bigfootsquatch
Purple Belt
do you guys know of any good certification programs to add-on to martial art classes?
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
There are plenty of places that do so. Some may excelerate the program.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.
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?
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.
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.
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.