Teaching Kids Martial Arts - I Respect Furious Kids!

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 6:31 am

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I hate walking into a Martial Art School and seeing a bunch of kids walking their way through techniques, blocks, exercises, stretches and katas as if they are just going through the motions waiting for the session to end.

I also hate walking into a class that is totally out of control with kids running wild and ignoring all instruction. It may sound odd but I hate the first problem more than the second. A class full of kids who have too much energy is a great problem to have, all you need to do is find a way to harness that energy.

At the start of every lesson you will have some kids bubbling with energy and others that need to be woken up, which is why I think the first 5-8 minutes of the lesson are the most important to get right.You need a way for the Hyper-active kids need to burn off excess energy while slow starters need to be warmed up. One of my best solutions when teaching martial arts to kids is a quick game called “The Fury”.

The number of kids that can participate at one time is dictated by the size of your training area.The kids need to be spaced out in the area so they don't hit each other when they start.You may need to split the class into a couple of groups and run one group at a time.

In my Martial Art we use the concept of a clock on the ground to give a reference point for techniques. When you first take a ready stance the direction in front of you is 12o’clock, behind you is 6:00, your left side is 9:00 and your right is 3:00.You can also try using the points of a compass but I have found that the clock is more easily understood by the kids when they play this Martial Game.

With the kids all facing the front in their fight stance you explain to them that they are going to fight imaginary demons/bad guys/ghosts/ninjas… whatever you believe is the most relevant or interesting for their age. Now tell them that they can use any technique they want to hurt the bad guys when they attack and that it is best not to repeat the same technique too often as the bad guys will notice and learn to block it.Tell the Kids which direction they need to face when doing their attacks.Now the serious fun can begin.

Always call out the first attacker coming from 12:00 to get them started, then start mixing it up… there’s a bad guy at 6:00, look out there's another one at 9:00, turn to 3:00 and get that one… . Start slowly, then speed things up so that they have just enough time to reset their ready fighting stance from the last attack before calling the next one.Keep making them face different directions and don’t get into a rhythm/pattern, occasionally make them wait and wonder what you are going to call next.

This Martial Game has a lot of great benefits:

1. It teaches them direction

2. It tests their knowledge of techniques

3. It tests their techniques under pressure

4. It tests their balance and footwork

5. It teaches them to cover as they transition from one direction to another

6. It gets the heart pumping, lungs opening, brain focusing

7.It chews through that excess energy but also energisers the slow starters by getting their blood pumping.

This is a fun way to start a session as it gets everyone involved and creates an upbeat mood in the room. The kids are excited, happy, ready to do more but at the same time exhausted which helps keep them controllable.Kids are less inclined to misbehave when they're huffing and puffing.

Please try this game in your next kids class and if you want a good laugh try it on the adults as well.

All the best

Aaron Perry

Note: Aaron Perry is the creator of “Martial Games for Kids” which has been sold to instructors teaching kids martial arts around the world.His Martial Games for Kids are now being used in England, America, Holland, Norway, Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.