This fall I’ll be teaching a six-week martial arts class for kids ages 5-10 at Ready Set Grow, a family-oriented yoga studio in my Portland neighborhood. I love teaching kids–they’re wildly unpredictable and fun to work with. I teach martial arts a little differently than other schools, so I wanted to take a moment to share how I teach and practice martial arts with kids.
Martial arts classes almost always start and end with bowing. Bowing or saluting is a tradition in every martial art I’ve studied, and I love it. When we bow we take a moment to show respect: to our teacher, to the school, to ourselves, to each other. I believe that if we showed this kind of respect to each other more often in our everyday lives, we might find ourselves in a kinder and more civil society. In martial arts class we get to practice living in such a society. The ceremony of bowing creates a container of respect and a little bit of formality–we’re having fun, but we’re also taking our practice seriously.
After we bow in, we take a moment to meditate. We may meditate seated or standing. We focus our minds, turn off our voices, and become one with our surroundings. Meditation helps us learn to regulate our bodies, minds, and feelings. A little bit of meditation practice at the beginning of class gives us a set point to come back to should we need a break.
Next we get moving. Our movement curriculum is a collection of strikes, blocks, kicks, and footwork patterns. We learn these through various games and exercises. While I’m interested in kids having the proper form for their strikes, I’m even more interested in encouraging them to move freely in their bodies. Many of the kids in my classes say they already know how to do the moves anyway–they’ve seen them on Ninjago or in Kung Fu Panda. Rather than deny what they know, I invite them to show me, then I make minor adjustments to improve their form if necessary. I also invite them to make up their own moves and fighting styles. After all, all the moves I teach them were made up by someone else along the way.
We also touch on a little self-defense. Kids tend to express their emotions through their bodies naturally–they haven’t yet learned to regulate their feelings all the way, or to hold them in to be polite. As much as possible, I want kids to keep this connection to their bodies. This ability to listen and express our feelings helps us when it comes to self-defense. When our gut is telling us something is off, it is our job to honor that “off” feeling and set a boundary. In our class I teach the kids how to say “no,” effectively. “No,” “Don’t touch me,” “I don’t want to play right now,” “I don’t want a hug right now.” When kids learn to stand up for themselves and their personal boundaries, they can go through the world feeling safer and more confident.
Once we’ve done our movements and games for the day, once we’re done fighting each other with pool-noodle swords, we take 5-10 minutes to write in our training journals. I started having my kids journal during our last class series, and we all ended up loving it. At the end of class kids have a major dip in energy–the little ones get pretty tired, so journaling gives us a way to decompress. I like to write a little bit about what I learned in that day’s class, but the kids tend to draw pictures of themselves fighting with swords. I like how this helps them solidify their self-image as a fighter, as someone strong. They love telling me about their drawings, and on occasion have even written sweet notes to me in their journals (I feel so loved!)
And so, I’m grateful to be teaching this course to kids once more this fall. The kids keep me on my toes, and they keep my teaching fresh. I’m excited to find out what I’ll learn from this next group of young martial artists.
Michelle Folk Johnson 