Kid's Manual
Table of Contents
Introduction
Martial arts are a system of mental and physical skills, which prepare people of any age to meet combat in themselves and others. People train in martial arts for a variety of reasons including personal development, sport competition, self-defense, physical fitness and stress management. In our children’s program we emphasize the development of life skills that prepare our young people to face and cope with challenges of life.Our children’s syllabus draws its technical base from both Judo and Taekwondo. Taekwondo a style of karate and is built around the ability to kick and punch, whereas Judo is a grappling art, which teaches throwing and ground fighting skills. Together, both arts create a formidable self-defense arsenal. More than that, however, both arts create a very solid fitness base and physical awareness for the student. Both Taekwondo and Judo can be taught to children from an early age, because they draw upon a child’s natural, innate abilities.
We take a long-term view to training, which means that you will not have a ten-year-old Black belt on your hands. When we put a Black belt on your son or daughter, we want your child to know that he or she has earned the rank and are worthy of the rank for what he or she has achieved and for what he or she is capable of achieving in the future.
We view the development of your child as being a team effort in which we are just one of the supports upon which the growth of your child depends. Therefore, each time your child is ready to rank to the next colored belt, we will send home a copy of the “Notice of Intent to Promote” form (see the syllabus under Downloadable Documents). We will also require a letter of recommendation from you as the child’s parent, explaining why you think your child is ready for promotion (see the syllabus under Downloadable Documents). If for any reason you or the child’s schoolteacher decides that he or she is not ready for promotion, we will explain the exact reasons to your child and explain what must be done either at home or at school before the promotion can take place.
There will be successes and failures as your child progresses through the ranks towards black belt, which is exactly as it should be. Your child will learn important life lessons from facing his or her challenges and from seeing them through. This is one of the reasons why a team approach is so important.
We want you to know from the beginning that the road to Black Belt will require commitment from you, your child, and all of us at the Starkville Martial Arts Academy. We all know that what we do most often is what we are best at, so it will come as no surprise to you that we expect our children to practice outside of class. Our Black Belt Kid's sheet will help your child develop the necessary discipline to practice, and your encouragement will assist in developing exactly the skills that will help your child commit to his or her school work and achieve his or her full potential.
Opening and Closing Lines
At the beginning and end of each class, we remind ourselves of the importance of self-control and of having a positive outlook on life. When your child first joins us, he or she may feel awkward about not knowing what we say. It would be helpful therefore, if you would help your child to learn the things that we say at the beginning and end of class and explain a little about what they mean.At the beginning of class we focus on the importance of self-control and say:
“Focus the eyes, focus the mind, focus the body.”
In this way we bring our full attention to the activities of the class and remind ourselves that everyone’s safety is dependant upon our own actions.
At the end of class we focus upon a positive mental attitude and say:
“Know what you want, have a plan, and a success coach.
Take consistent action, review your progress and renew your goals.”
The purpose behind closing our classes this way is to remind our students that there is a bigger reason for being in the martial arts than the lesson of the day. The lesson is important, but it is only part of a picture and we want our young people to learn to see the big picture as one of the goals of the learning process.
Each of these little sayings comes with a set of hand and body gestures, which your child can learn easily in class. The purpose of the hand and body actions is to increase the retention of the phrase in your child’s memory.
Mental Focus and Physical Growth
As we just said, we begin and end each class with our attention being focused upon the aspects of personal growth that are most important to our young martial artists. At the end of each class, however, (before we line up and finish class), and often during class, we will have short chats with our students. The chats will center upon aspects of mental focus and personal development. Frequently, the chats will involve question and answer discussions in which we will be working with the children to a) get them to think about the questions asked, b) consider their own actions in terms of the questions asked, c) speak up in class, and d) listen to their classmates.The chats are part of a deliberate personal development program, which uses the martial arts as a tool for learning much more than just kicking, punching and throwing. To track progress through our program, we use color stripes to indicate progress towards each rank. Each stripe is composed of two parts: a technical part and a character part.
At the end of the month, each child who turns in four Black Belt Kid's Sheets will be eligible to test for a rank stripe. Each rank will normally consist of four rank stripes, plus a color stripe of the same color as the next belt color. The color stripe can be earned at any time on the journey to the next rank, and will be given for the consistent demonstration of a particular trait. For example: in going from White to Yellow belt, each student must, at some point, earn a yellow stripe for consistently demonstrating the quality of self-control. A child will not be recommended for promotion until he or she has all four rank stripes and the appropriate color stripe.
Color stripes are cumulative and can be taken away. An example of this might be that we have a young child who is getting ready to earn her Green belt. She will therefore need four technical stripes, a yellow stripe, an orange stripe, and a green stripe. The yellow and orange stripes were earned for previous ranks. Since the orange stripe is for leading by example, if the student in question starts being selfish and pushes her way to the front of the line, it is possible to lose the orange stripe and have to re-earn it. The message that we are attempting to send here, is that each of the behaviors that our students learn are intended to be carried forward from the ranks in which they are earned all the way to Black Belt and beyond. In simple terms: Self Control isn’t a Yellow belt trait, it is a trait that we expect to be demonstrated by everyone in the dojo who wears a Yellow belt or higher, regardless of the color of the belt.
Ranking Stripe |
Behavior |
| White to Yellow | Self Control |
| Yellow to Orange | Leading by Example |
| Orange to Green | Determination |
| Green to Brown III | Initiative |
| Brown III to Brown II | Personal Responsability |
| Brown II to Brown I | Concern for Others |
| Brown I to Black | Leadership |
The Dojo and Black Belt Kid's Sheets
The Child’s responsibilities in the Dojo:- The dojo is a place for you to grow physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.
- The dojo is a place for you to learn that you should never stop learning in life.
- It is your responsibility to keep the dojo clean and tidy.
- Respect yourself, your classmates, your instructors, your uniform and your equipment.
- Take pride in where and how you train.
- Always remember that safety comes first and that the most important person on the deck is your training partner.
- Consider others and consider the effects that your actions have upon the safety of others.
- Practice what you learn at home, but never use the martial skills outside the dojo.
- For safety reasons never try to show your friends or teach them what you know.
- Safety and respect are most important. Failure to show these traits can result in suspension and/or expulsion.
- When you arrive early, you may bring a book to read or you may employ yourself in the completion of homework assignments. You are also allowed to practice your rank requirements, using your training manual, so long as you demonstrate maturity and self-discipline. Failure to show self-control and self-discipline will result in the loss of this privilege. Free play, running around the dojo, playing hide and seek, playing with the balls and other such activities will not be permitted. Horseplay in the changing rooms will result in the loss of changing room privileges. If you do not exhibit self-control in the dressing rooms, you will be asked to come to class already dressed out in your uniform.
The Parent’s responsibilities in the Dojo:
- We would ask that you not deliver your children before 3:30 p.m., and that they arrive on time to class. When children arrive late, it disrupts the educational experience for all, and does not teach the tardy individuals the correct life lessons about the use of time and respect for other people.
- The dojo is a place for your child to learn, therefore please be considerate of their need to remain focused and not get distracted by outside noise and activity.
- Please keep younger children under control. It is difficult to maintain control of the class when children in class can see their siblings running about and shouting.
- Please help to keep the dojo clean and tidy. Pick up newspapers, drink containers, and food wrappers before you leave.
- Give your children a model of behavior that you would want them to copy if you were the person receiving the instruction and they were the ones sitting at the edge watching.
- Always remember that safety comes first. If you have any concerns, please bring them to the attention of the instructors as soon as is practicable.
- Consider others and consider the effects that your actions have upon the learning environment for the children.
- Help your child to practice what he or she learns at home. By demonstrating a real interest in what your child is learning you will become more of a partner in the process and encourage your child to keep coming back to practice. During your home study times, go back over the color stripe information and discuss these aspects of training with your child.
- For safety reasons never allow your child to demonstrate or practice what they are learning with or “on” their friends.
- Encourage your child to fill in the Black Belt Kid's Sheet, but do not fill it in for your son or daughter. This is an exercise in developing personal responsibility for your child. As a parent, you can certainly help and assist your child, but please allow the child to fill in the sheet and give them the opportunity to feel the pride of turning in a sheet that improves as time goes by.
Black Belt Kid's Sheets:
- Are due in on the first class day of each week.
- Make it your personal responsibility, not your parent’s.
- Fill it in with honesty.
- Strive to improve.
- Make sure you hand in four sheets each month, so that you can test for your next stripe.
Age Considerations and Moving to the Adult Class
At the Starkville Martial Arts Academy, you will not see a seven-year-old Black Belt. You will not even see a ten-year-old Black Belt. Under rare circumstances, you might see a twelve-year-old Black Belt. The philosophy behind this is that we want our Black Belts to be mature enough to really understand what a Black Belt means. We do not want Black Belt to be a trophy, but rather a valued indicator of the effort expended. Consequently, you should not expect your child to rank every month, especially as he or she moves beyond Green belt and into the higher ranks. The instructors are taking a long-term view of your child’s training and want your child to gain benefits that will last a lifetime. In the early ranks, we are working on developing a commitment to the process. Provided the Black Belt Kid's sheets are coming in, and the student knows his or her stripe material, stripes will be awarded. As your child moves up the ranking system however, we will expect more in terms of:- Technical quality
- Excellence on the Black Belt Kid's Sheets
Consequently, the rank intervals will tend to spread themselves apart as your child moves through the system. Something else to consider here, is the color stripe. It is not unusual for a child to get all of his or her technical stripes, but not earn the rank color stripe until some time after receiving the last technical stripe. An example might be if a White belt has earned all of his or her technical stripes, but still lacks self-control on a regular and consistent basis. Until the child earns the yellow stripe for self-control, he or she will remain a White belt. Conversely, a child may have all the necessary stripes, including the color stripe, but when we get the “Notice of Intent to Rank” form returned to us, either the parent or a teacher may not agree that the child is ready to promote. In this case, there will be a very specific reason, which we will communicate to the child. Once the child meets the required obligation (for instance: showing more consideration for his or her siblings at home), we will then set a rank date for promotion. In this way, we are teaching personal responsibility early on in the ranking process, so that your child will be prepared for the harder tasks he or she will meet in life and as he or she approaches Black Belt.
At some stage in his or her development, it is likely that your child will be ready to move to our adult class. Generally, there will be one or more indicators that tell us it is time for the transition to take place. The indicators that it is time to graduate to the more challenging environment are as follows:
- Age
- Behavioral maturity
- Size
- Rank
- Student/parent request
In terms of age, we like to move children to the adult class between the ages of twelve and fourteen, but age on its own is never a good indicator. Children mature and develop at quite different rates so it is possible that one child may have the behavioral maturity to handle the adult class, but simply have not yet begun his or her adolescent growth spurt.
Adolescents like to be given responsibility and be treated like adults. Increased responsibility can happen in one of two ways in our program. Firstly, a child can be given the greater responsibility of learning in the adult environment. Secondly, a child can be given responsibility by being invited to enter the instructor training program and be given the opportunity to help teach in the children’s class.
Another indicator that a child is ready to move to the more challenging adult classes is your child’s rank. There comes a point in the process that your child will want the challenges of the adult syllabus and have reached a rank level where the junior syllabus is no longer as stimulating as it once was. At this point, your son or daughter will move to the adult classes and start learning the adult syllabus. The next rank that your child earns will therefore be based upon learning the material in the adult syllabus. When your child enters the adult program there will be some “catching up,” because the adult syllabus is technically more demanding that the children’s syllabus. Typically your child will find several adult members of his or her new class who are more than willing to offer a guiding hand and assist your child in picking up the new material.
Taken together, we will use these indicators to evaluate a student’s readiness to enter the adult program. In all cases, when we feel that your child is ready for the adult training environment, we will discuss the matter with you before we make the move. The decision to move to the adult classes is therefore a team decision between the instructors, the student, and the parents. In this fashion, the transition to the adult class is a mutual decision that creates benefit for everyone involved.
In Judo and Jujitsu there are some techniques that are age dependent, so that when your child moves to an adult training environment, he or she may still experience some limitations as to what he or she is allowed to practice and/or perform. Specifically, the rules of sport Judo do not allow the use of chokes in tournament before the age of thirteen, although we will allow a child to learn them at twelve. Likewise, the use of arm bars is not permitted in Judo tournament until sixteen, but we will allow a student to learn them at fourteen. We believe it is important for our children to be exposed to, and to be given the opportunity to learn techniques before they will meet them in tournament situations. Additionally, there are techniques in the Jujitsu syllabus that involve joint locks, which are inappropriate for growing children, even though they will never be used in a competition environment. In all cases, we will monitor children for their maturity very carefully as we approach threshold ages for chokes and joint locks.
Administratively, there are some age-based restrictions, which affect ranks that can be registered with one or more of our national organizations. The result of this restriction is that your child may hold a higher rank from the Starkville Martial Arts Academy, compared to what is possible to obtain from one of our national organizations.
Technical Stripe Requirements
Available for download in the PDF Syllabus! Web version coming soon!Equipment Needed
Unlike a lot of sports or activities, martial arts do not involve the purchase of a lot of expensive equipment. The main expense will be keeping up with your child’s growth rate!When your son or daughter joins the Starkville Martial Arts Academy, he or she will be given a Karate uniform as part of the enrollment package. You can elect to upgrade the package to include a Judo uniform rather than the karate uniform. A karate uniform is ideal for the kicking and punching that we do in the Taekwondo-based classes and tends to breathe more easily. The Judo uniform is much heavier and more suited to the grappling and throwing activities involved in the Judo classes.
Eventually you might want to purchase one of each type of uniform as your child progresses through the ranks and develops the commitment necessary to stay with the program. Taekwondo Sparring will be an option for committed students. In order to do this safely, your child will need a mouthpiece, foam dipped hand and foot pads, and foam dipped headgear. We do not recommend that you purchase these items until your child is ready for sparring.
Check out our Gear!!
Personal Safety
It is an unfortunate fact of modern society that children are not as safe from temptation, attack, or predation as we might hope. We are very concerned with the security and safety of our young children. Therefore from time to time we will be teaching specific personal safety drills. These drills will stress the roles of de-escalation and anger management in personal safety.Anger Management
1. Non-physical solutions, body language, verbal language
2. “I’m too angry to talk about this right now, let’s take a cool down”
3. 10 slow breaths
4. Setting verbal and physical boundaries
Passwords
1. Safety from strangers
2. Parent/child passwords for emergencies
Verbal and Physical Boundary Drills
1.Keep it verbal
2.Control distance
3.Understand personal space
4.Use of voice and body
Portal of Safety Drill
1. Using verbal and physical boundaries
2. Environmental awareness
3. Escape to safety
Strike/Stop Drill
1.Identify a potential strike weapon
2.Identify a potential strike direction
3.Angles of attack
Declining a Hug Drill
1. Feeling “awkward”
2. Use of hands
3. Use of words