How Good is Good Enough?

Back in May, at a symposium on teaching kids organized by Madeline Crouse of Satori Dojo in Pennsylvania, many instructors raised the question,

How do you judge the quality of a child’s technique? How good is good enough to promote a child to the next rank?

Implicit was the understanding that young kids can’t meet the standards we apply to adults. Not even our best child-students can be expected to perform like adults.

Heidi Goldstein of Concorde Martial Arts in New York writes,

It seems we all get stuck on the “how good is good enough” question. It would be great to hear from other instructors on this issue. People say things like, “When he can do a good lower block;” or, “When her forward stance looks OK.” What does that mean? We need to define these terms so they are measurable in some way.

In my own experience I’ve noticed a principle at work that’s akin to the old adage, “Work expands to fill the allotted time.” It goes:

Perfectionism expands to make any step impossible to reach.

When we try to get young kids to learn the amount of material we expect from adults, we find they can’t do it—or it takes them many, many times as long. But when we break the material into smaller bits—manageable steps—the next thing we notice is that many of them can’t perform those steps to what we thought were reasonable standards.

So… What standards can we reasonably apply?

Tanner Critz of Unity Martial Arts in Arkansas writes:

I have a list of principles that go into making techniques good. My goal for kids at lower ranks is that they can show a certain number of those principles, and then the number needs to increase but not in any particular order. This allows kids to advance in different ways towards the same goal. The principles on the list, though, are far from standardized. I’d love to know what other people would put on their list (even if they don’t do it this way).

We’d love to know what Tanner puts on his list, too, and I bet he’ll tell us if we get a good discussion going here.

Ricki Kay of Fairwood Martial Arts in Washington writes:

I look for whether kids can consistently do the technique without any prompting from the instructor, and with about 50% good form. The forward stance may not look like a black belt doing it, but they have the basic form. At the lower ranks and ages, I look at their consistency in showing their knowledge of the technique. Do they do a middle block when asked, or do they just put their hand out?

Instructors: Please join the discussion, and forward this link to your colleagues so they too can tell us, How do you decide when a child’s technique is good enough to move him or her to the next rank?

The Dreaded “Triple Push-Up” & More Martial Arts Fun

photo courtesy of Shawn McElroy

Shawn McElroy Sensei, head of after-school programs at Sung Ming Shu Dojo in Atlanta, loves the “triple push-up,” adding,

I have had groups up to 5 do this exercise. Great for team building and strength!

What’s your favorite fun, funny, weird, creative drill or exercise for kids? Share it here. Leave a comment below, or – if you have a photo – send it to redwoodojo@hotmail.com.

Can’t get black belt no matter how hard they try?

Several instructors have posed versions of this question lately: What if you have a child in class who is dedicated and tries hard — but is simply too uncoordinated to perform the required material up to par? Is there a point at which you stop promoting this student through the ranks, in spite of his or her best effort? If so, is there a “magic rank” where this happens? –They might get green belt, but not brown belt; or, brown belt but not junior black belt.

I think we’ve all had students at one time or another who’ve caused us to ask these questions. Other factors usually come into play, like the age of the students in question, the reasons for their physical difficulty, and the expectations for future change as they grow and mature.

Instructors: Tell us about your experience. What have you learned about working with less athletically gifted students? What decisions have you made at test time? What advice would you give an instructor who is dealing with the issue for the first time? And, bottom line, can this student get his or her black belt?

Celebrate Kids Who Train in Martial Arts

Updated January 14, 2010

photo by Linda Nikaya

Happy New Year, everyone!
Let this be the best year yet for your training.
May you build strength, stamina, discipline and focus.
May you feel the joy of good health and physical expression.
May you have more fun than ever, pursuing an art that provides such serious benefits in your life. Have some serious fun.

Let’s celebrate in pictures. Send me a great picture (or two) showing kids in action, training in martial arts. Include appropriate credits (your school and instructor, and the photographer’s name). We’ll add it to the photo gallery here on this site. Pass the word to anyone you know who teaches martial arts to kids– or who has kids who train in martial arts.

A few folks have already responded– I have some pictures from Germany as well as the U.S. Let’s get as many schools, styles, states, and countries on here as we can!

Send your photos to photos@kidskaratebook.com. I look forward to seeing and posting them!

Kids’ Karate Photo Gallery

You’re invited to view mommaratzi’s photo gallery from last Sunday’s demo/party/book-signing at Redwood Dojo. There are some great shots from the demos– kids of all ages, as well as teens and adults. Click here.

Do you have a fantastic photo of kids doing martial arts? Would you like to share it on this site? Let us know! Leave a comment below, or email didi@kidskaratebook.com.

Praise is Overrated

Pam Consear submitted a comment on the earlier post “Tips for instructors who teach martial arts to kids,” but instead of approving it, I held it in the queue till I could set it up as a new topic. Here it is– and I hope others will have things to say on this important subject.

I agree with all the comments about keeping things positive, using all the kids’ names, working out and enjoying practicing alongside them, etc. I’d like to make a comment about PRAISE, though.

We should make sure that the praise we’re giving is thoughtful and specific, not just habitual. I think that some of our kids these days get showered with too much praise (and trophies, medals, awards…) for just showing up, and the words eventually lose their value.

According to research I’ve read about child development and teaching, praise doesn’t build self-esteem (assuming that’s one of our goals here), but skill mastery DOES. So we can help by pointing out specifically WHAT they are doing well (“good job raising your knee up for that snap kick!”), and being gently honest when they’re not doing something right, and telling them how to fix it. Not everything kids do in class is a “great job!” (Not in my classes, anyway!)

Research has also found that telling kids they’re “smart” or “talented” or “gifted”, etc., can actually be counter-productive. It causes some kids to either not try new things for fear of not being as amazing as everyone thinks they are, or to give up quickly if they don’t catch on immediately for fear that people might find out that they’re not actually smart/talented/gifted after all. More useful is to focus on the EFFORT they’re putting in, and point out how that is leading to progress and new skills. Everyone has the ability to try hard, so the kids start seeing success as something attainable through hard work, and not the birthright of a few “talented” kids.

Ok, that’s my two cents about keeping the praise real!

Any thoughts, readers?

A Holiday Gift for Karate and Taekwondo Kids

I’m already starting to see the words “holiday shopping” in the media, so there’s nothing to do but join in:

The Kids’ Karate Workbook is a great holiday gift idea for young martial arts students. As you know, when kids get involved in something, they love everything about it, from clothing to equipment to… anything they can find. This book offers some special benefits for both children and parents:

It encourages reading.

It encourages healthy physical activity.

It promotes discussion between kids and parents on the important topics of safety and self-defense.

It promotes active engagement with an art and discipline that in itself brings many benefits to the child.

If you’re an instructor, I want you to know you were very much on my mind when I wrote this book. It’s not meant to be used by students for self-instruction; it’s meant to get students to collaborate with you, their teacher, in order to practice better at home. Time and again the book asks students to speak to you, to find out what you want them to practice and improve, and even to “correct” the book if it differs from what you teach. There’s no other book like it in the bookstores. Click here to read more about it on Amazon: The Kids’ Karate Workbook: A Take-Home Training Guide for Young Martial Artists.

If you’re a school owner, consider offering the book for sale in your “pro shop,” or asking your neighborhood book store to stock it for your students. And if you have any questions, please contact me: didi[at]kidskaratebook.com — or leave a comment here on the blog.