# When Teaching Children?



## ekiMopneK (Sep 23, 2004)

EPAK system (to me) is strutured extreemly well for learning martial arts.  Starting at yellow belt students are introduced to many self defence concepts (such as defence against a punch, kick, grabs, club attacks, etc...)  I feel this is great for an adult student even a teen student, because at that age, the student can pretty much understand what is being taught.

But for someone 12 or younger, may not "get it"

Currently we teach the children a "watered down" version of American Kenpo, but still introduce to them a wide range of concepts, much like EPAK. For example for yellow belt they learn defence against a kick, rear choke, wrist grab, shoulder grab, and a head lock.

So my question is...

Is it better to introduce a child to a range of self defence consepts/stragities all at once, or to have them focus on one consept at a time and move on to another as he/she progresses. For example for yellow belt have them learn defences against only a punck and a kick, and get to grabs later on.


----------



## D_Brady (Sep 23, 2004)

I teach children the system the way it's set up technique wise anyway except for the number of techniques per belt. I teach 8 techniques per for the kids.

I like the way it's set up using the web of knowledge for the attacks.
They may not advance as quickly as some of their peers in other schools but learning the concepts and terms helps them when we do a pop quiz, like I will totally screw up a technique than ask why it wouldn't work. even if they don't know the technique yet, their really sharp on spotting things.

I may change a thing here and there based on the student, but someone else laid the ground work for me (GMP and the seinors) and it's been working well for us.

Great question, it shows how much you care about your people by searching ways to improve your attributes. :ultracool


----------



## dubljay (Sep 23, 2004)

When I taught a kids class I taught as the system exists.  I believe that teaching a "watered down" version, while may be easier for a child to advance, it may lead to developing bad habits when it comes time to begin learning the "grown up" version.  The trade off is that the pace at which material is presented is much slower (depending on the students).  The hardest part of teaching children is not necessarily the complexity of the material (children are at the prime of their learning ability) it is keeping them interested.


----------



## loki09789 (Sep 23, 2004)

Children, at different developmental stages, just can't absorb abstract or complicated conceptual things.  Just the nature of the development.  If you tell them that they should do step 2 after step 1, they will do it EVERYTIME - even when it isn't the right thing for that moment situationally...

You might be able to teach the same techniques or the same moves, but you end up simplifying the 'reasons' to 'this is the way you do it' instead of 'this is why/when you do it' because they can handle that.

As far as responsibility too, modifying/adapting techniques that are very lethal or obviously destructive ("Dance of Death", or "Spear of Jade" eye pokes and such) to make them more 'age appropriate' for their maturity might mean 'watering down' but it also means that it is a small shift to bring them into the grown up versions when they are older and developmentally ready.


----------



## dubljay (Sep 23, 2004)

loki09789 said:
			
		

> Children, at different developmental stages, just can't absorb abstract or complicated conceptual things. Just the nature of the development. If you tell them that they should do step 2 after step 1, they will do it EVERYTIME - even when it isn't the right thing for that moment situationally...
> 
> You might be able to teach the same techniques or the same moves, but you end up simplifying the 'reasons' to 'this is the way you do it' instead of 'this is why/when you do it' because they can handle that.
> 
> As far as responsibility too, modifying/adapting techniques that are very lethal or obviously destructive ("Dance of Death", or "Spear of Jade" eye pokes and such) to make them more 'age appropriate' for their maturity might mean 'watering down' but it also means that it is a small shift to bring them into the grown up versions when they are older and developmentally ready.


 very true, often I would say that we moved this way because of a rule.  some of the kids would ask about the rule, but not often. As for the letal strikes (i.e. strikes to the throat, eyes, back of the neck) I would teach both the leathal version, and a modified version.  The students I worked with were able to grasp the concept that there were times when more or less force was needed.  I missunderstood the phrase "watered down"  for meaning a simplified version of a technique that perhaps ignored rules and principles.

 -Josh-


----------



## Touch Of Death (Sep 23, 2004)

ekiMopneK said:
			
		

> EPAK system (to me) is strutured extreemly well for learning martial arts.  Starting at yellow belt students are introduced to many self defence concepts (such as defence against a punch, kick, grabs, club attacks, etc...)  I feel this is great for an adult student even a teen student, because at that age, the student can pretty much understand what is being taught.
> 
> But for someone 12 or younger, may not "get it"
> 
> ...


That would be bad. Grabs are theoreticly easier to handle than punches and kicks. Anyways what needs to happen is that you need to go through all the techs and teach the common threads.
Sean


----------



## KenpoNoChikara (Sep 26, 2004)

My dojo always started yonger children off with reaction against grabs, since it would be a more common attack if someone tried to abduct them.....


----------



## kenpo tiger (Sep 30, 2004)

We teach our littlest ones (4 yr olds) basics, and one or two simplified techs my instructor has created and which involve basics.  The next age group learns all four of those created techs, and begins to learn our juniors' curriculum, which has five techs for yellow and ten each belt thereafter.  Yes, the techs aren't always the same as written in the adult system, but there is enough in each so that the child will be able to learn the completion or the other variations of the tech once they age up to the adult classes.

ekiMopneK, just by the by:  your instructor is great.  I had the privilege of taking a class with him a month or two ago.  KT


----------

