# Concerns



## Kwiter (Apr 6, 2006)

Kwe sewakwekon, ohnisonhatie? Hello everyone how are you?

I took my girls to the Sparring Seminar at their local Amerikick were they train, seems to me that perhaps class lengths at 30 minutes might be a tad too short , now that might be my Girls not the teachers fault I'm not 100% sure because the Sensei(s) show the techniques multiple times but tonight for example Sensei Ross and Sensei Alex(was others who's names I didn't know, Sparring Seminar was packed) repeatedly showed the "Dragons" , 5 and 6 year olds, a sidekick, backfist then punch combo, I might be buggering up the titles , but my girls still didn't seem to catch on to it, each time they ran thru it then had the kids do it, first air hits, then some senior students walked around with hand pads then against Wavemaster type heavy bags and each time it seemed my daughters buggered it up doing 2 front punches after the sidekick or doing a front kick instead. Now my concern is I'd have thought the Sensei's or Senior Students would be more on top of correcting these problems. Thats not to say they didn't at all I certainly saw Sensei Ross correct my younger daughter and one of the senior student correct my Elder daughter.

Am I crazy to think each line of students would be stopped to correct mistakes...By line I mean they split the groups into 4-5 lines of students with either a Sensei or Senior Student at the end of the line on the floormats or is it upto the parents to pay attention to the Sensei and correct mistakes later? 

I bought a Pad today to work with my girls after class without getting a beating and it took me 10 minutes of showing them over and over for them to finally get it right, and that was 10 minutes EACH. 

Bear in mind I am NOT a Martial Artist either but I do tend to pay attention to what is being taught otherwise how can I help my Girls practice eh?

Nia:wen kowa Thanks alot for the help

Skennen Peace

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http://www.urbanskinz.com


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## shesulsa (Apr 6, 2006)

Greetings, Kwiter!

I think it depends on the purpose of the class, the instructor and the age of the children.  Sometimes too much correction can inhibit a child's progress ... especially a girl's (in my humble opinion).  5 and 6 are young ages to hammer drills into their heads by some standards ... and others believe that they should be corrected all the time, every time.

Personally, I like to find semi-private or private opportunities to get deep into correction with youngsters.

What do you think of discussing it with the instructors and asking if it's okay to drill them and help correct them to the best of your abilities at home?  See what they have to say about this situation.


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## TigerWoman (Apr 6, 2006)

First off, are your daughters new at this?  Basic skills the first three months include the front, round, sidekick, punch-jab and cross.  Now to do combinations would be harder for young girls.  Some mistakes get picked up, some don't, you can't expect your instructor(s) to correct all mistakes, if it is a big class but it depends on how many instructor per student ratio and if an instructor corrected every mistake, you can imagine how frustrating it would be for a the young student.

I worked with my kids alot with kicks mostly holding the bag for practice at home--they are lucky to have you actively helping them.  After about six months they should be showing a good front, round and sidekick position. Don't expect too much until then and combinations will come better when they become more familiar with technique and comfortable with others. There is also pressure they put themselves under in a line (each doing the kick and moving to the back of the line) and that can be harder too.  One of the "keys to success" is patience.  As all things come when you are patient and wait.  Other keys are repetition (practice makes perfect) and discipline (put the time in and come to class).  Thirty minutes for a 4-5 yr. old is okay.  Our classes for students that age are 45.  Older students are an hour--30 minutes for workout, then 10-15 for forms, 10 for self-defense, 5 for stretching/ab workout.  My classes are TKD, all disciplines are different. 
Kudos to you for being a involved parent.  Maybe you will join too--I did with my chlldren and it was a great experience.  TW


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## Kwiter (Apr 6, 2006)

Nia:wen Thank you Shesulsa and Tigerwoman, I have emailed the folks at the school my concerns, and I checked and older kids/adults classes are longer. My elder daughters front kicks and flying sidekick are BRUTAL , I was using a Pillow as a pad initially and she caught me in a solarplexes and so I bought a Pad ;-) 50 Pounds of Kiaing maniac kicking to the solarplexes hurts ;-)

Age certainly may be a part of it, tho my 6 YO is much more limber too she gets all the way down for splits and her sister can't, lil sis is beefier like a little bruiser. 

Regardless of what I think they are having FUN! and Sensei Alex is excellent with the kids.

I gotta go embroider their initials on their Gi's now as the Sensei have a hard time telling them apart ;-) everyone thinks they are twins but they are 14 months apart

http://www.urbanskinz.com


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## RevIV (Apr 6, 2006)

Hello Kwiter,

Push to hard and they will not want to continue.  I think Shelusa and tigerwoman summed it up pretty well.  They are not supposed to get it the first time or even the second time if they did why would they need teachers.  A lot of times what we may think as basic, will be the first time children even try it.  Just having the ability to get up there, smile, throw a kick and a punch, is all they need to do in the beginning.  Then maybe the next time they do it I bet the instructor will tell them they are doing great,  how about trying it this way.  It sounds to me that the teachers know what they are doing and you need to trust their experience and their methods (if not after a couple months maybe you should seek elsewhere).  I will also let you in on a little secret too,,,,,, Young girls ages 4-8 are much easier to teach and pick up faster than almost 80% of the boys in their class of the same age.  So i bet if you sit back for a month or so you will see how quickly they comprehend the material.
In Peace
Jesse


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## Ceicei (Apr 6, 2006)

Kwiter,

I study in Kenpo, and so do my three older children (I have four).   My children are 13, 11, 5, and 3 years old.

For my 5 year old, her classes are 30 minutes twice a week.  Yes, they do drills and play games related to a martial art theme. There are some correction during class, but the instructors do not correct them every single time.  The main goal is to make sure the little students enjoy their time in class and learn the rudimentals.  With time and experience, the students will get better and more accurate through fine-tuning with repetition (and some correction, of course).  This is because of their age, fine/gross motor coordination, and attention span.   When they become more skilled and able to handle the rigors of training, they will be moved to a class with a longer training time.

My 11 year old's class is 45 minutes.  My 13 year old son trains one hour and is old enough to be switched over to the adult class.

It is good that you contacted the school with your concerns.  That shows them you are interested in how your child is progressing and will build up good rapport.  I practice at home with all my children too.

- Ceicei


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## MJS (Apr 6, 2006)

Kwiter said:
			
		

> Kwe sewakwekon, ohnisonhatie? Hello everyone how are you?
> 
> I took my girls to the Sparring Seminar at their local Amerikick were they train, seems to me that perhaps class lengths at 30 minutes might be a tad too short , now that might be my Girls not the teachers fault I'm not 100% sure because the Sensei(s) show the techniques multiple times but tonight for example Sensei Ross and Sensei Alex(was others who's names I didn't know, Sparring Seminar was packed) repeatedly showed the "Dragons" , 5 and 6 year olds, a sidekick, backfist then punch combo, I might be buggering up the titles , but my girls still didn't seem to catch on to it, each time they ran thru it then had the kids do it, first air hits, then some senior students walked around with hand pads then against Wavemaster type heavy bags and each time it seemed my daughters buggered it up doing 2 front punches after the sidekick or doing a front kick instead. Now my concern is I'd have thought the Sensei's or Senior Students would be more on top of correcting these problems. Thats not to say they didn't at all I certainly saw Sensei Ross correct my younger daughter and one of the senior student correct my Elder daughter.
> 
> ...


 
A few things to keep in mind.  If your children have not been involved in the arts for a long time, this confusion could be chalked up to just being new.  Over time, you'll see improvements.  Also take into consideration the age that we're talking about.  

Second, in a seminar setting, there are usually too many people present for the instructors to make sure that everyone is getting every single fine point down.  I'm not saying that they don't help people, but given the time frame that the inst. have to deal with, there is not enough time.

As for the 30min. being too short...usually the time frame for a class, seminar, etc. is based on the age of the people attending.  For kids that young, the attention span is simply not there.  

I wouldnt worry about them not being able to pick up everything that was taught that day, but instead, find a few things, and drill them over and over and over.  Its much better to start off slow and have them get an understanding, than go too quick and have confusion.

Mike


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## still learning (Apr 7, 2006)

Hello, It will always take children  a little longer to learn, expect this.  They are still growing and trying to learn other things too. They have been in this world for only 5-6 years now.

Expect a few months for the basic, everyday stuffs.

As they move forward in there journey training in the martial arts.....It will be the looking back in time....That you will see there growth...this is the same for everyone.   Patience.....must be learn and practice.

There will always be a few kids who learn faster..expect this also..do not make comparsion with others and yours.  They are only children.

.....As adults we too...seem to take along time to learn new techniques...

.....It is easier to forget?   Do not learn this (forget)? .......Aloha


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## Kwiter (Apr 7, 2006)

Nia:wen sewakwekon, Thank you everyone for the help, I guess I'm expecting too much from them too fast, 5 and 6 year olds , I guess seeing their initial picking up of techniques quickly I expected it all the time.

Wakatshenon:ni, I'm happy I asked here, my fears are greatly allayed.

I do agree that Sensei Alex D(can't recall his last name) does very well with the kids and is patient with them. 

It's funny my youngest just told me she want to go to Karate today ;-) they've gone three times this week due to the Sparring Seminar last night that their school had and was open to all so I took them even tho they aren't ready for sparring as white belts. I believe Sensei Alex said Sparring was starting for Purple belts and higher in the 5-6 year old groups.

O:nen ki' wahi' Bye for now

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http://www.urbanskinz.com


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## Kwiter (Apr 7, 2006)

Kwe sewakwekon, Hello everyone, I just created a website with some digital Art based on my girls training. It needs some work as some spurious text is popping up onscreen for some reason but the images are still viewable. Click the Thumbnails to see a larger version in the main window

http://www.geocities.com/welovekarate

Enjoy


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## Kwiter (Apr 7, 2006)

Mrs told me earlier that all Graduations to new Rank are covered in the Monthly fee at my girls Dojo so no extra gotcha's tho I'm sure I'm gonna gotcha myself with Gear purchases here and there ;-)

I WANT to buy them Sparring equipment but not sure how long it'll be before they get to Purple Belt so don't want to buy and then it not fit by the time they are ready ;-)

I was told they need 3 stripes on their White Belt before graduating to Yellow, they currently have 1 stripe and I think stripe testing is third week of each month, with Luck they'll gain another stripe this month.....Crossing finmgers and toes ;-)

O:nen ki' wahi' Bye for now

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http://www.urbanskinz.com


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