Suggest Future Topics
Have a topic or question you’d like to pose to other martial arts instructors or students? Please post it here by leaving a comment! Don’t feel limited by the word ‘karate’ in the title- we welcome all martial arts styles and points of view.
The Kids' Karate Workbook 
May 6, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Dear Sensei,
I had an issue raised to me today that has caused quite some thinking. I have a friend who’s 10 year old daughter was physically assaulted by another girl [girl!] in school.
[…]
It made me examine what I’ve been taught in women’s self defense classes […] and even what we teach the kids in our kids classes. It seems we often assume the attacker to be some hideous criminal; a rapist, kidnapper, child molester. For these attacks, we turn up potentially damaging strikes like fingers to the eyes, kicking out knees, kicks/shin strikes to the groin, elbow strikes, etc. How can [or should] we alter those responses for bullies in the hallways at school? It seems kicking out a knee or elbowing them to the face might be a little extreme in that situation….
Anyway, my minds aflurry over this, partially appalled that things like this happen at that age, an under the watchful eye of the teachers 😦 I thought it might be really good discussion for the blog.
Thank you!
Dawn White
Satori Dojo
Phoenixville, PA
May 11, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Thanks for the suggestion, Dawn. The rest of your post will appear shortly on the home page as a new topic. I hope we get a good discussion; I know bullying is on people’s minds these days, and many instructors have wrestled with this problem.
May 11, 2011 at 11:21 am
I have just become a junior instructor and one thing that I am most unshure about is the ‘mat chat’ for the youngest kids class. What topics and themes should I use?
May 11, 2011 at 10:30 pm
Thanks for the question, Rachel. Watch for it soon on the main blog!