ideas and help please for when my students go overseas next March?

[Tez3]

I'm trying to plan things now for next March when nearly everyone of our students and/or their fathers and husbands go off to Afghanistan for six months and I would really appreciate some ideas for things I can do.

Firstly, my entire class of adult TSD students, about 7 of them, are going to be away, they will also be going off a lot between now and then training. We do grappling too so I thought I'd get as many training DVDs as I could for them, the BJJ/grappling are easy enough but I can't find TSD ones unless we do them ourselves. It's not ideal of course as everyone knows 'distance' learning isn't as good as proper instruction but hopefully they could also video themselves (though some of things they may come up with could be very funny!) I'll send them as many MA magazines too as I can. Anyone especially anyone with first hand experience out there think of anything else I can do?

The childrens classes will have many kids with dads away, there is a mum away too but the children go off to grandparents. I will do extra classes in the school holidays for them but was also thinking of a weekend class too but I'm not sure it wouldn't be too much, does anyone have ideas of a class where we can do something martial arts related but different, something that would be fun? I thought too I'd do a sparring only class, it's quite stress relieving for them, anxiety and stress is quite common among the kids at these times. I'd like something a bit different as well though but I'm not good at thinking what!

For the wives and mums I'm working with the famlies officers to do either (perhaps all) a boxercise class, self defence or TMA classes depending on what they'd like. With boxercise I sneak in MA and SD to get them interested in doing it properly. Obviously stress levels are high with the wives.

I know we are six months away but time catches up really quickly and I need to plan now so all ideas for any of these groups really really welcome. Thank you all in advance!

 

[Tez3]

Pretty please?

 

[ATC]

That's great what you are doing Tez, I personally don't have any input as your situation is unique to you. I applude what you are doing and hope others will have something for you.

 

[Tez3]

That's great what you are doing Tez, I personally don't have any input as your situation is unique to you. I applude what you are doing and hope others will have something for you.

Thank you, I'm fine with the 'pure' MA stuff but my imagination is a bit stuck when it comes to finding martial arts related things for them to do, I think doing another full on session may too much though maybe not? I'd like to do weapons classes but really don't have the knowledge or skills for it. Perhaps a games session with MA type games but then I don't know what would be useful or not as we tend to be a bit serious usually lol!

 

[CoryKS]

Will they all be located in the same place or spread about? Is there an advanced student among them that you could 'fasttrack' in the time remaining so that he/she could run at least a basic program while they're away?

As far as the dependents go, nothing comes to mind offhand.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Sorry Tez, but I don't think I will be much help either but I do know your doing a good thing.

My first sifu, since his background was more Sports sanshou and contemporary Wushu had a lot of different ways of training that could be fun for kids and adults and yet still good hard training (he does not do this anymore by the way) but he made no videos of this and I don't think I could type an adequate description, sorry.

As to videos they are what they are but they are also for students that already train and if you need to make your own then maker your own.

 

[Rich Parsons]

I'm trying to plan things now for next March when nearly everyone of our students and/or their fathers and husbands go off to Afghanistan for six months and I would really appreciate some ideas for things I can do.

Firstly, my entire class of adult TSD students, about 7 of them, are going to be away, they will also be going off a lot between now and then training. We do grappling too so I thought I'd get as many training DVDs as I could for them, the BJJ/grappling are easy enough but I can't find TSD ones unless we do them ourselves. It's not ideal of course as everyone knows 'distance' learning isn't as good as proper instruction but hopefully they could also video themselves (though some of things they may come up with could be very funny!) I'll send them as many MA magazines too as I can. Anyone especially anyone with first hand experience out there think of anything else I can do?

The childrens classes will have many kids with dads away, there is a mum away too but the children go off to grandparents. I will do extra classes in the school holidays for them but was also thinking of a weekend class too but I'm not sure it wouldn't be too much, does anyone have ideas of a class where we can do something martial arts related but different, something that would be fun? I thought too I'd do a sparring only class, it's quite stress relieving for them, anxiety and stress is quite common among the kids at these times. I'd like something a bit different as well though but I'm not good at thinking what!

For the wives and mums I'm working with the famlies officers to do either (perhaps all) a boxercise class, self defence or TMA classes depending on what they'd like. With boxercise I sneak in MA and SD to get them interested in doing it properly. Obviously stress levels are high with the wives.

I know we are six months away but time catches up really quickly and I need to plan now so all ideas for any of these groups really really welcome. Thank you all in advance!

DVD's that they can play on a laptop is a good idea.

Making youro wn is also a good idea as you and them both know it is not meant for production intent only as a training tool for what they have already seen.

To help this out, just tape your instruction points of your classes or the whole class and use the parts you want in making your video in 5 to 6 months.

Start shopping for people who can do the editing work and making copies for you.

Contact Bob for a special section on MT for your club. This would give them a chance to post their questions here from anywhere they have internet access. They could also use it to view videos you may have posted on the net.

 

[Tez3]

Will they all be located in the same place or spread about? Is there an advanced student among them that you could 'fasttrack' in the time remaining so that he/she could run at least a basic program while they're away?

As far as the dependents go, nothing comes to mind offhand.

I'm not sure where they are going to be at the moment, they are a tank regiment (The Death or Glory boys) and I'm not sure where they'll be. I'll find out. I have one who I could fast track now you mention it, I'll see how he feels about it. They have enough basic TSD skills that they could do karate,TKD and Judo if there's anyone who does that while they are there. I'm guessing martial artists will gravitate towards each other lol!

If I can remind them to be polite lol I'll get them to join MT!

 

[Andy Moynihan]

Kettlebells.

 

[Brian King]

ADULT STUDENTS
I too have had students deploy so know where your heart is Tez3 and it is in the right place. The students getting ready to deploy will be getting all kinds of additional training with their units and will be wanting to spend more time with their families. Both are very important and will cut into their training time. Some will mistakenly feel guilt or disloyalty and this should be discouraged in my opinion. What training they do with you all will also change. They are short timers now. They no longer have time to learn a bunch of new stuff and their priorities will likely change. Tomorrow is not always an option any more. They will also be much more injury attentive and will want to avoid things that can result in injury. If injured they will be letting down their comrades and could be brought up on charges, this will be in the back of their minds, especially closer to their deployment dates.

If your students are in the same unit then getting them to do teamwork drills, learning how to work together would be very valuable. For example Groups of four and getting them to lift a heavy object (another student one of the group of four is best) and do squats with that student in their arms. Do the squats very slowly, breathing together, raising and lowering together. Do ten or twenty very slow squats and then switch. Same with push-ups ummm press ups to you-all. Get shoulder to shoulder for three with the fourth laying across their shoulders. Raise and lower very slowly. Leg lifts/sit-ups can also be done like this. Have one student lay across the legs of the others (they will have to help and roll a bit when the legs try to go up..the ideal is not to stop the movement just make it a little difficult) as the legs go up the fourth starts rolling across the bodies up to the chests of the three. The three then do a sit up rolling the fourth back down to their legs. That kind of exercise will help them work as a team. Have one partner lay down and have two others approach him as a team (inhaling and exhaling together) even if one comes from a further distance or at a different speed both should lay hands on the partner on the ground at the very same exact time. They then lift the prone partner as a team. Have groups get together and put a tennis ball between each person and have them exercise or do techniques. It is harder than it sounds.

For training while deployed (my experiences (2nd hand) is with American forces and civilian contractors) is that there are often gyms and area to work but not much serious martial arts groups training. This means that your students will either be by themselves or in a small group. So you should start thinking of drills and exercises that they can do when alone. Floor work, kata, cardio type of work is good. You should encourage them to start training in their kit including weapon..that might be difficult over there but you can substitute sticks or blueguns for real weapons. None of this has to replace your current training but start feeding it into your current routines. Some kind of simple routine that can be done outside (although it is very dirty most places and laundry is not always an option) or in a small space that can work the whole body no matter the heat or cold. The routine should be easily adjustable and changeable to reduce boredom with them. Learn to use easily attained objects to help with the workout. A towel, heavy object, round objects etc.

If your system does not focus on breathing I highly recommend that you or someone else look at the Let every breath book/DVD Vladimir Vasiliev wrote. The work is great for tension and stress including PTSD and other injuries and illnesses. There have been a couple of threads on this forum talking about the book.

Set up an unofficial face book page (their unit or some such) or just one with yourself that they and their friends and family can be friends on. I have had some great chats with deployed students all around the world. It is also an easy way of just posting updates or links to keep in touch with out having to worry about time changes or how busy someone is. It could help to build a community out of the spouses and friends and help them support each other should that support God forbid become necessary.

KIDS
My friend Andrey Karimov http://www.ladsistema.ru has three DVD’s out showing some of the best children’s training I have seen. It is tied to folk music and songs with lessons tied to the music. The DVD’s are in Russian but even without understanding the songs or the lessons in the songs you would get a ton of ideas on very fun yet the martial applications and attributes are easily recognizable. FYI Google translate if opened in one window will translate whole web pages on another window. Very handy.
Each DVD shows the work with different aged children. Some links showing some of his work with very small children.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ6tEr19NOQ&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PccW-TTJT5o
The DVD’s show much more but you can get an idea of some of the drills/games/exercises you could do with the kids from the links.

SPOUSES
You sound like you have it handled here. They will be busy and short handed so time will be very important. You might consider even a walking date where you all get together and walk in the park or shopping mall or something. Some activity that the kids can be taken care of giving them some free time (you work with the spouses and have someone else working with the kids at the same time, two birds with one stone kind of events) If some of the kids are older (teens) get them to help out the spouses (yard work vehicle washing etc.) as a part of their training. Scrap booking for the wives building books to show their husbands stuff the kids and they did martially while they were deployed

A few quick ideas to help get your brain juices flowing. I am sure that you can come up with more and better ideas with some more brainstorming.

Regards
Brian King

 

[Tez3]

Brian, as the lads would say 'that's gleaming'! Gives me a good lot to work on. I've not thought about the breathing before so am going to have a good look at that, for me too.
Much appreciated!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Tez3 I have a free online training program to help supplement current IRT practitioner's training. The easiest and most efficient way to do this is to create a private group on Youtube and then upload video clips that you think might be of help to your students over seas. I know that I have students in Chicago, Michigan Upper Peninsula, Detroit, Florida, Washington State, Afghanistan, etc. that cannot make regular class do to moving away and yet they want to see what we are working on. you could easily do some thing similar and as long as they have internet connection then you are golden.

I have also sent DVD's over seas and that works well too!

Of course nothing is like having an instructor to teach you
in person. This type of material and coursework is best used in conjunction with an instructor that can correct you.

 

[Brian King]

Tez3 wrote

“Brian, as the lads would say 'that's gleaming'!”

I assume that is good LOL? Wondering what your experiences have been so far during this transition?

Tez3 also wrote

“I'd like to do weapons classes but really don't have the knowledge or skills for it.”

Have you given any thought about addressing this?

Regards
Brian King

 

[still learning]

Hello, When one is away from home....Letters are alway nice to received..send them notes on your classes and students.

Next reading materials...Black Belt magazines,and many others on all kinds of topics...hunting,fishing, cars, trucks...All types of books too..

Care packages...goodies from home..cookies,candies, nuts, etc..even can goods.."Spam" good for Hawaii guys only.

Main thing is to always keep up the contacts..with all of the above. The more you can send....will mean alot to them...the love and caring should be as often as you can....

Aloha, ...pineapples?

PS: Pictures...tells alot...send pictures too.. ( if you need mines? ...lets us know? ...just kidding)

 

[Tez3]

Thank you everyone!
yes gleaming does mean very good lol!

The only impact so far on my class is that I've dropped the fitness part and just do enough to warm up as their PT has been increased, this has also meant niggling injuries for them as they run in boots not running shoes or what we call trainers.Shin splints can be quite common as well as knee problems with carrying large weights, as they are a tank regiment it comes as a bit of a shock to do infantry type things! My instructor is coming down to do a couple of special classes for them on CQC stuff which they'll invite non MA mates. they will start going away on training exercises shortly too.
They've already asked me to write to them, we have free post, small parcels too so I'm going to be sending out mags which I'm going to try and blag for them but I don't mind paying if I have to. We have 'Fighters Only' here which includes loads of training tips but also big pics of ring girls rofl!
I'm asking the Garrison Sergeant Major for help in organising stuff for the kids and families, I may take a leaf out of some of the McDojos and have things like sleepovers in the club but with the only charge being for anything we need like drinks or food.

I'm off to a martial arts seminar next month, it's in aid of childrens charities which has instructors from various styles teaching including a Gatka instructor which I really want to try so I may be able to pick up a bit about Sikh weapons as well as some new teaching tips. It will put me in contact with other instructors as well as we aren't in an org at all, I'm picking all the good brains I can lol! It's called Fighting for Lives and I believe there's seminars going on in the States as well as all round the world on the same weekend.
http://fightingforlives.com/pb/wp_9573dffa/wp_9573dffa.html

 

[sfs982000]

$.02 worth from someone that has deployed, usually the base gyms or rec centers there offer some sort of martial arts training. If they are going as a group and the organized classes don't work with their schedule I would assume they could organize something among themselves.

 

[Tez3]

$.02 worth from someone that has deployed, usually the base gyms or rec centers there offer some sort of martial arts training. If they are going as a group and the organized classes don't work with their schedule I would assume they could organize something among themselves.

That's what I was thinking, they are all beginners so I need to be giving them something to train with. Martial arts isn't a big army sport so I'm hoping wherever they go has other allied soldiers who do MA.

 

[KELLYG]

TEZ,

I have no personal experience to base too many opinions on, but I will give it a shot. Kids training that's fun, dodge ball, socker, Simon says, red light green light, things like that. They would be fun and team building. I was thinking to allow them say 5 to 10 min after class to relax and talk about what is going on in their lives, sometimes it is a little easier knowing that someone around you is going through the same things.