Dear students and parents, Thank you for your support in what we do at the Dojo.
Typically, every kyu-ranking student (below Black Belt) goes through three phases of his or her training.
The first phase is the Novelty phase: “Hey, Karate is great!” “I’m doing kicks and punches!” “When are we going again?!” It’s not difficult for students to be motivated at this stage, because everything is so new and exciting!
The second phase is the Perseverance phase. “Basics again!” “We’ve done these moves before!” “I’m still so far away from Black Belt!” This is the most difficult time for a student on their way to Black Belt. I’ll be going into more detail on this later…
The third phase is the Reward phase. “Wow, look how close I am to becoming a Black Belt! This is really helping me at school and home, my grades have never been better!” Obviously, this is a great stage!
We really want all of our students to get to the Reward phase! It is where the student can really know and feel that they have accomplished something truly great. Of course, obtaining a Black Belt is really only the beginning, but it sure is a great start!
Let’s get back to that tough stage of perseverance. I have been approached by parents whose children love karate when they are here, but they have a hard time getting them to come (This goes for adults too). They say “my child leaves here happy and having enjoyed themselves, but the next time I ask them to go to class they give me resistance.” I want you to know this is not at all uncommon. They are in the Perseverance stage. This is actually a great time to develop the students’ character! If you can help them to develop good habits by pushing through the hard times, they will learn a valuable life lesson! It will teach them not to give up when things get tough, and we all know what a life lesson that is!
One thing that will help a child through the perseverance stage, is reminding them after class of the fun that they had. Usually when a student will resist going to class, but then they do go, they have fun and are happy that they attended class. Anchor this positive feeling after class by saying, “You sure looked like you were having fun at Karate today. What did you learn or do in class?”.
Another great way to create a positive feeling for your child after Karate is complimenting them on something they did well or improved on. Or if a teacher praised them, mentioning that you are really proud that the teacher noticed their progress. It can be easy to point out the things your child is doing wrong in class or when they loose their focus, but remember to try to leave Karate ending on a good note.
For adult students, we have to be our own positive coach. We can probably all relate to working out or going to the gym. Sometimes it’s hard to follow through and push ourselves to go excercise when we are tired or busy. But, when we do, we always feel happy and healthy afterwards. It can be hard to stay motivated when life gets in the way or you’re just plain tired. But that is the most important time to train, because we need time for ourselves too. Karate can keep us healthier and provide an outlet for stress.
Sometimes it is best to meet with an instructor to let us know what is going on in your family’s life. Please don’t hesitate to contact us and we would be glad to help you or your child every step of the way.