What Would You Do?

Last weekend, I led a small group session on the topic of women’s self-defense. The group was great because they added to the discussion and asked good questions. The exchange prompted me to remember and share an incident which happened years ago.

I have been thinking about it and wonder if/how our reaction to the situation would be different today. It could be a great scenario for John Quinones series Primetime: What Would You Do?  It is a hidden camera show that captures how people react to real-life ethical dilemmas that call for action.  Excellent show.

Scenario:

A few of my family members went on a day trip to Atlantic City. We left early in the morning and were not expected to arrive home until well after midnight. Since we were getting home late, we decided to stay over night at my parent’s house. We woke to a loud banging at the front door. My Aunt thought it was my sister coming home late. My sister was asleep in her bed.

It was a man standing alone on the porch pounding on the front door with his fist. It was 3:00 a.m. He was yelling “Domestic violence! Domestic violence!” Now the whole household was awake - except for my Dad who can sleep through anything. Looking out the window, there was no one else in the street.

What would you do?

I would love to hear your comments!  I will share how the incident played out for us in the next post.

Smorgasbord

Wow...it has been three weeks since I posted!  Once again, I am working too much.

 A few thoughts:

1.  Green Belt Students and Stances:   A 6th kyu green belt in our dojo has approximately 12-15 months of training. Expectations are elevated and weapons training begins. It is no coincidence that this also happens to be the same time frame where students decided to take a break or stop training.  We work on stances (directly and indirectly) in every karate class - drills, kata, explanation, details.   In kobudo, stances change based on the range of the weapon. The green belt students seem to be having a difficult time transitioning from the kobudo stance to the karate stance.

You can read an excellent article on kobudo stances written by IKKF President Hanshi Heilman here and here.  (Side note - A 13 year younger version of me is in a few of the illustration photos). 

2.  Women's Self-Defense/Awareness/Prevention Classes:  I taught a session last weekend.  It was a nice group.  The only problem - way too short.  Several women want additional training.  Personally, the hardest part about teaching these sessions is the brief length compared to the amount of information.  I hope the prevention/awareness portion of the class will prompt the participants to think further about their own personal prevention and awareness strategies. 

3. Kyu Rank Testing:  We had a scheduled kyu rank testing on March 15th.   The group did well. 

4.  Daughter Update:  My daughter has not missed a karate class.  I do not prompt or remind her to attend.  Karate is her decision.  I will help/guide when asked.

5. Lenten Challenge Update:  I am doing pretty good with the challenge.  There was one week I missed a few days but I am back on track.

6. Congratulations to Ariel and A Journey to Shodan on their recent promotions.

That's all for now....

Basic / Advanced

These words are used regularly in a dojo setting. We practice basics, drill basics, learn advanced techniques, attend advanced class, basic bunkai, advanced bunkai and so on...

Basic - of, relating to, or forming the base or essence: fundamental

Advanced - far on in time or course, being beyond others in progress or ideas

Do you remember your first karate lesson? During my first class, a black belt was pulled out of class to work with me individually. He showed me how to punch, a few stances, blocks. We walked through the first kata and waza. Mr. Z explained the dojo layout, dojo etiquette and the elements of a typical class. It was an important day in my karate journey.  After 19 years, I am still practicing and refining the lessons learned on the first day.

As a class instructor, I have another perspective. Have you ever told the "advanced" class the focus of the session would be on basics? Did you take notice to the reaction? I have seen green/brown belt students practically deflate at the mention of basics. Some students become so focused on "advanced" or "new" material that basics are neglected.  They can demonstrate the next kata but struggle with first kata. Do the students hear the word basic and think boring and repetitive? 

In a mixed class of beginners and advanced kyu rank students, the students should be practicing at their level.  The beginner who is just learning a technique may be focused on pattern, direction or sequence of movement.  A more experienced practitioner can work on the same technique and focus on breath, intent, timing and visualization.

In my opinion, it is important to utilize practice time to its fullest potential.

Welcome new blog follower Gina from Ginger Snaps and Ryan from Ryukyu Martial arts!

10kyu x 4 = ?

I handed my 12 year old daughter a crisp new gi and white belt.  If my calculations are correct, this will be her fourth uniform.  The gi have ranged in size from 00 - 2.  She has progressed through 8th kyu twice and almost made it to yellow belt.

We have been down this path before.  

Perhaps she needs a little non-parental encouragement...

If you were given the task of encouraging a potential student to learn karate, what would you say?

ACL Gender and Geometry

A new study about ACL injuries.

From Science Daily:

Much orthopaedic research has been devoted to determining why women are far more susceptible to knee ligament injuries than men. According to a new study, the answer may lie in geometry -- the length and shape of a patient's knee bone -- more than gender

The study found that most of the women (those who had ACL injuries and those who did not) and only the ACL-injured men shared a common geometry on the outside of their knee joint: The upper part of their shin bone at the joint (tibial plateau) was much shorter and more rounded. This may help to explain why women have an ACL injury rate that is two-to-five times greater than that of men.

General or Specific?

As a kyu rank, I remember being in a class of 15-20 people. The class instructor was leading the group through drills, kata and basics. He would often pause and offer pointers to the class. The instructor would tell the group to “check your stance”, “bend your knees” or “fix your hand position”. After each suggestion, students would check their technique and make corrections as needed. This pattern went on for a few minutes until he stopped the group.

The class instructor announced he would no longer make general comments to the class rather he would make specific comments to individuals.

His explanation...

Not all the students were checking their techniques.

Students in the correct position were making faulty corrections.

Students in the incorrect position were not making corrections.

Blanket statements were taking up a lot of class time.

The reaction from the class was divided. Some students did not like being singled out and felt “picked on”. I was included in the other group of students who appreciated the corrections.

It has been seventeen years but I still remember the class and the lesson learned. As a class instructor, I prefer to offer specific comments to individuals. The suggestions and corrections are offered as an opportunity to help students learn and improve.

What is your experience? General or specific?


A big welcome to the new followers of this blog! 

You Can't Make Someone...

From the "Draft" folder dated May 2010:

Learn.

A teacher can present information, give examples, share stories, discuss concerns, make corrections and answer questions. Students can learn by seeing and hearing, reflecting, practicing, repeating, analyzing, visualizing, in pieces or in chunks.

My own experience is from being a student, a parent and a karate instructor. As a student, I feel learning is my responsibility. I need to pay attention, receive the information, ask questions, practice. As a parent, I need to teach by example, listen, correct and guide. As a karate instructor I need to demonstrate, explain and guide.

Take for example my experience learning the kama kata. I struggled with this weapon. I could never flip the kama in my hand the correct way. My movement was slow and deliberate while other practitioners were quick and fluid. My kama would chop through the air rather than slice. I decided the kama were not for me...and that was all there was to it. When we would practice kama in class or at a seminar, it was as if my learning ability shut off like a switch. I wasn't receiving the information or benefiting from the practice because of my decision. A few years later, I made practicing kama a priority. I started to see some improvement.

Have you ever worked with a student or training partner and went over and over a technique? You tried everything: demonstrating, explanation, repetition, application, breaking it down in small parts, referencing and drills. After many attempts, the student did not learn the technique. Time passes and a different instructor successfully teaches the student the same technique.

How does this happen? What made the difference? I believe the student was ready/open to learning the technique.  Thoughts?

Update on kama:  I am still working on it!  :)