good teaching advice

[donald1]

in January ill be going up for a brown belt in our karate class, and the belt after that is black belt ill be teaching more and more often could you please give some advice?

 

[chinto]

will you be teaching kids or adults?

 

[colemcm]

Congratulations! That's a large and very rewarding step. It's a great learning opportunity for you.

Is there anything specifically that you have concerns about?

 

[donald1]

2 children and one junior, with the exceptions occasionally adults

 

[Touch Of Death]

Teach one lesson at a time. Spar with one purpose... or two, who cares, and don't try to teach the art in one fell swoop; it ain't gonna happen. Keep it simple.

 

[chinto]

I agree with touch of death, also teach any kata/form in parts, get them to where they know say the first oh 6 techniques in the kata in order then add some more. with younger kids change it up to something else every ohh 5 to 12 minutes for the younger ones, longer as they are older. the junior you will have a longer attention span and he/she may want or need some more understanding of what they are doing and how it applies. bunkai is a great thing and all ages will find it rewarding. that said the junior may get a lot more out of it then the younger kids.


Either way I think you will find it rewarding and fun! I know I do.

 

[donald1]

luckly the children are white belts one is this week testing for orange belt and junior will be some time testing for green belt(the next belt color)

 

[donald1]

mostly unarmed, in our karate system you dont test for weapons until first belt change which is a kihon kata no bo(basic bo kata)

-out of curiosity whats it like being an instructer in a after january itel be another year till i can get black belt then a while till 3rd degree and then get instructers liscence/ what is it like to be an instructor?

thank you for the advice when i help with the others or lead class ill apply this advice to my teaching- domo arigato gozaimasu

 

[Makalakumu]

Have your class take out their requirement sheets at the beginning of class and have them identify the one or two weakest techniques. Spend the class going over the list they create. When I first started teaching MA as part of my duties as a higher rank, I found this to be successful strategy.

 

[Prostar]

As you work your way around the room, think of each comment or correction as a small cut. Then make a conscious effort to always circle back and follow up with an encouraging comment. You open it, you close it. The followup can be as much as, "Great!", or as simple as "Better, keep it up." Just don't be the instructor who is always complaining.

 

[MJS]

in January ill be going up for a brown belt in our karate class, and the belt after that is black belt ill be teaching more and more often could you please give some advice?

One thing that worked for me, was trying to figure out some sort of a plan before the class started. Now of course, until you actually see who shows up, how many people, etc, if your plan is set up for a class of 20 and only 3 show, well, you'll have to modify. With kids, IMHO, it's very important, right from the start, to keep things moving, and keep their attention, because once you lose it, it could be hard to get back.

As an example: If the class is 1 hour, you could break down the class into segments. Again, keep in mind, time may vary, depending on the number, age, and rank, etc. 10min warm up. 15-20 min of floor drills, ie, working blocks, punches, kicks. Spend 10-15 min on self defense techs, either teaching something new or reviewing what they already know. The remainder of the time can be sparring.

Again, the above is simply an example. If you have someone helping you, and its a large class, you can each break up into 2 groups, each focusing on something specific. After a set time, switch groups.

If you're teaching adults, you could probably get away with breaking them into groups, giving them something specific to work, and rotate yourself between the groups.

Again, in the end, it's up to you, as to how you wish to run the class. When I first started teaching, I was given small tasks at first, ie: doing the warmups, running the class thru the punches, kicks, etc, and then the main teacher would take over, with me assisting as needed. As time went on, I was eventually given the entire class.

Good luck!