Kids Martial Arts Classes?

This fall I’m considering teaching kids martial arts classes. A big sticking point that has kept me from teaching martial arts classes recently has been that I’m no longer part of a traditional martial arts school. This means that anything I teach kids will be sort of system-less, not part of a larger martial organization. It also means that I will have to create my own curriculum. However, I know so much material, so much about fighting, self-defense, discipline, movement, building confidence and awareness, that I have plenty to teach. And sharing these things with kids is always fun and rewarding, whether in a traditional martial arts school or not.

So this morning I sat down to brainstorm what material I would want to share with kids. A partial list is in the photo above. I would start by teaching standing still and calmly (discipline, standing meditation), and bowing (respect). Respect is deeply important in the martial arts, and I would share this notion with my students; we respect ourselves, we respect our training partners and teachers, we respect the natural world around us. I love that martial arts often offer us a set of values like respect, and I would pass my understanding of these values along to my students.

Cultivating a good martial attitude is also paramount. When we show up to practice, we are first and foremost practicing managing our own ego. So how do we show up when we’re about to do a fighting drill with a partner? Are we scared? Excited? Wanting to show off? Wanting to “win?” (Personally, I experience all of these things.) Can we learn to hear those thoughts and feelings, allow them to rest, and show up with our best, most present selves? Open to the drill and the possibilities within it? For me, showing up with a quiet ego and calm presence is still a big part of my martial journey. If I can pass this notion on to kids, it will support them in many parts of their lives.

And then, there’s the moves. I no longer have any official martial arts forms to pass along, but I have plenty of techniques to share–all manners of kicks, stances, strikes, and footwork. These will be the building blocks of our practice, and we can create many partner drills and freeform martial movements around these techniques.

Lastly, my primary concern when teaching kids is safety. I hate the thought of a kid getting hurt in my class, so we will focus on safety from the get-go. I’ve sustained many injuries over the course of my martial training, and, looking back, I believe many of them could have been avoided if we had focused more intently on keeping ourselves and each other safe. I would like to teach my students a way to practice martial arts that keeps them safe and healthy, not injured and stressed.

So that’s it for now. Writing and posting helps me sort of “think out loud” about these things, and get comfortable sharing my progress. Thank you for reading!