Too Lenient?

[Gemini]

We have set water breaks but I allow students to take additional breaks if they need it. In Vegas you can go from fine to dehydrated very quickly and I just don't want to take the chance. At the same time, you can tell when someone is beginning to develop a pattern of taking unnecessary additional breaks and address it pretty quickly as the motivational issue it is.
I've never really had a problem with adults though. With your "Adults accompying children under 14" policy, I could imagine how that might be a possible side effect, but having never tried it myself, I can't speak intelligently to it, so I'll leave that to you.

Bottom line is, if they're abusing it, then yes, you're probably being to lenient and should regulate it which you can do it without putting their health in jeopardy. I tell my students all the time that I expect them to come to class properly hydrated and their basic stretching done.

Regards,

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I run kumdo at KMA on Tuesday nights. The class opens up with warmups and then we do mokdo techniques and hyung, then jukdo technique, then sparring drills in full hogu (Kumdo hogu is much more substantial than taekwondo hogu).

ATC is dead on about hydration before class. During the summer, I give everyone a break between jukdo drills and putting on hogu and when it is over 90, I am a bit more lenient about the occasional sip of water. It actually gets hotter inside the building than it is outside (no air conditioning), so it is very much like football practice.

High school athletes go through tough practices outdoors and cannot break until the coach tells them to. Most schools are indoors and air conditioned, so I think that 'break at the scheduled time' is perfectly appropriate.

When I teach hapkido from home, we do not break normally. The class is only an hour and we are not in gear of any kind. When it is over 90, we take a break midway through for about a minute.

If taking a water break politely and returning to class as needed works for your class, then it is fine. You need to do what works for your class.

Daniel

 

[StudentCarl]

There are two topics in this thread now: breaks/effort and hydration.

On breaks: My master has the rule that you can only enter or leave the floor with permission, so someone who needs a break must ask. In our school that only happens for bathroom, injuries, or a beginner who's badly sucking wind. Having to ask discourages taking the easy out. It doesn't stop slackers from slacking--that's an issue of leadership and how you run the class.

On hydration: Hydration is what you do before class. If you have an indoor class there should be no need for a water break for a 1 hour class. In regular classes, we usually take a whole class, 2 minute break about halfway through class. People can get a drink but it's more like wetting your mouth. On competition team we'll take a drink break about once an hour over a 3-4 hour practice. At the 2-3 hour break we recommend a little light fruit such as grapes or orange sections.

As I teacher, my experience is that you get what you put up with. Your students will rise to the level of your expectations and leadership. Your job is to get them to do more than they think they can.