- Thread Starter
- #41
i usely try to play a game at the end of class to keep them entertained, but not so much in class except for my 4-7 year old class thats just games that are MA related. should i be doing ,ore in the older kids class or is something at the end good enough.Since your teaching mainly kids you need to make the classes more fun. Frankly most kids don't want to be in martial arts, but they start because mummy and daddy make them go there to give them a break for an hour or so. They don't care about how good their stances are mostly. Yeah of course there'll be some who do but the majority couldn't care less. You need to play games with them. Make them martial art specific if you can if not just give them something that lets them run around and burn off energy.
Doing stance work up and down the hall? Tbh that's going to bore kids these days to death. Get them running around with their hands uo and having to dodge soft stuff thrown at them, get them doing tug of war with an old belt to work on stability in stances.
Maybe back in the 70s and 80s the up and down the class stuff was fine but these days kids don't want that. It's boring to them but also don't make it a boot camp. Don't be making them do 20 press ups because most kids can't even do 5. Don't be all sergeant major on them. Be relaxed have a laugh, make fun of yourself a bit have them hit you and pretend to fall over. That stuff that engages with kids,
Because honestly over half those kids will quit within a few years anyway. Yes you'll get some who stick at it. But when those kids get to teenage years there'll be more interested in partying meeting girls or boys dating etc or be stressed about exams that karate will be dropped quick. So don't worry about them becoming the next Bruce Lee. Just get them learning of course but let them have fun mainly. When they get to teenage years yeah then step up the intensity but for now focus on the fun