Teaching kids

[AdamE3]

Hello guys

So, being a sempai and having to train the kids alone at friday, how should I handle it? It usually goes good with the drills I make, but I dont want them to become repetitive and this time, there will be more kids around, making it harder to control them and make sure that they are following the teachings of mine.

What drills are recommended?

Any advice is welcome!

[mal103]

Have a plan, then a backup plan, then another plan....

Always have something in reserve if it doesn't work out.

I try to do basics for as long as possible, always have something new for them to learn but keep this until near the end. Kids will generally remember the last few minutes.

If you are stuck for ideas then make a list of the bad habits of your kids and then work on them, if there are loads of bad stances for example then work on this. A good winner is to get a type of competition going between girls/boys or groups, they will be trying to win but will be improving their skills at the same time.

That said, don't stray too far from good MA as there are far too many kids out there learning rubbish or working at rubbish standards. If they really find it boring then show them the door.

[unknownstyle]

I agree, you have to keep it fun and to the fundamentals. make a game out of learning. simon says using the basics is awesome. and during you can make corrections to the whole class if you see issues. setting up stations and have the kids work on certain things at certain stations can be fun. a obstacle course with stations can be fun. tine them and see who can complete it the fastest but make sure they aren't sacrificing good training for speed. competition usually drives most kids and it is a good way to raise the self esteem of sone of the children that don't have a lot. games with teams also will help. but don't sacrifice good technique for entertainment.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Make sure its fun and work on the fundementals.

Obviously you have to scale how hard you work them according to their rank. Because you wouldn't make a white belt do a 20 technique combination.

So from what i just said teach according to their rank but then make it a little bit more difficult. Even if it is adding one more technique to a combination or giving more in the warm up.

When I'm teaching I make sure they are learning what they have to and start learning what they have to know for their next belt. But I will make a game every couple of weeks to keep their interest.

Make sure their basics are up to scratch and correct. Correct them when needed, but be positive when correcting them and applaud them for doing it correct. That way they feel like they've done something well and will want to get more of it so they will practice to get better in their own time.

Sometimes i get them to demonstrate a technique for me and to help me in an explanation of something. Works well for the lower ranked students.

[CredoTe]

Will you have more than 1 adult present? When working with minors of any age, it's good practice to have at least two adults present, even if the 2nd adult is not an instructor (i.e. advanced student helping out, or a parent of a student spectating, etc). This is all for safety's sake (and a little CYA).

I know this advice is not necessarily about what or how to teach MA to kids, but will save you a lot of headache in the long run, and the students' parents will appreciate it more than you know.

[DWx]

Keep it interesting by keeping it fast paced. Kids rarely appreciate a whole lesson on the intricacies of a shuto. You can have a common theme throughout your lesson but keep changing the activity they are doing.

If their attention goes and you can't get it back, I think stopping and doing a load of (fun) fitness works well to get them excited again. Stuff like relay races or tag or something. Better if you can tie these into what you were teaching. Like tag but they've got to use the footwork you taught earlier. Or dodgeball but they can use their blocks.

There's a few older threads you might want to look through:

http://www.karateforums.com/managing-behavior-in-children-s-martial-arts-training-vt36828.html

http://www.karateforums.com/karate-exercises-for-children-vt45049.html

http://www.karateforums.com/new-instructor-teaching-kids-vt44580.html

http://www.karateforums.com/teaching-kids-vt40325.html

[mal103]

Good points about working with kids, always ensure you follow appropriate guidelines and policies. If you haven't got them then get some!!!

A key point i missed was to make sure you have a good balance of teaching kids and adults AND plenty of time being taught in the line. I know a couple of people that are years behind where they should be due to being USED as a kid teacher for years.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Will you have more than 1 adult present? When working with minors of any age, it's good practice to have at least two adults present, even if the 2nd adult is not an instructor (i.e. advanced student helping out, or a parent of a student spectating, etc). This is all for safety's sake (and a little CYA).

I know this advice is not necessarily about what or how to teach MA to kids, but will save you a lot of headache in the long run, and the students' parents will appreciate it more than you know.

Thats true it does make life easier if you have more than 1 adult there. Especially so you and the assistant can watch over all the students.

[devil dog]

You say you are a Sempai. What rank do you hold?

Have you taught classes before this under the watchful eye of your instructor?

The reason I ask is all too often instructors will have an intermediate rank such as Sankyu to Ikkyu and have them teach the beginner ranks such as Hachikyu to Gokyu. The most popular reason is because the instructor gets a free instructor and can then add a class to his schedule and make more money and increase his attendance.

Not saying there is anything wrong with this but it hinders the assistant instructors training at times and it could also hinder the beginners training as well if the student was not trained proficiently to teach.

If you are a Shodan or higher disregard my earlier statements. We do not refer to our Dan ranks as Sempai in our art. That term best discribes the intermediate ranks for us.

My suggestion would be to have fun with it. Use this time to perfect your teaching style and learn from the lessons you will most certainly learn.

Small children are sometimes very hard to teach because they have a very short attention span. You will feel less like a teacher and more like a student because you will be working twice as hard as with an adult class trying to keep the class flowing.

My suggestion is to sit down and devise a plan and then expect that plan to be blown out of the water. Once you have a few weeks of training under your belt you will figure out what works and what doesn't.

Personally I would rather teach 1000 adults than 20 young kids.

My best suggestion is try to get them engaged in what ever you are doing. You have to have high energy in what ever you are doing. Kids feed off of your energy. Make sure you switch off to a new excersize about every 10 to 15 minutes. If not you will loose 80% of them and once some have lost interest it will not be long before you have lost the entire class.

Good luck. I do not envy you.

[Archimoto]

I completely agree with a lot of the posts above. I would also add that you should ask your students lots of questions in a group setting. Nothing keeps their attention like an opportunity to show off what they know. Also, show a lot of enthusiasm and give praise when they perform well - remember they look up to you so what you think really matters - BIG TIME.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Archimoto