good certification programs

[bigfootsquatch]

do you guys know of any good certification programs to add-on to martial art classes?

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

First aid and C.P.R. certifaction
maybe something with anger management or some sort of conseling certifacation.

To me all depends what you want it for.
Lets look at some examples at who we are catering too.
let's say we are catering to children:
A first aid and C.P.R. certfication is a must
maybe a Daycare certifcation may help
maybe a personal trainer certifcation may help
The idea is if your running a business you want something that is going to hook the client in. Meaning what do you have to offer in your class that makes you stand out from others.

Now if you are not caterting to a certain crowd or teaching as a business
then anything that may have a similar theme to your style.
For example if you practice Tai chi chuan maybe learning Yoga or some sort of massage or other healing may enhance your understanding of body movement. So I guess it depends on you. Where do you want to take your martial arts? Hope that gives you some ideas.

 

[bigfootsquatch]

Thanks for your answer, I want to attract as many as possible. I come from a traditional tae kwon do background and would like to get as much stuff under my belt as possible. CPR, First Aid, Personal Training all sounds really good and I will definitely look into that. Do you/anyone know of good yoga, tai chi, qigong, grappling, or anything else programs that certify you to teach. I know nothing replaces years and years of hard work, but having a lot of smalls to go with the bigs DOES attract and makes parents feel more secure.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

Do you/anyone know of good yoga, tai chi, qigong, grappling, or anything else programs that certify you to teach. I know nothing replaces years and years of hard work, but having a lot of smalls to go with the bigs DOES attract and makes parents feel more secure.

There are plenty of places that do so. Some may excelerate the program.
I think most of small certified classes are going to take a couple of months to a year or so to do. Here is an example:
We already know first aid and C.P.R. would work well for child and adult classes.
so lets draw up a plan:
Children classes: Mr. Smith is also certified in child day care/social work,
Mr. Smith is a certified personal trainer and works with police dealing with programs to keep kids from being victim of abduction or whatever

Adult classes: Mr. Smith is also certified in cardio kickboxing and Hatha yoga as well as first grade instructor in_______ said art.

Elderly: Mr. Smith is a licensed reiki practicer and massage theaphist
he is also a Qigong teacher in the _______put name of style.

that is a basic draw up plan to help with some ideas.

 

[ArmorOfGod]

This is a great topic that I hope gets lots of replies.
I would recommend cpr/first aid also. I found a lady in my area that will come to my school and teach cpr/first aid for $5 per student for a non-certified course. If I want a certified course, it is $20 per student.

You could call your local women's shelter and see if there is if they have any ideas or resources for you regarding a women's help group or rape defense.

AoG

 

[bigfootsquatch]

Here is some grappling certification as well as child safety to add to your curriculum
http://www.depasqualejujitsu.com/ (under certifications)

qigong- http://www.nqa.org/certification.htm

http://www.expertrating.com/yoga/yoga-certification.asp

http://www.teamtaebo.com/taebo.html

http://www.cardiokickboxing.com/certified.htm

If anyone knows where to get certified to teach A.D.D. or mentally challenged then please post. Also what are the best degrees to go with a martial arts business, besides martial arts studies from bridgeport or indiana university. Psychology, Sociology, and even Kinesiology with a coaching certificate sound good. What do you guys think about all the above?

 

[Kacey]

If anyone knows where to get certified to teach A.D.D. or mentally challenged then please post. Also what are the best degrees to go with a martial arts business, besides martial arts studies from bridgeport or indiana university. Psychology, Sociology, and even Kinesiology with a coaching certificate sound good. What do you guys think about all the above?

There is no specific certification to teach those with ADD that I'm aware of - and I'm a special education teacher. ADD/ADHD can be considered to be a physical or mental disability, but the primary treatment is medical; when medication works, it works very quickly and very well, and no special training is needed.

Also, behavior that was acceptable 50 years ago, when kids were much more active and able to burn off the excess energy, is no longer acceptable, and too many people rush to medication as a quick fix - a bad choice, IMHO. In addition, ADD/ADHD is often a misdiagnosis, because the symptoms of ADD/ADHD in children are very similar to those of depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and a wide range of other psychiatric and/or biochemical disorders; something like 3/4 of the kids later diagnosed by a psychiatrist with a mood disorder were first misdiagnosed as having ADD/ADHD. Therefore, I suggest being very cautious about how you approach students with that type of diagnosis - because as a group, the only thing they have in common is a diagnosis - they are as different as any other group of kids. Some of them are wired even with meds; some you can't tell from any other kid. I'm a special ed teacher, and one of my students has ADD - and I didn't know it for a year, until her mother mentioned in the context of asking a question about special education, because the medication she's on works well for her. Most parents I know will deliberately avoid putting ADD kids into a special program with others because there's no purpose for it, unless there are other issues related to the ADD - anger management, impulse control, etc. - in which case you want a lot of structure and very small groupings... and a whole lot of patience!

As far as students who are mentally challenged - it depends on what you mean by that. That can include students with cognitive delays (low IQ), students with mood disorders (as above), students with perceptual disabilities, students with emotional disorders, juvenile delinquents... it's a long list. My best suggestion would be to contact a local college with a teaching program and ask if they have a survey class on non-physical disabilities. If you are interested in a specific area of mental challenge, then look for a class in that particular challenge - but there's no specific certification unless you want to become a special education teacher (which means a subspecialty in mild/moderate [learning disabilities], emotional disabilities, severe/profound [cognitive delays, multiple physical]), physical therapist, speech/language pathologist, psychologist, social worker... there are a lot of specialities out there that deal with an equally wide variety of challenges. If what you want is general information, then I'd suggest calling a local school and talking the special education department.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

I'm certified in a good weapons program: www.gojushorei.com. Highly recommended.

I've also done Tom Patire's Training For Life & CDT certifications. They're really pricy, but pretty much worth it.

 

[bigfootsquatch]

I'm certified in a good weapons program: www.gojushorei.com. Highly recommended.

I've also done Tom Patire's Training For Life & CDT certifications. They're really pricy, but pretty much worth it.

The weapons program is pretty interesting. What all materials did you buy to complete the tests? Videos, handbooks, weapons.....
Also, did you take the tests in order, or go for the black in one big test?
Thanks so much for the info!

 

[bigfootsquatch]

There is no specific certification to teach those with ADD that I'm aware of - and I'm a special education teacher. ADD/ADHD can be considered to be a physical or mental disability, but the primary treatment is medical; when medication works, it works very quickly and very well, and no special training is needed.

Also, behavior that was acceptable 50 years ago, when kids were much more active and able to burn off the excess energy, is no longer acceptable, and too many people rush to medication as a quick fix - a bad choice, IMHO. In addition, ADD/ADHD is often a misdiagnosis, because the symptoms of ADD/ADHD in children are very similar to those of depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and a wide range of other psychiatric and/or biochemical disorders; something like 3/4 of the kids later diagnosed by a psychiatrist with a mood disorder were first misdiagnosed as having ADD/ADHD. Therefore, I suggest being very cautious about how you approach students with that type of diagnosis - because as a group, the only thing they have in common is a diagnosis - they are as different as any other group of kids. Some of them are wired even with meds; some you can't tell from any other kid. I'm a special ed teacher, and one of my students has ADD - and I didn't know it for a year, until her mother mentioned in the context of asking a question about special education, because the medication she's on works well for her. Most parents I know will deliberately avoid putting ADD kids into a special program with others because there's no purpose for it, unless there are other issues related to the ADD - anger management, impulse control, etc. - in which case you want a lot of structure and very small groupings... and a whole lot of patience!

As far as students who are mentally challenged - it depends on what you mean by that. That can include students with cognitive delays (low IQ), students with mood disorders (as above), students with perceptual disabilities, students with emotional disorders, juvenile delinquents... it's a long list. My best suggestion would be to contact a local college with a teaching program and ask if they have a survey class on non-physical disabilities. If you are interested in a specific area of mental challenge, then look for a class in that particular challenge - but there's no specific certification unless you want to become a special education teacher (which means a subspecialty in mild/moderate [learning disabilities], emotional disabilities, severe/profound [cognitive delays, multiple physical]), physical therapist, speech/language pathologist, psychologist, social worker... there are a lot of specialities out there that deal with an equally wide variety of challenges. If what you want is general information, then I'd suggest calling a local school and talking the special education department.

Thank you so much for the info, you help clear up a lot of information for me. I'll be sure to look into some specific classes...thanks again!

 

[bushidomartialarts]

The weapons program is pretty interesting. What all materials did you buy to complete the tests? Videos, handbooks, weapons.....
Also, did you take the tests in order, or go for the black in one big test?
Thanks so much for the info!

You only need the videos. I ended up buying the handbook for reference after getting up to brown 2. Don't tell sokei, but I like the canes from another system better so I bought mine through someone else.

As I'm already a black belt and instructor, I didn't need to be black belt before I could get approved to teach students below my rank. I tested for Yellow and Orange at one go, and others as time went by.

I'd also like to add that the head of the organization, Sokei Dake McNeil, is a real class act.

 

[bigfootsquatch]

You only need the videos. I ended up buying the handbook for reference after getting up to brown 2. Don't tell sokei, but I like the canes from another system better so I bought mine through someone else.

As I'm already a black belt and instructor, I didn't need to be black belt before I could get approved to teach students below my rank. I tested for Yellow and Orange at one go, and others as time went by.

I'd also like to add that the head of the organization, Sokei Dake McNeil, is a real class act.

Thanks for the info, how long did it take you to reach the black, or your present rank if not black? thanks again

 

[bushidomartialarts]

I got to brown 2 in about 2 years. Then took a year and a half off. Pushing for brown 1 this coming weekend.

 

[bigfootsquatch]

http://www.skhquest.com/shop/DVDblackbeltcourses.asp

 

[Shaderon]

I would definately suggest a Child Protection and complete first aid Courses, for TKD the fitness instructor courses talked about in this and the other thread is a good addition. I'd do child fitness as well as it's a lot different and some psychology type courses like Kacey wrote about would be useful for the situations and people she highlighted.

 

[bigfootsquatch]

http://www.blackbeltinyou.com/id22.html

Yet another home study course, this will be the last one I post. What does everyone think of this group?