What to do about students (kids) that don't want to train?

[sensei8]

That’s the risk one might have to take no matter the outcome. First time a student disrupts class, that student is removed from the class, while put on notice that any further disruptions of the class will result in being removed from the Student Body. Of course, parent(s)/guardian(s) will be notified immediately of both the violation(s) and disciplinary action(s).

[Spartacus Maximus]

One way or another it is always possible to get rid of someone who is disruptive. Give them a refund if they’re paying and simply tell the adults in charge that their child/youth’s attitude to being taught and/or behaviour is not acceptable. 
 

[RJCKarate]

I'll have a chat to them, then their parent. If they're simply no longer interested, I usually recommend a break.

[bushido_man96]

On 12/2/2024 at 6:39 PM, RJCKarate said:

I'll have a chat to them, then their parent. If they're simply no longer interested, I usually recommend a break.

What sucks is that break usually ends up being permanent.  I always hate to see that.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Depending on their age, it’s always more productive to talk to their parents/guardians or whoever paid to enroll them. In my experience, no sensible person will refuse a refund and that is usually all it takes to get rid of incompatible students

Absolutely nothing can force anyone to teach anyone, especially a martial arts instructor who has none of the constraints that say, a schoolteacher might have to abide by. Choosing with whom to share skills and knowledge is one of the advantages of the occupation. 

[sensei8]

One thing that we’ve not touched on much, or not at all is that we, the CI, might the reason(s) for why the student isn’t engaging on the floor.

Perhaps what we’re teaching doesn’t seem to have much relevance for said student(s). At first things being taught were relevant until what was being taught wasn’t relevant anymore.

Maybe whoever is teaching, CI or an instructor, are boring the tar out of said student. Kids need stimulation when they’re learning and if a student is so darn uninterested in who’s teaching, they lose any remaining drive.

Maybe what’s being taught is difficult for the student, and if the CI isn’t sensitive to that whatsoever, why should the student even care anymore?!?

Maybe the training load is way too much. It should be quality over quantity. It can be easy to overload the training from our perspective but having a consistent training pace that’s more beneficial for the students. 2-3 and not having 10 things to do is more beneficial for the students.

Is the atmosphere negative?? Is the CI supportive of the what’s happening in their Student Body?? Negative energy can be such a discouraging experience and no one wants to continue in that atmosphere.

Oftentimes, personal issues can cast a cloud over the student like mental health or difficulties at home. This can make wanting to learn anything more challenging.

What if the student has never found the love of wanting to learn?? What if the student has never felt the need to challenge themselves?? That seed has to have fermented first for any roots to ever thrive in the first place. Not all grounds take to being fertilized no matter what.

Before the CI passes the fault to the student, first look into the mirror first honestly. That can be quite difficult to do.

Inmo!!

[KorroddyDude]

9 hours ago, sensei8 said:

At first things being taught were relevant until what was being taught wasn’t relevant anymore.

Maybe whoever is teaching, CI or an instructor, are boring the tar out of said student. Kids need stimulation when they’re learning and if a student is so darn uninterested in who’s teaching, they lose any remaining drive.

Maybe what’s being taught is difficult for the student, and if the CI isn’t sensitive to that whatsoever, why should the student even care anymore?!?

One thing I've noticed is that children become more engaged when they reach the belt level where they begin doing ippon/sanbon/gohon kumite (whichever your dojo does first).

Because, at first, age uke and uchi ude uke drills look and feel like a bunch of nonsense to new students - adults and children alike - until they get to personally demonstrate them with another student.

Let's not forget what the children are there to learn.  The children need to feel like they're actually learning it.  This is why I believe the step-sparring drills need to be taught at the white belt level, instead of waiting until after they could possibly lose interest.

Edited December 5 by KorroddyDude

[Spartacus Maximus]

All teachers, whatever they may teach must consider the level of mental development and varying attention spans and ability to stay focused or concentrate. Each age group has different levels and individual abilities also vary.
 

Basic knowledge and understanding of these are essential for knowing how to teach, how much and for how long. 2hrs might be good for older teenagers and adults, but it is way to long for the average youth and younger children will be bored to tears after a half hour maximum. 

[aurik]

41 minutes ago, KorroddyDude said:

One thing I've noticed is that children become more engaged when they reach the belt level where they begin doing ippon/sanbon/gohon kumite (whichever your dojo does first).

Because, at first, age uke and uchi ude uke drills look and feel like a bunch of nonsense to new students - adults and children alike - until they get to personally demonstrate them with another student.

Let's not forget what the children are there to learn.  The children need to feel like they're actually learning it.  This is why I believe the step-sparring drills need to be taught at the white belt level, instead of waiting until after they could possibly lose interest.

Our style doesn't have kihons per se; we have hojo undo, which is a brief sequence taken out of one of our kata.  For example, one hojo undo is wa-uke/seiken-tsuki, or circle block/flat-fist punch.  I don't know if all Uechi-Ryu dojos do this, but we will periodically practice these as a class against each other "across the floor".  So we all pair up on one side of the floor.  The attacker will throw a sequence of lunge punches at the defender, and the defender will defend him/herself with that technique (or some variant of it).  We start this at white belt for adults, and in the kids' intermediate class (generally green belt/6th kyu and up).  This is one of the way we try to keep things fresh and interesting.  We also start with basic 2-person drills/yakosuku kumite drills at white belt (required for 9th kyu).

Edited December 5 by aurik

[DarthPenguin]

19 hours ago, KorroddyDude said:

One thing I've noticed is that children become more engaged when they reach the belt level where they begin doing ippon/sanbon/gohon kumite (whichever your dojo does first).

Because, at first, age uke and uchi ude uke drills look and feel like a bunch of nonsense to new students - adults and children alike - until they get to personally demonstrate them with another student.

Let's not forget what the children are there to learn.  The children need to feel like they're actually learning it.  This is why I believe the step-sparring drills need to be taught at the white belt level, instead of waiting until after they could possibly lose interest.

I wonder if that is a difference between different shotokan classes / clubs. At mine we start the gohon kumite at white belt and they do it in their grading too. My instructor lets people do free sparring straight away too (though obviously it is a lot gentler for the lower grades and usually the white belts etc will be paired up with someone a lot more experienced).