Too Young

Contrary to what others say, there is such a thing as too young to do karate, or to do martial arts in general. Girls mature faster than boys and are more focused at a younger age so i accept female students as young as 5. Boys are a little slower when it comes to these things at this age so i only accept 7 years and up, except when the child has shown sufficient maturity and focus at a younger age but no younger than 6.

Karate is technically a martial art. It is a sport only to a certain degree but ultimately, it is a martial art. As such, it is dangerous to learn and know. A child lacking in maturity could not grasp that. He or she might treat it like a game and end up hurting themselves or others. As much as it would be irresponsible for an adult to give a knife to a 4 year old, it would also be irresponsible for us to teach karate at that age.

In a group class, there is only so much time a teacher can allocate for each group of students. If a child does not listen or needs repeated calls to catch his attention, then it will eat up time and the other students will suffer. Here is where focus comes in. Also, if a child is focused enough to listen well and understand, then he or she will progress faster. Good teachers want the students to learn not just be there and pay tuition fees.

Age involves also the ability of a child to know his/her left and right limbs which is important in the teaching of karate. Age also brings the ability to understand the concepts involved in this martial art. Gone are the days when kids are just supposed to watch and copy. If they understand how things are done and why, then we build better martial artists. Of course, the responsibility of the teacher is to be able to share and explain these concepts. If a teacher can't explain then you or your child might be better of learning wax on and wax off from Mister Miyagi.

The best way is for a child to get good exercise from sports like swimming. When they reach the right age, they can then join a karate class. This will produce good martial artists who truly learn the art and not just mimic what their teachers do.

Feb 27 Multiple opponent exercise

Simpy because we can, we used the football pitch for our exercise. This is Spartaaaa! ;)

Karate Teaching and Fatherhood

Teaching karate to a preschool boy in Sparta Arena, Mandaluyong

Karate is a very disciplined martial art and quite demanding physically and intellectually. To teach a child, particularly a boy below 7 years of age, is quite a daunting task. One has to go down and explain in words that they can understand and you have to be particularly patient in showing them how to move their limbs. Being a father (or a mother for that matter) of young children does help in being able to teach these young kids. Teaching girls in this age is a different story compared to teaching boys. Girls can actually focus more at this age and can learn karate faster. Boys' attention span is quite short when they are this young. Their motor skills need work and everything has to be fun for things to progress.

It is a difficult task but once they get the hang of it, these kids make for amazing karatekas.

Moving to Sparta

We're moving to my new dojo at Sparta Sports and Recreation Training Arena.

Karate in 2015

The first karate class in 2015 will be on January 3 at trainstation studio.

This year, i plan to continue the development of strong and enlightened karatekas practicing karate for the love of karate. Slow and steady makes for stronger and more durable joints while speed training will prepare them for more explosive techniques. Strength training can be done anytime later.

See you all at the dojo!

Trainstation Moves

Trainstation Studio moves up to the second floor of the unit in Fun Ranch, across Tiendesitas. It is just a minor move. Trainstation Studio is also now a registered club with ISKF. Now that is a major move. Hopefully, more students will come and learn with us.

The teacher's karate

In a recent blackbelt practice where we had a kung fu instructor as a guest lecturer, i realized that karate has a lot more to offer than just self defense. The kung fu instructor was sharing healing techniques which karate has already been teaching. I know for a fact that the chi energy has been developing in my students and as the student progresses, so is their awareness and strength in chi. My brown belts can feel and project chi energy.

I also realized that not all instructors are the same. A fellow blackbelt never realized how to use chi and how to properly kiai. I'm glad that we got to talk and she was happy to be enlightened.

My karate is the same as that of the others but my understanding and awareness makes it different. I thank my senseis who have shown me the way as we all travel towards the same direction. I also thank all the people who have shown me things which allows me to understand karate in an even deeper sense.