WOE is ME

[tshadowchaser]

After letting my oldest son teach the childrens classes sence I opened this school 4 or 5 yars ago , he goes and gets married , then takes a vacation from teaching.
All of a sudden we get a large influx of kids ages 4-12. I havent taught children in 20 years. I dont really like training the little ones because of the techniques I can not show them. I am always afraid I will screw up and Show them something that will get one of their fiends really hurt.
We dont have childrens ranks. they test the same as adults and not as often.
I am going nuts trying to keep track of all the activity
Last night I had one group kicking the bag and I saw motion out of the cornor of my eye. All of a sudden their is a little face pressed against the bag looking up at me. Luckily the student kicking the bag didnt kick at that moment.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Originally posted by tshadowchaser
After letting my oldest son teach the childrens classes sence I opened this school 4 or 5 yars ago , he goes and gets married , then takes a vacation from teaching.
All of a sudden we get a large influx of kids ages 4-12. I havent taught children in 20 years. I dont really like training the little ones because of the techniques I can not show them. I am always afraid I will screw up and Show them something that will get one of their fiends really hurt.
We dont have childrens ranks. they test the same as adults and not as often.
I am going nuts trying to keep track of all the activity
Last night I had one group kicking the bag and I saw motion out of the cornor of my eye. All of a sudden their is a little face pressed against the bag looking up at me. Luckily the student kicking the bag didnt kick at that moment.

Sonds like this is a wonderfull oportunity for you to learn. My advice to you is "one lesson at a time" once you hit a wall with the kids you should be off to the next subject. Devise a lesson plan for each class. give each subject a good five minutes to ten minutes or so and then move on.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Thats about what I have been doing.
When I first started teahing under my instructor ,oh so many yeas ao, I taught the junior class. Its just been a long time.
I prefer teaching adults bcause I can be a little harder with the techniques and I can push the limits of indurence a little more
The kids are fun and I do enjoy working with them. I just have to adjust my mind set.
It is surpriseing what they can do at times.
And yes I am learning from and with them

 

[Mon Mon]

Don't teach the kids thats my advice

 

[Touch Of Death]

Originally posted by Mon Mon
Don't teach the kids thats my advice

That sounds like interesting advice. Care to explain?
Sean

 

[Mon Mon]

Well its this i belive that martial arts are for adults and not for young kids for kids its just a game and you can't push kids as hard as you can adults that is why i belive that if you don't like to teach kids then don't. Martial Arts are the arts of war not a game that is why it is not for childeren that is my explanation

 

[Damian Mavis]

Welp you have absolutely no understanding of what martial arts has to offer children and how it can help them MonMon. It makes them stronger emotionally, builds character, teaches morality and respect, makes them more confident and less prone to talk to strangers and succomb to peer pressure. By the time they are teenagers they should be completely different people then if they had not joined martial arts, all for the good. Not to mention after all those years they should be extremely capable of handling themselves physically which is especially important for young girls growing into women.

Who do you think the world champions are? Some adult that just joined martial arts in the past 6 years? More likely the adult who joined as a kid and 15 years later is an expert and can do things most people cannot.

I see some little monsters running around being obnoxious, loud and disrespectful and I just want to slap a uniform on them and teach them how to behave like a frickin human. I swear parents bring their kids to me just to fix all the damage they've done with bad parenting. I see such a change with the kids I teach over the years it makes me love my job and gives me great satisfaction to help mold these little guys into something special.

Martial arts are very important for children. I used to hate teaching them because it's work! But now after 8 years I love it.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[Touch Of Death]

Originally posted by Damian Mavis
Welp you have absolutely no understanding of what martial arts has to offer children and how it can help them MonMon. It makes them stronger emotionally, builds character, teaches morality and respect, makes them more confident and less prone to talk to strangers and succomb to peer pressure. By the time they are teenagers they should be completely different people then if they had not joined martial arts, all for the good. Not to mention after all those years they should be extremely capable of handling themselves physically which is especially important for young girls growing into women.

Who do you think the world champions are? Some adult that just joined martial arts in the past 6 years? More likely the adult who joined as a kid and 15 years later is an expert and can do things most people cannot.

I see some little monsters running around being obnoxious, loud and disrespectful and I just want to slap a uniform on them and teach them how to behave like a frickin human. I swear parents bring their kids to me just to fix all the damage they've done with bad parenting. I see such a change with the kids I teach over the years it makes me love my job and gives me great satisfaction to help mold these little guys into something special.

Martial arts are very important for children. I used to hate teaching them because it's work! But now after 8 years I love it.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

What he said.

 

[Mon Mon]

I view martial arts in the since that it is not a sport. I study a combat martial art hence they have effected my views. To me tournaments are pointless and ridiculus. Just because a person may be a world champion dose not make them strong. Nor dose it mean they could survive a street fight. I just want to make it clear that competition is not the way to Budo or the way of the warrior and in the way of the warrior there is no room for little kids. Martial arts are much more than tournaments. It is of my opinion that when martial arts introduce tournaments then they lose something special. Its not a true martial art anymore rather it is a martial sport. If I offended anyone i am sorry. Please also keep in mind I am a novice and don't know much. I also understand that sport martial arts can be effective too. There are people for instance that study Judo and add things too it and it is truly effective.

In conclusion I want you guys to see (of course you probably already do) that just because a person wins a tournament it dose not make them a warrior nor dose it make them strong.

 

[OULobo]

Originally posted by Mon Mon
I view martial arts in the since that it is not a sport. I study a combat martial art hence they have effected my views. To me tournaments are pointless and ridiculus. Just because a person may be a world champion dose not make them strong. Nor dose it mean they could survive a street fight. I just want to make it clear that competition is not the way to Budo or the way of the warrior and in the way of the warrior there is no room for little kids. Martial arts are much more than tournaments. It is of my opinion that when martial arts introduce tournaments then they lose something special. Its not a true martial art anymore rather it is a martial sport. If I offended anyone i am sorry. Please also keep in mind I am a novice and don't know much. I also understand that sport martial arts can be effective too. There are people for instance that study Judo and add things too it and it is truly effective.

In conclusion I want you guys to see (of course you probably already do) that just because a person wins a tournament it dose not make them a warrior nor dose it make them strong.

Even the most hostile of civilizations taught thier children the ways of warfare. There are examples of moro weapons that are literally smaller combat ready versions of the real thing. These were specifically designed to give to children to let them learn with the real thing right from the start. If the most violent societies and the more passive societies all teach their young to fight, I don't see why we can't here. The decision is one of allowing which knowledge to be passed to them. Are they mature in mindset enough to be given dangerous techniques. It's all a judgment call.

 

[7starmantis]

MonMon is right, tournaments do not equal a high skill level, however tournaments do push you to perform well outside your comfort zone. I'm not saying tournaments are good, or bad, but they certainly take a little extra something to do well in them, and that little extra is something I would like to have.
I study a strictly combat art myself, if we enter a tournament, the sparring is so far away from our techniques because we cant use elbows, obviously cant do breaks or joint locks, no knee kicks, etc. However, as far as kids are concerned, who will make the best martial artist, or as you put it "warrior"? Its the adult who studied hard and seriously from a young age. Young 5 year old kids do not have the mental agenda we have in martial arts, but that's why you put them in MA. To build them up and teach them. I think it would be a terrible shame to remove kids from martial arts, as I believe they are the future of any system they are learning. That doesn't make MA a game, it prepares children to learn true MA.

JMHO,
7sm

 

[tshadowchaser]

Great disscussion so far.
Out of the dozen new kids to come in in the last week 4 came in because there parents wanted to see if I could instill a little discipline in them. 5 came in because someone else came in and they wanted to try it also. One was a returning student who took a few months off. That leaves 2 students who came in wanting to learn what I was teaching (or at least try it)
The discipline kids should have learned discipline at home! But I will try to curb their attitudes and train their minds.
Those that came in because their friend or brother came in I will try to encourage and cultivate them to be better and to seek goals for themsleves.
Those that came in to learn will hopefuly learn and grow

 

[Mon Mon]

I also understand your points as well and have seen benefits that martial arts can give kids. Thank you for understanding mine.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I too view a martial art as a war art that is why I have some problem teaching children. I must decide what I feel is a safe technique (not many) and what they will do the least damage with if they use it on a friend or sibling.
At the same time I want them to be able to defend themsleves.

 

[Cthulhu]

Maybe you can look at some Modern Arnis schools for ideas. I believe a lot of them offer children's programs.

Cthulhu

 

[theletch1]

The discipline kids should have learned discipline at home! But I will try to curb their attitudes and train their minds.

Best of luck in this arena. I agree, wholeheartedly, that parents who bring their unruly kids in to learn a little discipline have missed the point somewhere along the way. The are usually, in my experience, the first parents to go ape sh** on the instructor when he attempts to discipline them or snaps at them in the dojo. I've always said that training kids is easy..... training the parents is a pain.

 

[Damian Mavis]

Whoa I said world champion, I didn't say anything about tournaments. Although world champion in anything is a great accomplishment, even if it's something like Wushu forms. What I was referring to was fighters in full contact matches.

Bottom line the best martial artists will be the ones that started as kids, after 20 years of training they should be better than the guy with 5 years don't you think? What you are suggesting is that we shouldn't give people a chance to be amazing at a martial art by not letting them train before a certain point insuring mediocrity throughout the world? I don't get that at all.

I think those with this attitude have a somewhat fantasy attitude of what martial arts are all about, and are forgetting that children have been learning the arts of war since time began.... where did you get the macho notion that only tough guys did martial arts?

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by Mon Mon
Don't teach the kids thats my advice

Ditto:asian:

 

[7starmantis]

There is a similar discussion going on about the business aspect of teaching children, might be interesting to you guys as well.
See running a scholl part time vs. full time

7sm

 

[Seig]

I do not teach the children very often. What I have done and seems t work for me, is I have my brown belts, who need teaching hours, teach the children. I supervise. It helps them and constantly reaffirms the basics in the more advanced students mind. It also allows me to more actively teach my adults as they are in turn teaching the children.