2022-07-06

2022-07-06, Wednesday

Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.

It was nice to be back teaching after a couple of weeks off, and big thanks go out to Sensei Dave Bracklow of ISKF Tempe and Barry O’Brien for subbing for me during my absence. One welcome surprise was a pair of new students - one 10 years old and the other 6. My classes technically start at age 7, but if karate teaches you anything it’s not to judge a book by its cover, so I let him participate in class to see if he could handle it and … I’m willing to take a risk. I’ve also got an adult looking to start next week, so - slowly but surely - the tribe is growing.

Since we had two brand new students, we went back to basic-basics: how to make a fist, how to form a front stance, etc. This sort of thing can be “boring” for students who’ve been there a while, so it’s important to include them in the review. I do this by allowing them to demonstrate proper form. This not only engages them in the lesson, it puts them “on their game” since they’re being asked to be the example for others to follow. Near the end of class, I had the new students sit and watch the others do kata, then led the whole class through the first four moves of Taikyoku Shodan before bringing the class to an end. We ended a couple of minutes early to give time for any questions before the second class. I think both newcomers are going to stick with it. I hope they do.