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| Kids Karate |
We all know how difficult it can be to teach children. They have different needs than adults, different levels of understanding and are sometimes difficult to relate to. In today's society of broken (and repaired) homes, kids often come from a variety of backgrounds and home lives, thus reacting to various outside influences as well. Taking all of these factors into consideration can be mind-boggling for someone facing a kid's class. What system do you have in place to teach children? Do you simply go out and do it or is there a science behind the way you approach a children's session? In the following article we will discuss 5 quick ways to instantly increase your children's performance, morale and enjoyment without giving up discipline, instruction or regime.
To improve the quality of kid's classes you should first try to understand what makes kids tick. What do they want out of class? What are their drivers? If you don't know what drives your students, you won't know how to inspire them to work hard, achieve or behave!
Younger children have an abundance of energy and need a means to release it. This is particularly true in an age where housebound hobbies such as watching TV or playing video games are a common way for children to pass time. You can see this in the beginning of any peewee class (ages 4 to 6). When they first walk onto the tatami they are buzzing with energy, running around, all talking at the same time usually at the top of their voices. This is what they would prefer to do all day, if possible. Their number one driver is to be free and play games. This driver is similar in all ages. Almost everyone would rather have fun than do hard work. Use this driver to propel them to work hard now for rewards (games) at the end of the session. Also understand that their extra energy is not a negative aspect to their instruction. Urge them to use it in class to push them that extra inch, run that extra length, kiai that little bit louder. Identifying their driver will also allow you to plan and structure your lessons accordingly.
Obviously using game time as an end-of-class bribe is fun but not always the easiest way to get your point across to a class full of excitable children. Kids attention spans vary in length but it is safe to assume that most are less than an adult's (usually). Since they won't pick up on everything you say in a long tirade about the importance of holding fist a particular way when doing kata, it is best to stick to the basics. The younger the kids are, the more you should use small words, short sentences and prompt them for response more often. Small words are easier for them to pick up on. Short sentences are easily interpreted and therefore can be easily enacted by them. Asking for frequent responses is a great way to make sure the entire class is still following your lead, paying attention to what you are instructing about.
Older kids (teenagers) don't necessarily require small words or short sentences. Go into more detail when you can see that the class is following. As they mature you want to make sure you don't talk down to them. They'll interpret this straight-away as a sign of disrespect and will return this feeling to you tenfold by disrupting class, creating a more difficult situation further along in the class or by simply not attending future lessons. Requiring frequent responses is still a great way to keep everyone involved and for them to act as one with their peers.
Now that we've established the basics on how to communicate to kids, let's discuss how our communication influences our students, i.e.. positive- versus negative-based instruction. While there are times for negative incentives such as push-ups as punishment within class, it is important to steer clear of an “I told you so” attitude towards your kids. Goodness knows we've all been reminded of this phrase in our childhood (anyone have a Soccer Mom?) and know the negative influence of not meeting unrealistic expectations put upon children. Positive reinforcement should always be your first resort. Encourage students that struggle rather than punish them for being unable to complete a particular task. However if the child is earnestly avoiding work or not trying, physical reminders are another arrow in your quiver. Push-ups, sit-ups, sprints and knee-jumps are just a few examples of physical penalties that can be useful in enforcing discipline.
Positive and negative language is also reflected in how you speak to your class. For example, it would be most common to say “Don't drop your hands” for sparring purposes. However this is not necessarily the most efficient communication in order to get results with your students. The first thing they visualize is dropping their hands since it is exactly the words you told them. The word “don't” does not instill an image in the brain. You can visualize dropping your hands but cannot visualize “don't”. It would then be more efficient to instruct the class to “Keep your hands up”. The mental visualization that is inspired by this positive language is exactly what you want them to do.
Efficient and balanced positive/negative reinforced instruction does not always succeed with those few “difficult” children. We all know the ones (some of us were them ourselves): they want to be the center of attention and will do most anything--disrupt class, disobey instruction, convince others to do the same--in order to do so. How can an instructor fairly yet sternly discipline these more challenging kids without losing face in front of the rest of the children and subsequently losing control of the class? One sentence sticks in my mind when I think of these situations: Don't draw your gun too soon. Let me explain:
A friend of mine is a police officer in a very “active” part of Los Angeles. While on duty he draws his gun at least once a week but could easily draw it more often. When I asked him about the difficulties of controlling a difficult situation he responded, “Don't draw your gun too soon. Once you draw your gun you've got nothing more to threaten the offender with. You've backed yourself into a corner. If you have threatened the offender that you will draw your gun and then you do so, you can't threaten to draw your gun again. The only option after this is to threaten to shoot unless you back down, in which case you lose all credibility with the offender. You've then lost control of a dangerous situation. If they do cross that last line you have to be prepared to follow through and shoot.” He uses all available methods of persuasion, still maintaining control of the situation, using his firearm as the last resort. This gives him plenty of room for negotiation and movement in the situation.
Though the tatami is not south-central LA, the same principle applies. Have many levels of disciplinary action. Begin small and work your way towards the heavier punishments (ie. expelling the student from the rest of the class, expelling them from the entire club). Try to avoid the severe punishments unless absolutely necessary as it leaves you “backed in the corner” with nowhere else to go. Obviously the severity of the penalty must reflect the offense. If a student has punched another kid intending to inflict harm they should not be punished with the same penalty as the child who arrive late to class. Similarly don't get carried away in dealing out punishments. It is easy to lose control of a class when a child is disrupting. Other kids will see this as a chance to test you as well. Collectively they want to see how far they can push you before you “draw your gun”. Don't get sucked in! Your karate training has taught you to stay rational and focused. This also means that if you have threatened punishment and the offender disobeys again, you must respond as you've promised them you would! You cannot continue to threaten with “if you do it one more time I will...”. Phrases such as this one tell the students that you are not prepared to back up your words with actions.
The final point is a very important one. Consistently be consistent! Consistency is required in all of the points we discussed above. If you demonstrate a consistent behavior in class, kids will know what to expect of you. So it is important to leave bad days, bad moods, and other negative baggage outside the dojo as it can influence the way you communicate to your students. If you consistently explain in a coherent way, kids know they will learn from and understand your classes. They'll want to come more often because they know it is a fair and fun place where they're taught to at their own level of understanding. They know that there are rules and they know what the boundaries are. If the kids know the rules of the game, they know how to play the game. If the rules are constantly changing, how can they react the way you want them to?
There are 5 easy ways to improve your kid's karate classes. First, figure out what their drivers are and use them to encourage your kids to strive for excellence. Secondly, communicate with the children at their level. Use smaller words and short sentences for the younger kids while more detailed instruction is suitable for older children. Third, use positive reinforcement before negative penalties whenever possible. Also incorporate positive language into your instructions (”Keep your hands up” instead of “Don't drop your hands”). Fourth, don't draw your gun too soon. And finally, be consistent throughout your instruction. Incorporated into your kid's karate instruction, these 5 steps will instantly improve the content, understanding and enjoyment level of your children's classes.
This article was written by Sensei Jason Stanley. Jason holds a 3rd Dan in Shitoryu karate and has been practicing martial arts for seventeen years. He has competed at international level in kumite and has his own school in Southern California, USA. Jason holds a Bachelor degree in Human Physiology and Pharmacology, is the founder of KarateTips.com and the author of “One Hundred Ways To Improve Your Karate Immediately.”
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