# I taught for the first time



## Lynne (Dec 19, 2008)

Last night, was my first time assistant teaching. Since getting my 3rd gup, I'd been somewhat nervous about teaching.  I was excited but had some trepidation.  Fear of the unknown.  Also, I know the kids can be a handful at times, especially during "fun" week and Black Belt Club Week.  They have a tendency to act up by removing their belts and agitate one another.  They'll ignore the instructors and even try to get into enough trouble to be told to sit out.

My daughter had given me lots of tips and informed me of protocol, so by the time I entered the dojang I was ready and much more calm.

I was assigned to work with Master L (we have four masters in addition to our Sa Ba Nim).  There was another red belt adult and one red belt child assisting Master L's group.  Our first group were white belts.  Master L asked me to work one-on-one with one child and the other adult worked one-on-one with a child.  I worked on Gi Cho Hyung E Bu (Basic Form #2)with him.  He already knew the first half of the form and we continued practicing that half.  There was a lot to work on.  I worked on him squaring his shoulders and deeper front stances.  He picked up the corrections quickly and was trying very hard.  (Wasn't I lucky?)  He did tell me I did Choon Bee differently than anyone else. Uh oh.   (That's the scary thing; if you screw up the kids will be very happy to point it out and the red belts kids will eat you alive.  I probably won't work with red belt kids until I'm at least an Il Gup.  I'd prefer black belt, like second dan, lol.)

The next group were yellow belts and we did block/kick combinations.  Then we did one-on-one kicking.  I kihaped with every kick and was able to get each kid (all four) that I worked with to kihap when they kicked also.  Not much correction needed.  The kids are good!

The third group were orange belts and we worked on bounce-kick drills as well as the back kick.  Not too much correction here except to have a child switch his/her feet to the correct position.

Master L told me I did an excellent job of teaching.  That made me feel great because you never really know how you are doing.

My red belt buddy told me that as the instructors note my confidence they will probably give me my own group to work with.  I am not ready for that yet...I don't think.  I suppose I'd do alright; it's just a scary notion.

I was sure to smile and encourage the kids.  I gave them hi-5's and told them they did great (they did).

Oh, there was plenty to correct as we were warming up, too.  Kids have a tendency to goof off during warmups.  When doing splits they might be on their knees.  During clock-kicking, they get sloppy with their fighting stance, stop bouncing, etc.

Here is what I learned:

Teaching is a lot easier than I thought it would be.  There is so much to correct.

The kids respond to enthusiasm.  When I kihaped (loudly), they kihapped back.

The kids need and enjoy the encouragement.

The kids learn quickly.  There are some with autism and learning disabilities.  They learn with encouragement and often need a little more repetition.  

Some kid's personalities are more quiet and they may seem like they don't want to be there.  Maybe parents are forcing them. Maybe they are tired.  Maybe they are just reserved.  Or they might need more confidence.  Give them the same amount of encouragement you are giving the other children.

Try to make the class as fun as possible for the children.  You do this by smiling and enjoying the class yourself.  Kids pick up on your attitude.

The kids are watching everything you do and say.  Be sure to do exactly as the lead instructor says to do.  I noted that the red belt children get lax and don't Choon Bee, etc., when the instructor tells the group to do so!  The children are also cueing off of you, not just observing your personality.

For heaven's sake, be confident and remember you are the one in control.  Give the children respect and demand respect.

Be sure to bow to the children outside of the training area when you see them.  Yes, they are supposed to bow first (to their seniors) but won't until they see that, yes, we really do bow to one another.  By bowing to them and making eye contact, you force them to bow back, observing proper etiquette.  This is just as true for teenagers and adults...

....

We have required SWAT (Students Working as Teachers) meetings every month for red belts.  They can be fairly intense classes.  We work on our conditioning by doing squat thrusts, etc., plus we review the Pyung Ahn forms (can't teach 'em if you stink at 'em).  Then, we address problems that have come up or how to overcome problems, aka, the kid picking his nose and twirling around (honestly - how do you deal with that? It's important to know how to deal with such things.)

If you want to offer any tips about anything, please go ahead.  There are probably tons of tips I could use.


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## MA-Caver (Dec 19, 2008)

Teaching children is a joy. Glad your first experience was a positive one. It lends more enthusiasm towards your next "class". Teaching is supposed to be fun, work, but fun work all the same. To pass your knowledge on to others is to be of service to others... especially the young. 
I enjoy teaching what I know and allow that enjoyment to show through. I always try to make it fun for everybody... especially me because it removes the "work" out of it and afterwards that feeling of a job well done makes everything else that might've went wrong okay. 

I'm glad your first time was a good one. May there be many more good ones. :asian:


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## stickarts (Dec 19, 2008)

Congrats and great job! You are at the beginning of another amazing journey!


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## Rich Parsons (Dec 19, 2008)

Lynne said:


> He did tell me I did Choon Bee differently than anyone else. Uh oh.  (That's the scary thing; if you screw up the kids will be very happy to point it out and the red belts kids will eat you alive. I probably won't work with red belt kids until I'm at least an Il Gup. I'd prefer black belt, like second dan, lol.)


 
I am glad your first experience went well.

As to doing things differently it is good for people to point this out. Children have less filters for being PC. 

I was at a seminar assisting and helping others present to learn what our GM was teaching. This woman who had never trained before in her life was present. She pointed out I was not doing something the same way as the GM demonstrated. I stopped everyone working with me and had her show me. She was embarassed at first but I smiled and asked her "please'. The issue was not that I misunderstood or did not know, I was doing a variation I did naturally from my training but it was not what was being worked upon at that time. Those working with me were surprised that I let her correct me and then had everyone else starting doing it her way. The others all stated that what I did worked. And it did, but a subtle hand position which would change your options for the next sequence would be missed or hard for them to catch if they did not change. While getting them all on the same page from my "mistake", I stepped back so they could practice some more and the GM was watching me. He came over and told me it was very good for me to acknowledge that she saw something and that I was willing to go with it and make sure they all got it. 

Being corrected or having someone of less time or experience or rank make a comment is not the end of the world (* which you seem to understand *) and I know I am grateful for the comments. 

Thanks


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## bluekey88 (Dec 19, 2008)

Congratulations Lynn!  I love teaching...especially the kids.  It is certainly a challenge (as you;re discorvering) but what you get in return for your investmnet is invaluable.  I think you will find the more you teach, the more insight you'll gain into your MA.  

Peace,
Erik


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## IcemanSK (Dec 19, 2008)

Congratulations Lynne!


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## Drac (Dec 19, 2008)

Congrats Lynne...Teaching children is a great thing, I however lack the patience....


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## MBuzzy (Dec 19, 2008)

Congratulations!  Sounds like you had fun!  I like teaching the kids, but I can only handle them in small doses at this point....a room rull of no-attention span kids grates on you after a while.


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## terryl965 (Dec 19, 2008)

Congrats Lynne and looks like you had a wonderful time.


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## AMP-RYU (Dec 19, 2008)

Always enjoy every bit of it! The bad and good times!

" Given enough time any person may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any person may become wise. It is the true martial artist who can master both and pass on the result. ":asian:


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## Miles (Dec 19, 2008)

Congratulations Lynne!  I did not teach kids until I had already taught adults for some time. I thought I would never like to teach kids but their energy and enthusiasm more than makes up for their attention span (or lack thereof).Glad your first experience was positive!


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## aarong (Dec 19, 2008)

Well Done Lynne!! You are now entering another part of your journey in Martial Arts. I hope you enjoy it and keep at it !
Congrats


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## Lynne (Dec 20, 2008)

MBuzzy said:


> Congratulations! Sounds like you had fun! I like teaching the kids, but I can only handle them in small doses at this point....a room rull of no-attention span kids grates on you after a while.


 I was fortunate we had good groups the other night.  One thing, the class was smaller than usual.  The were very well-behaved and attentive.  We had about 30; we usually have 42 - 52 on average.  Only four black belt instructors for that many kids.  They certainly need the red belt help (you think!?).

I also know that there will be lots of challenges.  Fun week is coming up after Christmas.  The kids are terrible during fun weeks.  I think part of it is they may get bored while they are waiting in line for their turn to do an activity.  Jumping jacks or pushups might solve part of that problem. I don't believe I'd be authorize to have them do pushups but it would keep them occupied!  I've already started thinking about how I will handle it when the kids take their belts off.  If one does, I will help him/her retie it.  I will give them a warning that I will take the belt next time they remove it.  And I will.  Then, they can explain to the senior instructor why they aren't wearing a belt.  Fortunately, I have a gentle manner about me and hopefully won't make them cry.  What do you do though?  You can't let them go crazy.

Some of the parents don't like to see their kids disciplined in any fashion.  But they are not going to be allowed to pick their nose, talk during instruction or warmups, slap each other with the ends of their belts, take their belts off or whatever is not acceptable.  

I may get frustrated if I'm trying to teach something and they aren't paying attention, start twirling around and such.  That may be the biggest challenge.


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 20, 2008)

Good Job on teaching the kids. Great, Be encourage and keep up the good work.


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## arnisador (Dec 20, 2008)

Good for you! Thanks for sharing.


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## JT_the_Ninja (Dec 21, 2008)

Congrats; just remember that any time a junior belt has a question, you should be able to help. Keeps you on your toes, like you said; you can't mess up while demonstrating. 

Tang Soo!


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## LarryR (Dec 21, 2008)

Congrats and keep up the good work Lynn. Teaching has its rich rewards.


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## claireg31 (Dec 22, 2008)

Well done Lynne

I've been help teach the kids classes for about a year now, and it can but utterly rewarding and hard work in the same breath!!

I have noticed that we need to keep things short and snappy with the younger kids, we also have some students that work harder than others.

I believe that if i keep positive then the kids respond better and if you threaten bad behaviour with a punishment then you have to follow through with the punishment, i have one little boy who is going to have incredibly strong muscles, he is forever ending up with press ups, sits ups, squats etc for misbehaving, but his spirit is infectious!!

I love helping out with the kids classes and never fail to leave with less than a smile after there classes!!

Enjoy it and reap the benefits!

claire


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