Teaching Kenpo to kids

[jeffkyle]

It is possible to get kids to do anything you want them to. You just have to know how to apply it to them at what times. Sometimes you have to be playful, sometimes you have to be stern, sometimes you can just tell them and they will respond. The whole fun of it is being able to experiment with it all.

 

[Seig]

As a small school owner, i think I need to address a few things. Number one, I hate McDojos. Having said that we need to look at a few other things. If you are running a business and have overhead, you have to pay for it or you no longer have a business. There is a belt/advanced belt system within the IKKO. I have implemented it and it works well for me. I do not especially enjoy having parents "dump" thier kids on me, but they do pay the electric and the rent, etc... I have no desire to become a dojo and I keep the quality of my material and instruction high. I'm also very demanding of my students performance. I have to work a full time job to pay my own bills and I would love to teach kenpo full time and neer have to divide my attention again. To do that, I have to have more students. Unfortunately, to stay in business, you have to walk a line between what you want to do and what you have to do. Just remainn vigilent and don't make a new corvette every two years your goal.

 

[Kenpomachine]

I really like your policies Seig. Keep up the good work.

 

[Les]

Unlike some of you guys seem to do, I don't teach anything but Kenpo in my clubs, so the juniors learn Kenpo from day one.

In my clubs, a Junior Black Belt is the equivalent of an adult Purple with a Blue tip.

In the adult class they line up with the Purple belts (blue tip), because thats where their level of knowledge/skill is.

They wear a Black belt, with a white tip to show it is a Junior Ranking, and above the white tip they have a purple tip with a blue tip above that. (Denoting Purple rising towards Blue.

When the are promoted to blue belt, they'll have two blue tips, then a Blue and a green, then two greens, etc etc.

It's important to remember that with kids, you can't take their 'hard earned' Black Belt status away from them, as that would de-motivate them.

I spent a lot of time developing my junior syllabus, in consultation with two other Instructors, both much higher ranked than me, and I have been using it successfully for about three years now.

Les

 

[Nightingale]

that sounds like a really good system. I like the way you've ranked things, but it sounds like an awful lot of tips... and there's just something about after a test being able to tie on a new belt.

a lot of the junior systems use the black belts with the colored stripe down the middle... you could start them with the black belt with the purple stripe, and add a blue tip, then move on to a black belt with a blue stripe, and then add a green tip, etc.

 

[Les]

Originally posted by nightingale8472
that sounds like a really good system. I like the way you've ranked things, but it sounds like an awful lot of tips... and there's just something about after a test being able to tie on a new belt.

a lot of the junior systems use the black belts with the colored stripe down the middle... you could start them with the black belt with the purple stripe, and add a blue tip, then move on to a black belt with a blue stripe, and then add a green tip, etc.

Thanks for your comments.

It's not really a lot of tips, just three, and it does mean that they can line up in the right group. After testing they receive a new belt with the next set of tips on, so they still get to tie on the new one.

I've heard about the Black belts with a coloured stripe throught the length, but we can't get them here in the UK.

Les

 

[Kenpomachine]

I think I've seen this same system in the swedish team. They only wear one stripe, though...

 

[jaykenpo]

So when they receive their jr BB, they then start the adult curriculum?