For those that are too young

In the past, i saw that kids younger than 7 are too immature to be entrusted with learning karate. I still stick by that. It is akin to giving a child a knife and letting him out in the play yard with it. Things will happen and you never know what that child will do with that knife given its immaturity. You cant take it back once you give it.

However, there is still a need for kids to develop their skills in defending themselves.  I realized that you dont need to teach them how to hurt someone but they can still learn how to not get hurt. This is why the Joint Safe Defense Program was created. It is a purely defensive program that will help a young child avoid or block dangers or attacks but not necessarily strike back. As i always tell my students, blocking is half the battle. If you block everything, you don't get hurt.  Once they are of age, they can eventually learn the strikes and kicks which completes their training. That is a fairly easy step to take once they have mastered their blocks and stances.

The Joint safe defense program was taught to my son first. That year, he was bullied in school and he was able to defend himself. He didn't get reprimanded for fighting because he technically did not strike back, yet he didn't get hurt where it matters. It works.

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.