Most of our martial-arts-parents are not Black Belts (unlike Ms. Michelle), and, as such, many parents believe they cannot help their child improve her martial arts performance.
It’s true, it takes a Black Belt to make Black Belts, but it doesn’t take a Black Belt to observe and make a few simple corrections to your child’s posture to have her moving like a Black Belt.
Here are 3 Simple Fixes Parents Can Make for Black Belt Performance:
#1: Anchor Elbows
Anchoring elbows means keeping your child’s elbows dropped and close to her ribs. This gives the student leverage, protection and power.
Tickle you child’s ribs and see how fast her elbows anchor to protect her.
#2: Bend Knees
Bending knees improves balance, loosens hips, protects the knee joint from hyperextending and allows for explosive movement.
The general rule we use is, “bend your knees so when you look down you cannot see your feet.”
For children, lower is better because they take the easy way out and keep their legs straight until they develop the discipline and habit to bend their knees.
#3: Head over Hips
For proper body alignment, the head should be in line vertically with the hips. Keeping the head over the hips improves balance, ease of movement, relaxation and power as well as projecting confidence.
Stand your child against a wall and make sure the back of her head, mid-back and tailbone touch the wall. This is correct body alignment (You will see us check body alignment in class with a stick).
As a Parent-Coach, you can help your child train efficiently and prepare her for class by making these 3 Simple Fixes.
Then, when your child comes to class, we instructors can focus on the advanced material you can’t help them with.