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Thoughts on Teaching: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance, Part 5

After having [established the need for proper class preparation] and giving an [example of real-life planning] , I'll continue this series by giving some additional hints for successful class planning. Also, I'll point out some pitfalls and hopefully offer ways to avoid them. I believe that any plan can be judged by at least three critical criteria: Efficiency Adaptability / Flexibility Sensibility In the following paragraphs, I'll briefly cover each of them in the context of planning a martial arts class. Efficiency, aka 'Your day only has so many hours' As a trainer, it's easy to adopt a lifestyle where pretty much everything revolves around your field of expertise - whether that be martial arts, football or whatever else. Before you know it, you're spending every waking moment planning future classes or reflecting on the drills you've employed recently, making them more time efficient and user-friendly. You're analyzing fights so you

Thoughts on Teaching: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance, Part 4

After [establishing the need for proper class preparation] from both the [instructor's] and [student's] point of view, today I'll give you an overview over how I actually plan a class. This time, I won't dive too deep into theoretical considerations, though, but rather give an actual example - namely, tonight's class. If you happen to attend, you'll already know what's coming... The first step in any planning is - of course - to set a goal. To keep things stringent, this goal should be related to  what has been done lately. Everything should work towards that goal and blend nicely into a clear concept. Now in my case, I'm currently working on improving my student's defensive skills. The last couple of classes dealt with the following topics (to name but a few): 2013-11-11: Understanding the Shinergy defense concept (i.e., blocks and evasions) 2013-11-18: Ways to counter a roundhouse kick by means of kicks 2013-11-25: I was in Linz and didn&#

Thoughts on Teaching: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance, Part 3

This one's probably going to be a short one (I hope). Also, it highly correlates with [my last post] , so if you're pressed for time, it'll probably suffice to read of of the two. After we've covered the basics on why it is important to properly prepare classes from the [trainer's point of view] , let's look at things from a different direction today. POV: The student Imagine a beginning martial arts student who recently joined a club. What are his/her main motivations? Now of course this depends on the person, but I guess the following list will cover most aspects: Learn to fight (duh) Get/stay in shape Improve live quality by implementing the mental techniques inherent to the martial arts Have fun Note that #1  includes both sports combat and self defense, although it could certainly be viewed as two distinct points as well. Never mind, though, it'll suffice for our considerations. Let's stick with that point - combat -  for a moment now.

Thoughts on Teaching: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance, Part 2

In the [last article] I've shared some thoughts on proper class preparation. Now that the topic is st up, let's cover the whole thing from the instructor's/trainer's point of view (won't discriminate between the two roles here, although I know I probably should). POV: The instructor What the trainer needs to make sure is that, over the long run, the basics are properly covered. In my example, this means that every student needs to know and understand four basic blocks, 6 basic punches and 3 kicks. Add three fundamental stepping techniques and some head movement and you're done. That's the nuts and bolts of any standup-style, if you ask me. In case you're wondering, my ultra basic technique selection for beginners looks like this: Blocks Inside out Inside in Outside out Outside In Punches Jab Cross Left & right hook Left & right uppercut Kicks Front kick Side kick Roundhouse kick Steps One-step Two-step Shuffle-step

Thoughts on Teaching: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance, Part 1

I'm a believer in being well--prepared. Basically, this accounts to just about any endeavor. Still, recently I realized (once more) how important it is for a trainer to actively and properly prepare for a class. Preamble Let me start with some introductory words first. Living with a woman that used to work as a PE and math teacher, I know that quite a lot of teachers frown upon the requirement of writing out detailed plans for their classes, seeing it as an nuisance rather than an aid. I strongly believe that this point of view is a direct result of an ongoing unification and formalization process. Don't get me wrong on this one, though. Having an academic background in computer sciences, I fully appreciate the value of standardization and formalization. However, those things should have a benefit, not be a burden. Pre-printed spreadsheets to record topics and methods for upcoming classes are a great things, as they take work away from the teacher. Still, they also lend

Thoughts on Martial Arts Technique: Creating Angles and Using Momentum

There's a thing with [youtube] . As soon as a trainer / coach has the time to put up multiple videos every day, I can'thelp but wonder how much time he actually spends... well, coaching people. Or training himself. So, I consider most of what you see on youtube crap. However, there's always an expection to the rule. Some stuff you find online is just plain awesome. Well, I guess that on a platform as huge as youtube, it'd be against all rules of probability if there wasn't anything useful, right? Well, anyhow, one of those pleasant surprises turned out to be a canada-based boxing coach called Jason Van Veldhyusen, or simply ["JT Van V"] , as he calls himself on youtube. Jason also hosts a homepage at [http://www.precisionstriking.ca] , where you can order his videos over the webstore. You should definitely check it out, this stuff is great. Amongst my favourite videos is a clip onside stepping and the creation of angles. The idea of shifting your wei

Warrior Warmup, Shinergy[instructor academy] 2013

Quite a lot has been going on lately, especially when it comes to the [Warrior Warmup] . Couple of weeks ago, I presented the current version at this years Shinergy [instructor academy] . The whole concept has been cleaned up. For me, the three way lunge is something of a highlight, as it's scalable and highly function in a multi-dimensional way. Well, how 'bout you judge for yourself... there's a long, detailled version and a quick'n'dirty go-along version of around 12 minutes. Lean back and enjoy! A detailled paper on the concept behind all of this is due to follow anytime soon now (it's already as good as done), so stay tuned. So long, take care

Reflections on my China 2013 Trip, Part III

So it's been a while (again). There's just a lot going on right now. I'm right about to finish my university training, just took my black belt exams, nearly completed my paper on proper warm-up... Still, all of this will be dealt with in later (significantly delayed) posts. Today, it's all about completing my [Reflections series] . So, without further ado, get ready for (III / III) Energy Efficiency The Chinese government seems to be determined to educate its people when it comes to environmental protection and energy saving. Now that's a good thing, if you ask me. However, just like in all things (especially when they're linked to communism), there's that nagging discrepancy between theory and practice... Of course, I do realize that the major issue in China is probably the heavy industry. Still, covering that topic here would be beating a dead horse. Instead, I will look at the whole issue from another point of view. My analysis will focus on the sm

Reflections on my 2013 China Trip, Part II

 Once again, I'm on my train to Linz for another week of instructor training. Just two weeks ago, I've returned from this years training camp. So, there's really plenty of topic I could post on. However, to keep things at least somewhat consistent, I've decided to finish my [Reflections series] first. Alas, here comes (II/III): Lost in translation... I had some rather amusing moments in China. You see, there's a lot going on when it comes to introducing the english language to the country. I met quite a few westerners who went to China as language teachers - there's just a huge demand for native speakers at the moment. Still, education is one thing - implementation in everday life is something completely different. Some tourist attractions, for example, have already started posting signs in english so that tourists can more easily discover the country. Unfortunately, though, most of those signs are not as good as they could be... Some were just plain wrong

Reflections on my 2013 China trip, Part I

This is the first of three considerations that crossed my mind when [travelling through China] . The others will follow shortly... (I/III) Paralysis by Analysis - or: How to use a map Obviously, most of the time Sabine and I had no idea how to get from point A to point B - especially when we were travelling on foot. Luckily, we had maps for most cities, so eventually, we reached every destination we wanted to see... still, I realized that exploring a foreign country (or city, for that matter) by help of a map is a very useful analogy for how he approach many things in our everyday lives. Consider the following scenario: you're in a foreign city and try to find a certain street or alley. All street signs are descript in a foreign language, i.e. pretty much useless for your needs. Houses are not numbered. After some time, you reach a crossroads with a street sign you can actually identify (either because it's a main road an hence labelled in western characters or because

China 2013: Part V

After Hangzhou, we went to Guilin and the rice terraces in the area. Beautiful countryside... not so much to do in terms of martial arts, though. Sure, we saw the occasional Taijichuan pracitioner in the morning and evening. Also, there's a [Taiji school] that even made it into the [Lonely Planet] travel guide, but that's in Yangshuo, not Guilin (yes, I know it's actually just one hour away. Guilin was scheduled as something of a relax area from the beginning, though, and since we did little but hiking in rough terrain the first couple days, we just wanted to take it easy on the only day that really came into question). From Guilin, we took a sleeper bus to Foshan, home of [Ip Man] and [Wong Fei Hong] . I expected a lot of the place, as everyone in China is referring to it as the cradle of Wushu. Granted, there's a lot of places that showcase the cities martial history. For example, we went to Zu Miao, an ancestral temple that also houses memorial halls for the abov