How To Teach Martial Arts To Kids
Posted on | September 29, 2009 | 1 Comment
There was a gentleman walking along the road. He came upon three brick masons who were building something. He walked up to the first person and said, “What are you building?” The man responded by saying “Oh, I’m laying some bricks.” He then walked up to the second person and asked him the same question. The second person said, “Oh, I’m building this wall, here.” He then went up to the third one and said, “What are you doing?” The third man paused and with great pride said, “I’m building a cathedral.”
Well, how does that relate to Martial Arts? What are YOU doing? Are you just teaching kicks and punches? Are you teaching only Martial Arts? Or are you helping develop tomorrow’s leaders? Well, hopefully you are helping to develop tomorrow’s leaders. If you do certain things correctly, you’re really going to have a major impact upon your students.
One thing to remember is that most people, while growing up, had a special coach – someone who said or did something that really impacted them in a significant way. To the coach it might have been something minor or something just in passing, but it still had a major affect in influencing that person’s future. Conversely, we probably all have had someone say something to us, which affected us negatively.
We Martial Arts instructors are in a situation to positively or negatively impact our students every time they come to class. This is not something that should be taken lightly – It should be taken very seriously. What is your interaction with your students? Is it positive, is it OK, or is it negative? When your students are 80 years old, what kind of memories will they have of you? Hopefully, they will be positive.
It should be the goal of all Martial Arts Instructors to be sure that every student leaving class has benefited in some way from the class. Remember, students are always in one of two places: either closer to getting their Black Belt – or closer to quitting. There is no in between! Our actions, as instructors, determine whether they are going to quit or whether they are going for their Black Belt and beyond.
The first thing to remember is, as instructors, we need to be proactive. We need to understand that WE are responsible for our students’ progress. We are responsible for the energy and attitude of the class. Once we, as instructors, understand this and realize we can’t blame the weather or any other conditions, we will be much better off. When we point a finger at a student, we have three fingers pointing back at ourselves. We, the instructors, must take responsibility because the students are coming to our school and paying us to improve their lives. It is ultimately up to us to get and keep the energy, motivation, and interest levels up.
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About Dave Kovar
Mr. Kovar has been teaching Martial Arts professionally since 1978. Dave is a multi-style Black Belt who has been committed to ever-improving his Martial Arts skills. He updates this blog to provide tips and insights to martial arts instructors around the country. To learn more, click here.
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October 19th, 2009 @ 7:26 pm
Mr. Kovar, I always enjoy your insights and particularly enjoyed this one thanks for sharing it.