Kids Karate

[dominiuno]

When my brother first started Karate (he was in kindergarten) under Bob Campbell Sensei, he didn't do kata so much as technique. Although he did do kata, he worked mainly techniques, defenses and sparring. How many teachers out there do this or something like it? How many kids/teens have taken part in something like this?
This seems to me a highly effective method for teaching, you keep the childs interest, you keep it simple and of course you make it fun.
I will have to observe one of the "kids sessions" this summercamp to observe different methods.

Once again, I am not a teacher, just interested in different methods of teaching kids, seeing how I am one.

Thanks,

-David

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"Once there was a man who hated his own shadow, and his footprints. One day, seeking to rid himself of both, he began to run. After a short while, he turned to look behind him, only to find that he had created many more footprints, while his shadow easily kept up with him. So he ran harder and harder, and faster and faster, until he collapsed and died. If only he had stopped running, he would have created no more footprints, and had he rested in the shade of a tree, he would have cast no shadow. " -Taoist Parable.

[razcow54]

I recall from my training as a child when I was that age (5 or 6 years of age) that I loved in particular sparring and technique. I had not yet discovered a love and passion for karate as I do now and saw kata as boring and simplistic; not seeing how they helped my progression in karate. Techniques and sparring kept me interested because they looked more like fighting...and yes I can admit to being an ignorant child wanting to be a "big man". However, as my father noticed (him being a Goju-ka like myself) I was still learning and improving. At this young age I was learning, yet I was still kept interested; more interested than if I had been just doing kata.

[dominiuno]

Im just wondering, what did you think of the more "repetitive" katas (I know in Goju Ryu Sanchin is similar [kindof] to that of Uechi Ryu Sanchin) What did you think of sanchin when you learnt it? Or did you spend more time on technique?

-David

[This message has been edited by dominiuno (edited July 07, 2002).]

[razcow54]

To be honest when I didn't learn or see much of Sanchin for a while when I was younger (being the youngest student at the class then), but when I saw my father do Sanchin I was amazed. My kind patriarch had become a demon. His back and arms were turned from those of a guy who looked like he couldn't lift 50 pounds to those of a guy who looked like he could tear a truck in half. His muscles became thick sinews, his eyes were intense, his breathing was like the roar of a lion. However, I saw no correlation between his Sanchin and mine when I finally did do it. I knew it would make me better, but it was tiring and repetitive. This is why I had liked technique and sparring...it kept my mind more active, it looked more like a fight as I may have said before. Now having become an adament karateka (as I said I practice Meibu-kan Goju-ryu) and am now older I don't need to be stimulated by flashy or "cool things that karateka do" I do it because I love to do it. My whole point to this tangent was in young kids kata as important as it is, may bore the kids, and must not be the only thing taught.

[sunsu8]

Our kids' classes (which I am a helper) are always active. We open all of them with history questions which are merely a game! Whoever knows it raises their hand and see how many you can get right. You don't keep tally, but if your hand goes up, then you have made progress and are praised for it.

Then we exercise with jumping-jacks,push-ups, sit-ups, stretches, twists, kicks (front,side,round,back) and by then they are pretty pooped! lol.

Then we make a type of obstacle coarse. The object is to do what is asked and kiai loudly while completing everything as good and fast as they can. It is mixed up between 2kicks/3punches on 2 different standing bags a roll on a mat, a block and a traingle (made from a 1/2 folded out mat) which they must crawl through. They love this because it is different.

NOW all the 'fun' stuff is over and intructional time is coming up. They will have a helper help them with their current kate and watch them go through all the other they know once. And most nights they finish by fighting one another with gear on!

They want to fight really bad so that keeps them trying and almost -LOL- focussed in kata. AND then class is over. Sometimes they will fight us (helpers nad instructors) and sometimes they will warm up by running around the room or racing across the room with crab-crawls (hand forward and then back), racing with rolls, competition for having the best kick/punch, and so on. If you make things fun and competitive you will always have students that show up and try hard!

~sunsu

[razcow54]

The obstacle course and "fun stuff" sounds like a good idea on keeping the kids interested coming back for more every week. What I've noticed in kids is that if the instructor gets annoyed (although well intended making sure that they get it right or they could lose were they attacked) the kids get sloppy and are seeing it as work.
In instructors with more levity they seem to get things done in a kind manner, talk actively to the kids and everyone is having fun. Whatever works.

P.S Then again the kids could be motivated to do well by a very LOUD instructor who can really "motivate people". LOL.

[dominiuno]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by razcow54:
P.S Then again the kids could be motivated to do well by a very LOUD instructor who can really "motivate people". LOL.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ah yes, However, that might frighten them into it, and they might not have as much fun (and through fun work out) if they are being yelled at versus if they are being encouraged to play games. Whatever works...


-David

[Akil Todd Harvey]

Greetings All,

Very interesting thread and posts. Well thought out and written.

Somewhere along the way, I came to realize in teaching children n adults, that there is a balance between realism and safety of those you are teaching.

For kids, the teacher has to balance enough fun for the students to maintain interest (so they will return each week) and having students actually learn to deal with highly stressful situations that may not be fun at all, like being attacked, for real.

Most teachers and parents dont want to take their children's youth and idealism away and yet they want to prepare them for what life may throw their way. Fortunately, the reality of our lives is that we are likely to see less violence in our lifetimes than we witness in eight hours of prime time television viewing or video game playing.

Teaching kids Kata is like gettin' em to eat their veggies, they only want to eat the ones they like.

ATH

[dominiuno]

Nice to see some activity here.

Very true points. I like the veggies analogy.

-David