Kid’s martial arts: fundamentals
Kid’s martial arts and fundamentals
We all hit walls as we grow and move in this life. Sometimes it’s a financial wall, an emotional wall, or some kind of academic wall. Whether it’s something in our professional or personal lives we all find these obstacles as we continue evolving. Kids are no different, whether they are in school, in a kid’s martial arts class, or a sports environment. Whenever we hit these walls we see what is happening, or we don’t, around us. One thing for certain, we learn lessons about life and about ourselves. The most basic tool I use whenever I hit a wall is to stop and survey what is important, find out what is fundamental in the situation. I had the opportunity recently to try and impart that to my daughter when she hit a wall in her kid’s martial arts class.
Coaching kid’s martial arts class
I am so very proud of her progress in her kid’s martial arts class but I have noticed that she has been comfortable and needs a challenge. She has been doing well and the coaches have seen her progress as well which is a testament to how astute the coaches are and how well she is doing in her kid’s martial arts class. The interesting thing is that many children don’t have the context of what a challenge is as their parents or other adults might understand the situation. Children are very much in the present moment and do not have the perspective that older kids or adults have. I had to understand that before I was able to understand her situation-I had to determine what was fundamental for her in the situation and meet her where she was, as opposed to have her reach me within a context she still did not understand.
The challenge, the balance of kid’s martial arts class
One aspect of coaching that is always tenuous is challenging a student enough to spur growth and not demoralize them. It’s difficult because every child has a different threshold of what/where that line is whether it’s kid’s martial arts or any other sport. Many times, as I have done, we go past it, but most coaches never give a challenge that they don’t think is achievable by the student. Often times, the coaches see more in the students than the students see in themselves. This is fundamental knowledge: the challenge is getting the student to realize that they are better than they think they are and the balance comes in finding the right challenge for that student. This is true of kid’s martial arts or mathematics, a problem may seem unsolvable but the intent is still to solve the problem. The student may believe they cannot achieve the task but even “failure” to solve the problem is a lesson learned.
Coach Amanda coaching the matches in kid’s martial arts class
What is fundamental…
I’m happy my daughter had the support of her coaches and her fellow students. I’m glad she was able to experience her challenge in a safe environment and that she kept going. I think often of a quote when I think of what is fundamental to learn in challenging situations:
The most important thing is not victory, the most important thing is don’t get defeated.
-Rickson Gracie
I work towards that end with myself and my family. My daughter’s kid’s martial arts class offers her the opportunities to learn as does life itself…it’s fundamental to moving forward.
Portrait of q & a in kid’s martial arts class
by Luis T.
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