How often should my child attend karate classes?

Twice per week is a good starting point.  Here’s why:  if your child attends only once per week he will tend to fall behind the other students in class. It is difficult to make progress only training once per week unless your child invests extra time during the week to train.  This is difficult if you are not skilled in the martial arts yourself.

If, on the other hand, your child attends classes virtually every day of the week, like some teams sports require, he or she can suffer from overtraining injuries and not be able to enjoy other activities.

2 days per week is ideal to ensure steady progress and prevent burnout.  It also allows your child to participate in other worthwhile lessons, like music classes AND have unstructured play time, to just be a kid.  In this way your child’s martial arts and lifeskills training easily integrates with the rest of his schedule.

How Big Are Your Classes?

This is a great question.

After all, if there are too many students in your child’s class he won’t get enough attention from your instructor.

You don’t want your child to be lost in a sea of 30 to 40 kids with only one teacher. And you shouldn’t pay top dollar to get little or no attention in class.

There are inherent dangers in martial arts training so you want to make sure your child is being properly supervised… and you want to make sure your child is not developing any bad habits.

The ideal teacher to student ratio is one teacher for about 8 to 10 children.

This doesn’t mean that the class should only be 8 to 10 children, for example if there are 20 children in the class then there should be two qualified teachers. The class can be divided into two groups with each teacher having 10 children or less.

This is especially true if your child is younger, about 4 to 6 years old. Children of this age should be taught in smaller groups because they need to learn how to focus and develop the discipline necessary to operate in class. With too many kids in class, younger children will be distracted easily and not given a fair chance to develop their focus.

Classes that are too large for younger students are counter-productive, so look for smaller teacher-student ratios, like 6 students or less per teacher.

What martial arts do you teach?

People often ask this question because someone told them that a particular martial art was good for kids or good for them or you’ve seen it in the movies, especially if you don’t know anything about the different martial arts.

There are as many martial arts as there are languages if not more, but they can be divided into a few broad topics.

• There are the striking martial arts like tae kwon do karate,
• the grappling wrestling martial arts like judo jujitsu and sambo,
• there are weapon specific martial arts like Filipino escrima, and Japanese kenjutsu.
• Then other reality-based martial arts at Russian system or Israeli krav maga.
• Finally there are the hybrid martial arts that it seeks to combine the best of many different martial arts.

Just as our bodies are more or less similar, so too are there common movements and techniques in the martial arts.

A couple things are more important than the name of the martial arts you will study.  First, there is a general focus of the school you are entering.

• The school may focus on tournament competition or trying to go to the Olympics, these are called normally sports martial arts.
• There are the traditional schools that seek to infuse an Asian culture into their training and heritage,
• There are the cage fighting martial arts,
• the self-defense and personal safety martial arts
• and martial arts that focus on teaching character development, classical virtues and life skills.

Therefore, as you look for a martial arts school, know that all schools aren’t alike. If you don’t want your child to learn just fighting you might want to choose a different school.

Most martial arts teach some form of self-defense and physical fitness, but for your child it’s critical that you find a school that will teach him good character, the martial arts virtues, discipline, focus, respect and the many life skills that are so important for kids to learn these days. You also want school that is specially trained to teach children. At our Academy my wife, Dr. Karla, a PhD in Education, oversees our instructor education program.

How much do karate classes cost?

THE most frequently asked question people ask me about martial arts is “How much are your classes?”

Here’s a quick ballpark figure for you.  Schools charge anywhere from $50/month on the low-service “kick/punch” school end up to $1,000/month on the high-service Professional end.

A simple rule of thumb is, The higher tuition you pay, more service you should receive, such as more student attention, a smaller teacher-student ratio, private training options and mentoring programs, as well as a better facility and ample training equipment.

You should also expect FULL-TIME INSTRUCTORS who are specially trained in the latest educational strategies, how to teach children with ADHD, focus issues, sensory integration challenges and teach a complete Character Development Program.

While tuition is important, you obviously want the best school that you can afford.  So find a school that fits your family’s values, one that you feel comfortable in and then focus on the tuition.

The New Karate Kid

I just watched the previews for the New Karate Kid movie starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith after watching the Original Karate Kid with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita.

So, what do I think so far?

The Original Karate Kid is that rare Perfect Movie.  The portrayal of the bullies and the bullying Daniel goes through is spot-on, including the reactions of everyone around him.  The heart of the story is Daniel’s relationship with Mr. Miyagi as he mentors the boy.  This is what will either make or break the New Karate Kid.  Can they recreate that touching teacher-student relationship without making it seem derivative?  Can they interject new life into this classic story?

I can say that after watching the previews, I think Chan and Smith will pull it off.  I sure hope they do and am excited to see it when it hits the theaters.

Quintuple Bypass

I’m finally back in town after a harrowing week in Chicago.  I spent several days agonizing about missing classes to fly out, but my decision was clear when I stopped to acknowledge how bad I felt about the possibility of not seeing my dad before such a major surgery.  Even though many people told me bypass surgery is “routine,” sawing open my dad’s chest and rewiring his heart didn’t seem too routine to me.

I’m so relieved I went, for my dad yes, but mostly for my mother to help see her through her worry and fear for my dad’s life.  We had to celebrate her birthday in the hospital waiting room on Wednesday while the nurses watched my dad. Things were touch and go for awhile there but now he seems like he’s on the road to recovery.

This health scare reaffirmed a few things:

1)  Family First (biologic or not).  No matter what is going on, it can wait when your family needs you.

2)  It is a blessing to have a stellar TEAM of Instructors at SMAA who all step up for each other.  Creating, having and appreciating those who support us is one of the keys to a good life.

3)  When you are in surgery is not the time to start thinking about your health.  An ounce of Prevention is worth the proverbial pound of cure.  This is one of the reasons I emphasize the health and fitness aspect of martial arts and why I created the WarriorFit System (you are using this, right?).

I’m glad to be back!

The Original Karate Kid

I love going to the movies so turning the school into our very own private movie theater Saturday to watch the Original Karate Kid was a treat.  It took a bit of doing though.

I stumbled upon a simple way to make our our screen and Mr. Aaron and Mr. Lance put it together and set it up perfectly.  Mr. Mike came by and Helped Mr. Lance rewire our sound system for great effect.  The Thorndike family generously loaned us their projector while the entire staff, including Mr. Vincent and Dr. Karla helped me pop corn.  Sandy Sartor came to the popcorn rescue with not one, but two more air-poppers to fulfill the demand.   Thanks to everyone who made the night a huge success.

Before the night was through I already had requests and questions when the next movie night would be.  Well, I’m working on it.  Aside from The Karate Kid Part II, I’d like some help with movie suggestions.

Let me know what you’d like us to show next.

How Long Can You Live Without Breath?

The average person can hold his breathe for 2-4 minutes.  The world record is 17 minutes—recently documented and set by magician David Blaine.

How about the average 7 year-old struggling on a spelling test?  Or the average 15 year-old responding to an essay prompt? The average 17 year-old giving a speech to the entire school?

It’s time to give breathing its due.  There is no magic bullet in the world of teaching and learning, but breathing is such a tremendous tool for stress release that…..go to ScholarFit.com…….

This Saturday we’re hosting a Breathing Seminar for Families.  We’ll be teaching children (and their parents!) better breathing for Self Control, Anxiety Management, and Performance Enhancement. Look forward to seeing you there!

I’m finally back in town after a harrowing week in Chicago.  I spent several days agonizing about missing classes to fly out, but my decision was clear when I stopped to acknowledge how bad I felt about the possibility of not seeing my dad before such a major surgery.  Even though many people told me bypass surgery is “routine,” sawing open my dad’s chest and rewiring his heart didn’t seem too routine to me.

I’m so relieved I went, for my dad yes, but mostly for my mother to help see her through her worry and fear for my dad’s life.  We had to celebrate her birthday in the hospital waiting room on Wednesday while the nurses watched my dad. Things were touch and go for awhile there but now he seems like he’s on the road to recovery.

This health scare reaffirmed a few things:

1)  Family First (biologic or not).  No matter what is going on, it can wait when your family needs you.

2)  It is a blessing to have a stellar TEAM of Instructors at SMAA who all step up for each other.  Creating, having and appreciating those who support us is one of the keys to a good life.

3)  When you are in surgery is not the time to start thinking about your health.  An ounce of Prevention is worth the proverbial pound of cure.  This is one of the reasons I emphasize the health and fitness aspect of martial arts and why I created the WarriorFit System (you are using this, right?).

I’m glad to be back!