Tuesday, September 12, 2017

The Inner Torment Of Teaching Children

A long boring title?  Check.

Another drawn out rant?  Check.

About an issue that is entirely my own?  Check.

I should just write see other posts and probably leave it at that, but I will add a bit more sauce to the post.

I was actually able to teach a bit longer with the eight year olds that my normal five minutes.  I was actually given permission to give them push ups, but to my surprise neither of them knew how to do a push up!? 

After the teeth grinding effort of trying to get them to do one kata, which they should know in their sleep now, I was given a reprieve for a few minutes before I was handed off to even younger kids.  Swallowing my feeling of depression about working with them I hung my head and drug my feet over to them (not really, just how I felt).  To my surprise the youngest kids were the best!  6 years old and serious!  I had a boy and girl that turned out to have an attention span and didn't mind repeating what they were doing until they had it right.  I was so proud!

That was the whole class essentially.  Before we started, Mark and I were trying to remember the kata for our confirmation to get ready to help our two new blackbelts.  Sarah and Kyle passed on their first attempt during the last weekend so that means the next year they will be doing exactly what Mark and I did during our last year.  My brain is so full from new stuff that trying to remember the kata (Kyoku Roku Dan) wasn't coming easily.  Reed came in and ran us through it to help us out.  I was surprised how easily it flowed after we started. 

After class went well.  I'm working on my third bird kata, Haku Tsu ryu no onna, and needed some help polishing what I've learned so far, but Daniel and Reed had me do the first two, Haku Cho and Haku Cho Dai, and found a lot of little things to work on.  The hour zipped by and I had to head home in the dark and heat.

No comments:

Your Clothes, Book Cast With 100%

  At 6:05am I looked at my phone quizzically while trying to wake up.  My SaBomNim (master teacher), who is legally blind, sent me the messa...