On My Own Two Feet » Teaching

Which One Should It Be? Choosing a Martial Arts School

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:56:10 +0000

One question I get asked a lot is “How do you choose the right martial arts school for you?” Many, many other people have written about this topic, some far more eloquent than I could. So, instead of adding more to the pot, I thought I’d collect a list of some of the articles about it already available on-line.

Choosing a Martial Arts School (No Nonsense Self-Defense)
Choosing a Martial Arts School, pt. 1: Which Martial Art? (jameshom.com) — this is a particularly detailed article in four parts which covers choosing an art, finding schools that teach that art, visiting the schools, and starting training).
For the Beginner: Some Advice on Choosing a Martial Arts School (FightingArts.com)
Guide to Selecting a Martial Arts School (North Austin Tae Kwon Do)
How to Choose a Karate School (Black Belt Mama)
How to Choose the Right Martial Arts School (USAdojo.com)
How to Evaluate a School (My Self-Defense Blog)
Ten Things Not to Ask a Traditional Martial Arts Instructor (Just a Thought)

I’m Back

martialartess — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:01:48 +0000

When I put this blog on hiatus last November I only expected it to be down for a couple of months. Silly me. I should know by now that anything I decide to do is going to take 2-3 times as long as I think it is. But I’m back and plan (cross fingers) to update this blog once a week again.

Even though I haven’t been writing about martial arts, I’ve still be doing it. Since November, I’ve earned two belt promotions: green belt and blue stripe (6th and 5th gup, respectively). I also joined White Tiger’s Leadership Team, practically as soon as I became eligible at green belt. That means I’m assisting with one white belt class a week, learning how to teach, a big step towards my eventual goal of teaching martial arts. I’m enjoying it immensely and feel almost as proud as a parent when one of my students does really well.

Jay’s own martial arts is coming along as well. He’s managed to reach yellow belt, despite the universe interfering with his belt tests. It took three times before he actually could test, none of them his fault. The first time he pulled a leg muscle the night before the test; the second time a freak snow storm hit the Raleigh area and we couldn’t make it out of his condo’s parking lot, much less get to the dojang. But four months later, he finally got to test and successfully passed.

Dynamo’s story is quite different, though. TKD seems to have lost its appeal for him; personally, I think it’s because he’s reached green belt. The shiny newness has worn off and it’s now gotten hard. He can’t just cruise through classes and belt tests the way he used to and the instructors have stopped giving him unmitigated praise and have started correcting him more. I’m hoping he’ll pull through it.

I know this is the point where it becomes work and that black belt still seems so far away. We have one more year on our current contract and I told him he has to finish that out. I’m hoping by then he’ll be staring the black belt in the face and will chose to continue. But it’ll be his choice at that point. I did tell him that he was going to do something martial arts related–he desperately needs the structure and discipline. If anyone has any ideas on how to keep kids motivated through these middle ranks, please let me know. I’ve run out.

I’ve got all kinds of plans for this blog in 2010. I’ve been storing up post ideas and can’t wait to share them with you.

Product Review: Training Women in the Martial Arts

martialartess — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:48:03 +0000

Training Women in the Martial Arts: A Special Journey

Authors: Jennifer Lawler & Laura Kamienski
Publisher: Wish Publishing

Buy from: Amazon

Don’t let the thiness of this book fool you. Training Women in the Martial Arts may be only 118 pages long, but it’s 118 pages packed with information and ideas. One of the authors, Jennifer Lawler, is a taekwondo and self-defense teacher, the other, Laura Kamienski, owns and operates a women-only martial arts school in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania where she teaches tae kwon do and self-defense. Both are skilled martial artists and instructors.

One thing I should state up front: this books is unabashedly feminist. Which doesn’t mean the authors hate men — they merely recongnize that women entering the martial arts may be dealing with issues their male counterparts don’t have. Many women who enter the martial arts do so after freeing themselves from an abusive situtation; becasue of this, the authors advocate women-only martial arts classes to help these women regain control of and a sense of empowerment in their own lives. Much of their advice can be adapted to mixed male and female classes.

The book is aimed at anyone — male or female — who teach martial arts to women. It describes the special circumstances/obstacles women may encounter as they begin studying a martial art and gives suggestions on ways to overcome them. These suggestions are valuable for teaching women any physical activity, not just martial arts. I loaned my copy to my bellydance teacher who said she found valuable information there for her students.

This is very much a book aimed at teachers. The average student, male or female, probably wouldn’t get a lot out of it. But if you’ve had trouble reaching a female student, particularly one who seems extremely nervous or afraid, this book could you give valuable insights to help your program.

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