Teaching my son karate

[Flying Crane]

After much thinking about degrees, I think I'm coming around to the idea that black is black and thats good enough. The politics of everything within dojos can be mind numbing and probably the reason why I didn't mind leaving my old school when I moved for work. Again the advice on this thread was great. Thanks.

At the end of the day, you know what you know. Teach him what youve got. Rank him accordingly if it feels appropriate. Don’t worry about the rest of the world, or about how it may or may not translate elsewhere.

 

[J. Pickard]

Also: make it fun! once they know a few techniques, just let them play with them.

This is an underrated comment, and not just for kids. I have found that when I teach students of any age a new technique or set of techniques if I tell them to find a heavy bag and have fun experimenting with the new techniques, they stay relaxed and are just trying to have fun and actually end up making improvements faster just because they aren't trying so hard.

 

[Prince_Alarming114 144]

This is an underrated comment, and not just for kids. I have found that when I teach students of any age a new technique or set of techniques if I tell them to find a heavy bag and have fun experimenting with the new techniques, they stay relaxed and are just trying to have fun and actually end up making improvements faster just because they aren't trying so hard.

I swear, I've actually learned more in warmup games than I have through more disciplined training. Part of that's the fact that I've shown an inability to adapt to discipline, but even so...

 

[punisher73]

Dumb question: What style of karate do you practice? That may open a few doors to some more specific answers to your initial question.

My other thought off the top of my head. Ranks don't really mean anything outside of the specific schools/organizations that gave them.

 

[philwhite44 1]

Our school was a bit of a hybrid (TKD/Kickboxing) using the name Karate even though it came from Taekwondo with the founders being students of Jhoon Rhee. Probably a little McDojo thrown in as it is one of the largest schools in the midwest. It was a mixed batch. I took advantage of the network and trained at a lot of the schools with some of the top point fighters in the country. As they maintain their own belt registry and are not part of any external association my belts kind of stay with them so its a dead end.

The karate politics were also through the roof. The black belt quality was very hit and miss. There were people who did no sparring, had zero skill, and continued getting promoted. Many like myself were never promoted and it was almost a running joke. I paid the dues, put in the work and was overlooked. It is what it is. I should have moved on earlier but I had the weird sense of loyalty holding me back.

I think some of the atmosphere there also led to ego fighting etc and there were many sparring session that went too far. I was probably part of this problem as its what we were taught.

Overall I'm glad I got into the martial arts through them but looking back I would have done things differently.

 

[Yokozuna514]

Interesting post. I don't know how old your son is but regardless I would be honest with him on what he is learning and how it will relate to outside organizations. If you teach him the basics and come up with your on reward system, this can be a double edge sword. If he does want to continue a martial arts journey, he will join a school and will be evaluated based on the skills he can demonstrate as he attends classes. If his skills and knowledge is sufficient, he may be able to skip some levels but it would probably be better for him to learn patience and go through the process in the regular time.

I think it would be better for his confidence to be the best but advance slowly, than to think he is very good only to find out he doesn't know as much as his peers.

Good luck

 

[philwhite44 1]

He's 8 and he is having a blast so far. I'm not overly concerned about outside organizations. I think I have an opportunity to do things the right way with him and we have some open tournaments that we can drive to if we'd like to test our skills. Hopefully he sticks with it. If he wants to continue on somewhere else later in life he should have a good base. I'm very honest about what I know and I'd never claim any different.

 

[Yokozuna514]

He's 8 and he is having a blast so far. I'm not overly concerned about outside organizations. I think I have an opportunity to do things the right way with him and we have some open tournaments that we can drive to if we'd like to test our skills. Hopefully he sticks with it. If he wants to continue on somewhere else later in life he should have a good base. I'm very honest about what I know and I'd never claim any different.

Parents are their kids first teachers and coaches so you already have a good handle on how to deal with teaching them things. My kids are all adults now and I have taught and coached all of them in some form of another in martial arts and sports all their life. As they progressed in high school and found other coaches with different approaches and knowledge they have looked back and compared what they were taught by me and what they are going through in that given activity. Now in their early adulthood I find that they still come to me to whenever they need info or guidance.
I feel fortunate in this regard and I suspect that they consider the lessons given by their old man are fair whether the information is complete or not.

Enjoy this moment with your son and hopefully you will both look back and remember that is wasn't so much about the lessons taught but about the time given on both sides.

 

[philwhite44 1]

Internal promotion through my senior students down the line. This is the most likely route I would take, but unfortunately you don't really seem to have that option.

I've been thinking on this hard for some time and I may end up eventually going down this route. It will be a long journey but I feel like it is worthwhile. I'm learning more every day teaching my son than I did following the same repetitive instruction from others so I feel like I'm growing more now as a martial artist. I'm not looking for someone from outside to judge me and I do like competing so I'm always being pressure tested.

I am in no way saying I am a x degree black belt in your art so I do not feel like I'm taking away legitimacy from someone else. Just thinking of degrees as something internally to our school to represent our journey as students. I have already started codifying techniques in a log book and have written our first form for my son.

My wife has even started having fun doing pad strikes as well so its been a great bonding activity. For the old guard I appoligize if you think I'm killing tradition but I think its a good reset for me and its helping me love karate again.

 

[skribs113 134]

I am in no way saying I am a x degree black belt in your art so I do not feel like I'm taking away legitimacy from someone else. Just thinking of degrees as something internally to our school to represent our journey as students. I have already started codifying techniques in a log book and have written our first form for my son.

If you're teaching more people than just your wife and son, then I think this could work for you.

If the only people you're teaching are your wife and son, this may be worse than promoting yourself.

 

[philwhite44 1]

I'm 46 and have been in MA for 32 years. Starting a family dojo with its own rules for training, etique, and promotions, should not be a bad thing. We should all be able to interally celebrate our successes on our journeys. I'm a lifelong martial artist going my own way. Again, not trying to rock the boat but sometimes traditions need to change. I'm more than half way through my life and I do not need a master to look up to at this point. I am by no means saying I am perfect or saying I have nothing left to learn. I just know my self and can reach out to others when I need help and I'm not afraid to do so.

 

[Prince_Alarming114 144]

I hope you both enjoy your time together and you both learn something. Most dads take their sons aside and show them how to fight at some point, but you'll be able to give substantially more detail than most! I remember my grandfather telling me how his dad taught him how to load a rifle in the dark. He kept a machine gun in the garage because he believed that there would be another war with Germany. He was right, sadly.

 

[philwhite44 1]

He is super proud of his white belt and it's been a great bonding experience.

 

[Prince_Alarming114 144]

Cool!

 

[philwhite44 1]

And yes we made up logos and everything. I think the wavemaster is his new bestie!

 

[Flying Crane]

I've been thinking on this hard for some time and I may end up eventually going down this route. It will be a long journey but I feel like it is worthwhile. I'm learning more every day teaching my son than I did following the same repetitive instruction from others so I feel like I'm growing more now as a martial artist. I'm not looking for someone from outside to judge me and I do like competing so I'm always being pressure tested.

I am in no way saying I am a x degree black belt in your art so I do not feel like I'm taking away legitimacy from someone else. Just thinking of degrees as something internally to our school to represent our journey as students. I have already started codifying techniques in a log book and have written our first form for my son.

My wife has even started having fun doing pad strikes as well so its been a great bonding activity. For the old guard I appoligize if you think I'm killing tradition but I think its a good reset for me and its helping me love karate again.

Take ownership of your own training and growth. Don’t worry about rank.

 

[ap Oweyn]

He is super proud of his white belt and it's been a great bonding experience.

Then you're doing it right in my view. Well played.