Kid’s martial arts, zombies, and Rule #32
Kid’s martial arts, zombies, and rule #32
There are so many reasons in our lives to be grateful. Whether its our families, our jobs, or homes we all have something. Lately, I’ve been watching and reading a lot about the zombie apocalypse. It’s a fairly pervasive theme that we have seen permeate our culture-the idea that the undead would run rampant. I’ve been reading The Disaster Diaries by Sam Sheridan, watching the show The Walking Dead, and also watching zombie movies like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland.
A favorite treatment of the zombie motif that I enjoy is the movie Zombieland. I like it because there are rules to living in Zombieland by the main character that he attributes to his survival. Rules like Rule #1: Cardio, Rule #2 The double tap, Rule #3 beware of bathrooms, and Rule #4 Seatbelts.
My favorite is Rule #32: enjoy the little things.
kid’s martial arts class in session
What does that have to do with kid’s martial arts?
I’ve learned, as a person and a parent, that enjoying the little things can happen any time, anywhere. It’s simplicity often makes things seemingly intolerable profoundly acceptable. I bring it up in kid’s martial arts because it happens when I take my daughter to class. She has all these mini victories in class, I see coaches who care and who are kind, and I enjoy the company of others at the gym. It’s like the show ‘Cheers’ “where everyone knows your name.” Ironically, Woody Harrelson is also both in Cheers and the movie Zombieland.
kid’s martial arts class, all ages
Enjoying the little things is in the music that is often played at the gym-I’m a big fan of finding new music and bands to listen to but it’s also nostalgic to hear Rick Springfield’s Jesse’s Girl play (takes me straight to grade school!).
It’s a great place where everyone get’s along, the adults watch the kid’s martial arts class as they wait for their class to start and the teens watch also as they wait for their MMA class to start.
Adult class hanging out while kid’s martial arts class is going on…
It really is the little details that you have to enjoy. Maybe some people don’t notice them when they are there, but I can assure you many people notice when they aren’t there.
Rule #32: Enjoy the little things.
by Luis T.
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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.
For more info on training opportunities with SBG check our sites:
International info @ www.straightblastgym.com
Portland Kid’s classes and Teen MMA training opportunities @ www.sbgi-pdx.com
Or call 503.230.7924
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Kid’s martial arts and gratitude
Saying “Thank you.”
There is one thing that I am always encouraging my kids to do and that is to say “thank you.” Luckily, it works most of the time. My daughter says “thank you” when she gets off the bus, she says “thank you” when she finishes her meals and she says “thank you” when we let her watch Brave or Avatar: Last Airbender for the billionth time.
warm ups in our kid’s martial arts class
Kid’s martial arts and effort.
I have written many times about the various reasons martial arts are good for kids, you can see my interview with Sam Sheridan for some really good ones. One reason is it gives me the opportunity to encourage my children to work hard. I work at rewarding them for their continued effort whether it’s cleaning their room, reading books at night, or going to kid’s martial arts class. There were studies highlighted in the book NurtureShock that showed kid’s performed better when given positive feedback on the work/effort done rather than praising natural ability i.e. “You must be really smart” vs. “You must have worked really hard.” Here is a talk from Ashley Merryman, a co-author of the book, that illustrates this idea:
Kid’s martial arts and being grateful
When I used to coach it was hard work. There were practice plans to put together, game plans, player evaluations, not to mention the patience and consistency involved in managing large groups of children who have 6 second attention spans. Every time a child came up to me and said “thank you” it made the experience very rewarding. I see the work that the coaches put forth in my daughter’s kid’s martial arts class. They make sure to coach the kids, to help the kids understand, but also that they have fun in their kid’s martial arts class. The coaches give the children great feed back for the hard work the children put forth in the kid’s martial arts class.
Coach Amanda watching over a match in kid’s martial arts class
Kid’s martial arts and being happy to train
I also encourage my daughter to say “thank you” to her training partners and praise the hard work her classmates exhibit in the kid’s martial arts class. The coaches and her partners are all their to help her learn and she is their to help her partners learn as well. From my point of view, saying “thank you” creates a positive feedback loop that encourages everyone’s hard work in class from the coaches down to the newest student in class. Without the work of the coaches and the help of all the kids in her martial arts class she wouldn’t be having all the fun she is having or learning all that she is learning. Rickson Gracie, I think says it best here:
“You learn when you are having fun, training in a smooth and gentle way. You need to work on improving your technique until you are comfortable in any situation. Eventually, you will develop a subconscious understanding of the techniques and they become reflexes. Only after you have done all this you are ready to take your natural abilities “off the shelf” and add them back into your game. Now the effectiveness of the technique will be at least ten times better.”
Coaching a triangle in kid’s martial arts class.
Kid’s martial arts: the beauty and terror of being a parent
Kid’s martial arts and worrying
As a parent I am often under the stress of worrying. I have a 7 year old daughter in a kid’s martial arts class learning jiu jitsu and a 2 year old son who is quite the handful. I think as parents we are hard wired to worry about our kids. We have to nurture them, help them, guide them, and make sure we do the best for them whether they seem to like it or not.
kid’s class matches
Kid’s martial arts: why I enrolled my daughter
On occasion my son accompanies me to watch his sister in her kid’s martial arts class. He loves running around and it’s cute to see him try to line up with the older kids when the coach gets class started. I worry about him running around, getting into things, or finding new uses for some things he finds around the gym-he’s quite imaginative. I enrolled his sister in kid’s martial arts classes because I worry about her and want to give her tools in her life that will help her. I wanted her to learn jiu jitsu specifically because of the guard work. I want to be the parent that gets the call saying “You’re daughter choked out my son!” To which I would reply “Well, he may have deserved it?” She loves her kid’s martial arts class and she gets along well with all her classmates. I really enjoy watching her in class. I also enjoy listening to her talk about her kid’s martial arts class outside of class. I will also have my son enroll as soon as he is old enough to help him learn some humility. He is a sweet boy and I think that being in a kid’s martial arts class will help him grow. Plus, it puts his sister in a good position to be a mentor so she can help him.
Sibling match in kid’s martial arts class
Even with kid’s martial arts, we’ll always worry to some degree
We, as parents, will always worry to a degree. We will always want what’s best for our children. there’s nothing wrong with that either. I know I will likely worry about them quite often; however, there are moments when my daughter is in class and she does well or she gets through a crucible of sorts and I am very proud of her. There are times in class I watch her with her friends having fun and I know everything will be alright. Its a great vibe and I know it’s made an impression on her as well.
It’s all part of the beauty and terror of being a parent.
More kid’s martial arts class matches
Kid’s Martial Arts: Coaches ARE teachers
Kid’s martial arts: this is Rita Pearson and she says every kid needs a champion.
“Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, “They don’t pay me to like the kids.” Her response: “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.'” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.”
I first saw this at work and I immediately thought that it was something applicable to any endeavor in which we are teaching children. It’s not specific to kid’s martial arts or sports and that brought up another idea: coaches as teachers. When I first started coaching I knew plenty about the sport I was coaching but I needed to find a way to convey my knowledge and the head coach said this to me: “A coach is basically a teacher, look to education principles and apply it to what you’re coaching/teaching.” Kid’s martial arts and other sports do not fall under the umbrella of most education subjects unless it’s Physical Education; however, the principles of learning are the same for any subject.
In the above video what struck me more than the idea of teaching why and how was her emphasis on relationships. I love the quotes she uses:
“No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship” -James P. Comer
“All learning is understanding relationships.” -George Washington Carver
Friend in kid’s martial arts class
Kid’s martial arts and relationships
One of the things I have enjoyed watching as my child has been going to her kid’s martial arts class is the relationships she has developed. She makes friends pretty easily and she is not shy. Her coaches are great at not only teaching but also fostering relationships amongst the kids. They also do a great job of fostering relationships between themselves and the students by splitting into small groups and playing with them before class and in drills during class.
Coaching a small group in kid’s martial arts class
The gym itself does a great job of having socials, picnics, Ninja Nights, and movies in the park for parents to hang out with other parents, the coaches, and other students that take not just kid’s martial arts classes but even the adult classes. As a parent and former coach I know how important those relationships are to building an open environment where kids feel safe to grow, take risks, learn, and have fun.
Having fun in kids martial arts class. One tribe. One vibe.