While I prefer to not teach children until the age of 6, mostly because I find that kids younger than that can really hold back older kids in the classroom setting, Morgan actually started small group classes with me at the age of 3.5! The first few months were a little challenging both for her and me. She had to try to focus for a solid 40 minutes, which can be hard for even adolescents! I had to try my best to ensure that I was not too hard on her, particularly because of her very young age, as well as the fact that she is my daughter, and naturally, I wanted her to excel.
Lo and behold, a few months passed and she really started to get the hang of at least the motions involved in martial arts. She even learned the first set, commonly known as Star Block Set, or what some simply call Blocking Set 1.
After five months of training, I had her pounding on me doing choreographed self-defense techniques at her first tournament, The Battle of London. She did a fantastic job and won first place, even edging out a 7 year-old advanced yellow belt from a different karate school.
Over the course of 2006, Morgan attended 82 group classes and has achieved her yellow belt in Kenpo Karate. She is now a “regular” at my Kenpo school, and knows Blocking Set 1 and Short Form 1 very well, and is currently working on Kicking Set 1. Morgan hopes to compete in another tournament in 2007. She turns 5 in June.
Here are a few tips for instructors who will be instructing their own children:
- Give your child plenty of compliments and positive reinforcement
- Make sure your child gets to mingle with other classmates either before or after class so that he/she truly feels like “part of the crew”
- Don’t put undue emphasis on your child during class (easier said than done but it takes consistent work)
