Karate lessons are such a valuable activity for kids as they not only provide a physical activity which provides a vast number of health benefits for them but also promote mental self-discipline and teach them how to interact with others in a competitive environment. As a teacher of karate lessons for children, there are certain factors which need considering which are different from teaching adults. People often want to know what the differences are between teaching the different ages to ensure that they are guiding there students in a way best suited to their young age. There are a few things to consider which will help you to deliver the best classes. Even if you are not a teacher but have kids who are attending karate lessons, it is of great value to recognize the techniques to make sure that your children are getting the most benefits from them.
Be Aware of the Mindset of Younger Students
Naturally, the way that kids will approach a class and act during it might prove to be different to what you have been used to with adults. Factors such as shorter attention spans need to be accounted for and their motivation may not be the same. The types of activities which you plan to do may need to be altered to cater to kids. Some children may only be in karate classes due to the fact their parents want them to go and so getting their buy-in will prove to be important if you are to succeed in teaching karate lessons for kids.
Thoroughly Plan Your Lessons
Consider points such as how you spread the children around in your karate lessons. Some children can be easily distracted or even disruptive and who they are practicing martial arts with is key to ensuring successful interaction and focus. Kids mature at different rates and some might not interact so well with older children whilst others will benefit greatly from an older partner. Try to be flexible and experiment with this interaction to find out what works well. It is still a good idea to try mixing this up a bit as some kids might begin to come out of their shell after a few weeks and will then benefit from working with different peers.
Maintaining Discipline
No matter how well you manage your classes and the interaction between the students there is likely to be times when discipline needs to be reinforced with some individuals. One method of dealing with this issue is to make the disruptive student sit out of an activity. This inaction can prove to be highly successful as they will feel that they are missing out and they will want to be doing the activities.
As stated before, however, not all children are motivated to be there and on these occasions, this approach could be more detrimental to their desire to participate in the future. In cases such as this encouragement can be all that they need as once they feel they are doing well at something and can see some progression or find something they enjoy, they could rekindle their interest. Be aware that you need to be cautious of not offending any children and potentially having to deal with angry parents who might feel like their kids have been singled out for unfair treatment.
