IN THIS ISSUE, WE WANT TO CELEBRATE STUDENTS WHO MADE IT TO ANOTHER RANK - VIRTUALLY
The summer of 2020 was deadly. Not so much as the virus is concerned (we all know that), but for goals setting and accomplishment. Martial arts are known for instilling into their practitioners a host of benefits: Discipline, Academic Excellence, Perseverance, Confidence, Self –Esteem, Self-Control, and more! Everyone knows this to be true. Very few people, though, know exactly how it works.
On average, when a parent goes into a martial arts facility and says to the instructor, “I would like for my child to have more discipline.” What the Black Belt professional typically does is gives the applicant an “Introductory Class”. The class is designed for the instructor to see where the applicant is on an imaginary scale of having discipline. (The scale usually ranges for 1 -10 with ten being the highest).
From there the professional has what is called an “Extension Conference”. The conference is designed to explain the findings of the instructor to the parents of the applicant. The instructor will cover things like attitude, potential, innate ability, and desire. These are the tools that the instructor has to work with. From there the instructor will recommend an amount of time to which the parent can look forward to realizing the stated goal, in this case, discipline.
Here is what people don’t know:
Martial arts tend to speak of time in relationship to belts: three months – Gold Belt; six months – Green Belt; nine months – purple belt etc. In most “Extension Conferences” when an instructor mentions a belt (length of time) the parent immediately equates it to money and assumes that the instructor is trying to get the maximum amount of money out of them.
What the instructor is doing is explaining the amount of time it will take, not only for the instructor to instill the benefit into the applicant but the amount of time that it will take for him/her to keep it.
Example:
Let’s say that you walk into a martial arts facility and say to the instructor, “I want my child to do better in school”. The instructor recommends, and the child goes through, an introductory class; after the class, when the instructor has the information that they need he and the child’s parents have the extension conference and he recommends an amount of time.
Item One:
The amount of time rarely matches from one student to the other. One student may need six months to achieve the stated goal, while another may need nine or twelve months.
Item Two:
The amount of time that you are recommended will usually have an extension period attached to it. It is the extension period that is critical to the habitual use of the benefit to be acquired. If you were to ask any psychologist about the making of a habit they will tell you that the key to developing a new habit is the time of use. If you have ever learned a new language you know that it’s “use it or lose it”. Can you learn a new language? Yes! But if you don’t use the language regularly for at least a year, you forget it; the same thing for weight loss, sports activities, etc.
Instructors know this so they (if they are professional) recommend an amount of time for goals accomplishment that includes an extension period.
This is why martial arts professionals can charge a premium for their services and get it. They are extremely good at knowing time frames and delivering on a contract!
At this point, you may be asking, “What does this have to do with my child and their karate lesson?”
NOTHING!
If you have signed your child up in a class just to experience martial arts along with a host of other things.
EVERYTHING!
If you are serious about giving your child the gift of self-determination of their wealth, lifestyle, and future!
The pandemic has caused a serious problem with continuity! This, if not checked will stymie your child’s development and acquisition of DAGPAW. That’s a bad thing. The good thing is that the pandemic allows your child to learn how to overcome obstacles that might present themselves as your child moves towards accomplishing their goals.
Why you should take advantage of virtual learning in a sports activity and enroll your child.
I started taking karate before it was a business, 1968. I have always believed that instruction is a personal thing with a give and take flowing atmosphere between teacher and student. When the pandemic hit, I believed that all martial arts instruction would have to be put on hold until the student and instructor can meet in person again.
Because of student’s requests, reluctantly I began giving instructions in kickboxing and karate virtually. On the first day of virtual teaching, I immediately recognized several benefits that were not there in an open classroom.
In one of my virtual classes, I had about 18 students. As I began teaching I noticed that kids that normally have subordinate personalities took more responsibility for their actions. Additionally, I noticed that all, students focused, tried harder, and demonstrated more determination to get things right! While I understand the importance of social contact with children, it appeared that without the social part of the learning environment children concentrate more on the learning aspect of class activity.
I believe that in the short term this is a tremendous opportunity for your child to acquire the skills that I mentioned above and transfer it into the regular class when school opens again.
All of the kids with their photo above demonstrated these skills and was able to move up a level in rank in half the time that they would have in a normal setting.