through with a tug or snap to actually make it any different from a simple deflection, but get in the habit of being able to synchronise your blocks to the incoming attacks such that you could tug the opponent's limb slightly, or knock them off balance a little
   
  practice being a realistic distance for hand counters (kicks aren't as easy to control), such that you can stop the hand gently before or just touching their chest / forehead etc.. - this helps you improve your distancing and makes sure you really are getting into the advantageous position you imagine
   
  put some artificial restriction on your movements: don't let yourself step backwards (good practice if there's a wall, road, drop etc. to avoid); only use one hand (this may teach you to block more creatively, particularly in using the area around the elbow - very useful when defending against multiple attackers); focus on using peripheral vision to pick up their attacks (but be extremely careful attacking yourself - best to turn and look first - as you can easily misjudge distances seen out the corner of your eye, and kids aren't the right training partners to be taking risks with)
  

Also, practice any things you're not good at: it you're uncomfortable with your left foot forward, stick it out there; if you have a lousy right leg side kick, use it slowly with careful attention to technique and safety. Get comfortable relying on the things you haven't been able to trust against the little ones who can't punish you too badly if it all goes awry.

[honoluludesktop]

How an adult spars with a child is only about the adult's attitude. IMO, typically poor:-(