It's the end...

Well, after a year, this project has finally reached its end. So here is the final post.

I'd like to say that although finding quality research for karate, there are some resources out there that provide good information. Some examples can be found in my wb over there ->, and in this amazing karate blog I happened to stumble upon a few weeks ago:

http://www.karatebyjesse.com/

This ninja blog provided me with ways to improve my teaching and my practices. It may not have detailed studies, but it does offer an endless amounts of experience and practical knowledge by a sensei who genuinely loves teaching karate.

In the end, this project was a success. I managed to compile sufficient research, and I was able to personally improve my teaching. All in all, thanks for reading this blog and I hope you find it helpful.

Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
I was really proud of successfully decorating my room with props and posters, which really brought the MPR to life. I am also very proud of beginning and ending my presentation in a very strong, solid way. The way I realized this is because throughout the day students came up to me to congratulate me for doing a good and the always looked at me in the eye and shook my hand. I actually began my presentation by lining up everybody and shaking everybody's hand, so I really feel this might have had an impact in my audience.

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC  

This is because I feel that not only did I prepare and organize a regular presentation, but I worked arduously to  go above and beyond. I did everything in my power to make my presentation deep and complex to actually convey meaning, I ensured to create the right type of ambiance by decorating with a wide array of props. I tried to give meaning to both my EQ and my answers, I feel I did have an impact in my audience, and I do believe I managed to pull off a memorable experience for both the senior and junior viewers of my presentation. In general, I really do believe I managed to pay it forward and help a pair of juniors who approached me after my presentations with questions about their future senior projects on karate.
b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE/P          AP       CR       NC

I have to say that I've worked really hard on my project throughout the whole year. I've been working at improving my teaching skills for five years now, and my mentor(who's known me for over ten years) has actually told me that I improved more this year than I ever have in all the years I've been learning to teach karate. I also put in a great deal of effort into creating effective independent components, especially considering that my second independent component was designed to effectively prove which of my answers was the best. To culminate my project, I worked day and night to make sure I delivered a presentation that has shown the skills I've learned both in Ipoly and my mentorship for the last 4 years. All in all, I worked restlessly to the end to display the best I could develop with what I had and with the time I had.
(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

My mentorship really worked for me since I've already been helping out with karate classes for years, therefore finding a mentor was very easy, although he was very hard on me. As a result of my mentor knowing me for so long, he felt very comfortable at pushing me to my limits to so that I could regularly improve my teaching abilities. I also think that my final senior presentation was very successful. Without regard to what grade I may get, I really feel satisfied with what I displayed, I really feel that is showed not only how much I've learned throughout this year, but through the last four years. I can confidently say that my presentation was a successful culmination of my high school experience, one where I learned to present, be resourceful, and to work hard to the end.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

If I could change anything in my project, I would go back in time to my presentation and include giving out cookies and showing my bo staff form during the presentation, not after I had concluded it. I was able to give out the cookies and show my bo staff form and still give their corresponding explanations, but I would have liked to do it before the timer stopped taking my time. Mind you, this was by design since I felt that I was better to do that part after the fact, but as I showed the form I realized I would have been better to include it in. Other than that, I would just go back to my interview and actually talk about how much time I've put in my project, as I received a slightly unfortunate grade as a result of not properly displaying evidence of a nine- month project. From there on out, I feel that I had a pretty solid senior project.  

(5) Finding Value
How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   

Its one thing to develop a five minute presentation, and its a complete other to organize an hour-long presentation. Senior project prepared me for the future by enhancing some of my researching skills, creativity, presentation skills, perseverance, entrepreneurial skills, and ability to gain and benefit from a mentorship/internship. Overall, I feel that my senior project prepared me for conducting experiments/projects throughout my life, and having better foundations for successfully completing college. For example, as a result of gathering over 63 pieces of good research and doing our ESA we learned how and were to look for quality research. Another clear example is the fact that most incoming freshmen at college don't have the extensive presentation skills that we as ipoly students have. I really do feel that being able to complete my senior presentation really prepared me to be able to stand out and make a different at the college I attend. In order to stand out in a school of over 5000, I know that I need to be able to speak up, and that's exactly what my senior presentation had me do. This is the beauty of Ipoly, although our GPA's suffer so greatly because of this, but by the time any student walks at graduation they have learned invaluable skills that aren't taught in traditional high schools. Thusly, giving us an advantage to succeed in our college experience.

Blog 21: Mentorship

Content:

LIA Response to blog:

    Literal

·     Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties updated on the right hand side of your blog

142 hours. =>

·     Contact Name and Mentorship Place

Fabian Villalobos, Young Champions Karate.

    Interpretive

     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

All in all, I gained a much deeper understanding of karate and the art of teaching karate. I've already been in karate for over 10 years and I have been working on learning how to teach for about 5 years. Although I've had experience, I feel that throughout this year of work I improved dramatically in my teaching skills. It's been a goal of mine to one day work as a karate instructor teaching through a larger organization or independently. After this project I feel ready to take on my goal and make it a reality. 

   Applied

     How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

My EQ is: What is the most important factor to effectively teach karate to young children? In short, my mentorship has consisted of me practicing how to teach and being there while my sensei taught or while I taught myself. It was through research and constantly talking to my sensei, the parents, and kids that I developed my answers. While I was working with my sensei at teaching I realized the many ways that teaching could be done. The different components of teaching that allows kids to learn the best, and it is precisely those components of teaching the became my answers. It was through my sensei and mentorship that I was able to check the effectivity of my answers. Since my sensei tends to be nice to me, he allowed me to teach on a somewhat regular basis. Through this I was able to put my answers to the test. 

*Please do not turn in your mentorship hours to the office.  After we collect the total list from all seniors, we will turn in one piece of paper with all hours for everybody.  It is counted as 50 hours of the 200 you need in order to graduate from I-Poly.  The 10 hours in the summer have already been added to your community service total.

=>

Almost the end...

Its been a long time since the beginning of this project and it is close to reaching it's end. All that's left is my senior presentation and exit interview. So in tune to what is going on, I feel that it's appropriate to go over the activities that I will used during my senior presentation and some others that I also know to be very effective for teaching karate. Here they are:

Senior Presentation Activities: 
- My first activity will consist of three case studies that show varying levels of success and parental involvement. It shows that there is a direct correlation between the my first answer and the success of karate studios. Although this activity makes the audience get the feeling that teaching karate is a business and that its all about making money, it serves the ultimate tone of my presentation. (I'm planning to start off like this, and towards the end show how karate is more multidimensional that one would usually imagine.) This activity doesn't exactly teach karate, but it shows the importance of parental involvement.
- For my second activity I'm planning on having my audience learn and practice basic techniques on punching bags. In order to prove the importance of my best answer (understanding and experience) I will begin by teaching how to do a jab punch properly and make sure to teach it correctly. Then when I teach how to do a reverse punch I will act confused and lost. Make sure to lower my voice and behave as if I really wasn't sure about the technique I was teaching. Right in the middle of my faulty explanation I will stop and explain that I was doing that to illustrate how an instructor acts when they don't have a deep understanding of karate and have little to no experience. This way I will give my audience the chance to see the differences in teaching when a sensei knows what they are doing as opposed to when they don't.

Other activities:
- One activity I will never get tired of stressing is having the kids practice on punching bags while the parents help holding said bags. Although this is to a degree a bit standard, it is very effective. It just has all the benefits that parental involvement offer and gives a time for practice.
- An activity that works very well at developing a child's sparring (practice fighting) techniques is paring them up and giving them specific exercises to practice. For example, if you have them do this activity and they practice punching while stepping forward, while the other person steps back and blocks, you are giving them a more comfortable setting to practice for sparring. This helps them develop their reflexes and gives them yet another technique they are comfortable using in their sparring or in a situation where they have to defend themselves.
- Another technique I wish I used more often is the closed-off- room one. This activity consist of having bags or something to place on the floor to simulate a closed off room with only one opening so that it can be the 'door'. In general, this activity is used to put the kids in the mind set of a situation where they would have to defend themselves and do what it takes to protect them selves and get out of a dangerous situation. Basically you have a child on the 'inside of the room' and one at the 'door'; the child on the 'inside has to fight his/her way out, and the child at the 'door' (playing the role of a bully)  has to do whatever it takes to keep the other student 'inside'.

Of course there are more useful activities out there, but these are a few that I have found to be very useful and successful when it comes to teaching karate.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question and answers?  What is your best answer and why?

My EQ is "What is the most important factor to effectively teach karate to young children?" My three answers are: having experience and good teaching skills can guarantee that a sensei can know how to teach and cater to every student learning needs in order to optimize their learning, knowing how to respond to emergency situations greatly helps a sensei ensure that they are prepared to take care of any situations that might arise when teaching, parental support/involvement greatly helps a child be more willing and able to learn better. My best answer has to be having experience and good teaching skills. The reason for this is that in order to teach karate effectively you need to have a deep understanding of how and why each technique is the way it is, and this is learned through experience. As for the good teaching kills aspect, its important to know how exactly how to teach karate, as it is a bit different than most teaching. In order to teach karate, you must need to know how to earn the respect of your students and establish a class, and to do that, the first thing you need to do is know how to address the students' different learning needs and cater to them. By incorporating these concepts, you are bound to successfully teach karate to young children, which is usually more of a challenge.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

Although it was a yearlong process, the point where I sorted out my best answer was through my 2nd independent component. Through said component I further explored each of my answers through research, testing it out myself, and conducting interviews. After compiling all I learned, I decided that having experience and good teaching skills was my best answer. 

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

To be honest, the only problem I faced was not knowing how to incorporate all of my answers into my independent component. I know that I wasn't required, but in order for my project to be more complete I felt that it was important. At first I was worried that I would be too much, but it was with time and actually sitting down to think it through that I was able to figure out a way to touch base with all of my answers without going over the top or bitting off more than I could chew. In the end it all worked well. 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

The two most important sources I used to find my answers are my mentor and an article I found about teaching to different learning styles (Attempted Validaiton of the Scores of VARK: Learning Styles Inventory with Multitrait-Multimethod Confirmatory Factor Analysis Models). My mentor was of importance because he himself is who taught me how to teach and has continuously done what he could so that I could improve. My sensei was important for me to find all three of my answers, but the article helped me solidify my best answer. But now, in the given case that my mentor did not count as a source for any given reason, I would cite my interview with Sensei Frank Marquez, as he helped me place all of my answers in perspective and narrow down the most effective one.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

LITERAL(a) “I, Lizzeth Acuna, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
(b) My CPR/First Aid class and the book published by the American Red cross to supplement class proved to be very valuable sources. I also found an article,  Learning Styles Inventory With Multitrait-Multimethod Confirmatory Factor Analysis Models, really gave a deeper insight on the true importance of teaching to different learning styles. As always, my mentor, Fabian Villalobos, was an integral part of my component. He's been overlooking my practices and has continually helped me in improving my teaching abilities. My other important source would be my interview with sensei Frank Marquez. He helped me solidify my answers.
(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours).   Its right there -->

(d) My independent component's purpose was to further explore my answers and figure out which one was more effective. The way I solidified my first answer, parental involvement, was through observation during my mentorship, and by conducting unofficial interviews with senseis, parents and students. I worked on validating my second answer, preparedness, by taking a CPR/First Aid class and by continuing my research. I also worked on running activities with the kids using equipment and without. This helped me understand how important it is for a sensei to be prepared for emergencies and to teach a class. As for my third answer, in depth knowledge/understanding and ability to teach karate, I worked on teaching class myself a few times to see how much my knowledge and teaching abilities determined how well the kids understood what I taught. I also began helping out two upper belt with improving their teaching abilities. Through both of them I was able to thoroughly understand exactly how much my third answer impacts the success of a sensei. To validate all of my answers I interviewed sensei Frank Marquez, who's been teaching for about 20 years. He agreed with me that while all my answers are important for success, my third answer holds the most weight. 

INTERPRETIVE
Solidifying all of my answers took a great deal of time. I found specific ways to approach each one of them to see just how effective they are. For my first answer, I observed in class and in tournaments and conducted unofficial interviews. For my second answer, I took a CPR/First Aid course and I experimented with teaching with and without equipment. For my third answer, I taught class myself and worked with two students at improving his teaching skills. Overall, I spent a decent 10 hours on each answer.

APPLIED

My component helped me explore each of my answers to greater depth. I explored my first answer, parental involvement, by observing and through conducting unofficial interviews with parents and students. However I found that my third answer, in depth knowledge/understanding and ability to teach karate, was my best answer by teaching myself, and helping two upper belt student with their teaching skills. Through him it was that I was able to thoroughly understand exactly how much my third answer impacts the success of a sensei. Overall the component helped me narrow down to my best answer. 

Evidence: 

(This picture is from the tournament I judged in January. This was actually the ring next to the one I was judging at. The judge on the left is Brendan and the one on the right is a guy we all call Screamer Dude because whenever he performs a kata he screams really loud.)

(This is Ana Cortez, one of the students that I helped with their teaching skills. Through her I realized that by understanding techniques thoroughly was more effective than my other answers. I took this picture on our way out of class.)

(This is my CPR/First Aid certificate)

(I actually got this picture from Jessica, a fellow judge at the tournaments. He's sensei Jack and was one of the senseis I interviewed. Although I don't mention him much in my research, he was actually pretty influential in my project. His philosophy when it comes to teaching young children is VERY effective. He helped me get the right attitude for teaching young kids. That's why, even though I didn't personally take this picture I wanted to make sure I included him since he is important.)

Unofficial Interview

(This is one of the unofficial interviews that I conducted in the last tournament I judged at. My interviewee is Sensei Andrew.)

All not just one answer is the best

After months of research and mentorship, I've come to conclude that even though there might be a  'best answer', only by combining all of them will you have a well rounded class.

I tried incorporating each of my answers into my teaching one at a time and I realized that while I was able to concentrate on a particular component very well, I didn't do as good of a job as I was hoping.
Then I tried implementing all of my answers thus far and I realized that I was actually able to make a good connection with my students and teach effectively. In fact, when I did a few unofficial interviews in the last tournament I judged at, I realized that a common factor among the answers that the sensei's were giving me was that they all touched on the subject that in order to run their class successfully they had to take into account parental involvement, their teaching skills, preparedness, and more.

All in all, even if you incorporate the best answer, you will never have as good results as if you incorporate most of your answers.

Blog 18: Third Answer

EQ: What is the most important factor to effectively teach karate to young children?

Answer #3: Knowing how to respond to emergency situations greatly helps a sensei ensure that they are prepared to take care of any situations that might arise when teaching, thusly running class more safely and smoothly.

Support Details:
- Knowing how to treat injuries is helps a sensei run more effectively given that karate is a contact sport.
- Knowing how to prevent emergency situations goes a long way to make a class safer.
- Being aware of injuries and why they occur can help the sensei be better at teaching students how to actually apply their skills.

Research Sources:
- Interview 4, #14, # 15, #25, #26, #31, #35, #36, #37, #38, #40 #42,

Concluding Sentence:
Being prepared for any situation that might arise can really go a long way to improve a sensei's teaching since it makes them seem more confident and they can reassure their students that they can help them in the case they get hurt.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview

I'm currently planning on interviewing a sensei with many years of experience in teaching. I'm not fully sure of who exactly, but I have a very good idea who.

Questions:

1. How does it affect a child if their parents are actively involved?

2. Do you think it helps your students learn more/better if you have a good parent-sensei relationship? Why? 

3. How is parental involvement important to teaching karate to kids?

4. How does it affect a child if their parents are not involved?

5. In what ways does having parents involved in class (ie holding bags) help kids learn and practice more at home? 

6. What are some ways to get parents to be involved?

7. How important for teaching is having a thorough background in karate?

8. How much experience does a person need to have in order to be able to do a good job teaching?

9. What do you feel is the most important skill to have in order to have good teaching ability? Why? (ie patience, enunciation, etc.)

10. What do you feel is necessary to know in order to have a complete background knowledge in karate?

11. What is your teaching technique, and why do you feel it makes you successful in teaching?

12. What have you found to be the best way to explain a technique in a way that a child can understand?

13. What is the best way to teach/cater to all different learning styles(ie auditory, kinesthetic, visual)?

14. What is the best way to prepare yourself to teach kids with special needs?

15. How do you get children with special needs to learn karate the most/best?

16. Do you feel that being prepared with equipment for activities is very important, or do you think that improvising an activity without equipment can be just as effective? Why?

17. How important is it to have a front desk with an prepared with an organized system to sign up kids and with information?

18. With what frequency do you see injuries occur during your classes, and would having a first aid certification help deal with these emergencies? Why?

19. How important is teaching the traditional/philosophical ideals to kids learning karate? Why?

20. How does understanding basic philosophical ideals (having a piece of mind through practice) help kids develop their karate skill?

21. Throughout the years, what is the best things that's worked for you in teaching karate to kids?

Solidifying Research

This month I mainly focused on solidifying my answers' research, and thusly I believe I might have found my best answer. My three answers are:

- parental involvement,
- background knowledge and adequate teaching ability, and
- being prepared (as in always making sure to bring in the equipment necessary for the activities and/or be prepared for any injuries that might arise during the class)

After beginning the advisory meetings I set myself a goal to try to find more solid research for all of my answers so I could start forming my best answer. A few hours of research reading after, I found that out of all my answers, my second answer stood out as the most solid one. Not only did my research reflect that, but also my interviews. After my 3rd interview, I had a discussion with my interviewee about what she thought was the best answer. Together we found that, while my first and third answer are good, they are not fully essential. We disproved my first answer, parental involvement, by reasoning that a student could excel in karate, even without a healthy level of parental involvement. We also agreed that since karate could be practiced and learned anywhere, then being prepared isn't always essential because a sensei could always just improvise and work with what they have to teach class well.

On the other hand, my second answer is as solid as it can be. It seems to be that both my research and my interviewee tend to coincide in the fact that the most important factor to effectively teach karate to kids is the knowledge and teaching skills of the sensei.

So, all in all, I came to the conclusion that, while parental involvement and being well prepared are very important to running a successful kids karate class, they are not essential. They are simply complements to my second answer. That is why when looking for a good karate class for either kids or adults, the most important thing to do is to pay attention to the sensei in order to know if he really is knowledgeable enough and if he has good teaching skills.

Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

EQ: What is the most important factor to effectively teach karate to young children?

Answer #2 Having good teaching skills and background knowledge enables a sensei to effectively teach a class.

Details:

- My 3rd interviewee told me that in order for a person to teach anything, they must actually know how to teach. The skill of teaching is quintessential to actually teach karate to children. A few years back I met a sensei who taught close to my house. I joined his class for a little while and realized that even though he legitimately knew karate, he did not know how to teach. I showed in how his students didn't really understand what he was trying to teach.

- Having a full understanding of karate is the first step to actually be able to teach karate. My sensei/mentor has been practicing karate for almost 20 years and this really shows in his ability to teach. Since he has so much experience and knowledge, he is able to really transfer his skills to the students he teaches.

- If you don't have background knowledge and/or good teaching skills, you are not likely to be very successful in teaching that subject. Both of these skills go hand in had, and without both of them, it would be very challenging to be able to teach karate. Having background knowledge is of karate is not all that helpful if you don't know how to communicate it. Recently, during a tournament, I had the chance to talk to a sensei who was barely starting to teach. He was very knowledgeable and you could outright tell that he really knew a lot about karate. Then I got to watch him review with a few kids before they went to compete and I realized that even though he was brimming with enthusiasm, he was effectively communicating the kids. In other words, even though he really knew a lot about karate, in the end he didn't do the best he could have since he lacked some teaching skills. 

- Teaching is truly an art that can only be mastered with time and experience. You not only need to have patience, but you need to know the right balance between putting your foot down and having the kids do as you say and simply stepping back and allowing the kids to follow what you do. This skill is clearly described in "The Non-oppressive Authoritatian." It basically describes how to be an effective teacher.

The research source (s) to support your details and answer

- Schine, Roberta. "Teaching Karate: The Non-oppressive Authoritarian." Off Our Backs, 9.5 (1979): 25-26.

- Interview 2, and 3

-Caile, Christopher. "Teaching Karate-Do: Interview with Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura, Founder and Chairman of the World Seido Karate Organization." FightingArts.com. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

- Sang, Kim. "5 Principles of Martial Arts Teaching." Turtle Press. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

- Fontaine, Sheryl I. "Teaching with the Beginner's Mind: Notes from My Karate Journal." College Composition and Communication, 54.2 (2002): 208-221.

Concluding Sentence

Having good teaching skills and background knowledge enables a sensei to effectively teach a karate class.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

I am planning on taking a First Aid course from an EMT (Jeremy's dad) and getting certified. This will help me be better prepared for any emergency that might occur when I teach. This was suggested to me by both Mrs. Pittman and one of my interviewees. Since this most likely not amount to 30 hours, I am planning on continuing my mentorship and apply what I will learn from the first aid course.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I am hoping to be able to present a card that proves that I was certified. I also plan on taking photos, videos, and any other type of evidence I am able to present.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

When teaching any topic, especially a contact sport such as karate, the risk of minor injuries occurring is high. I think its important to be prepared for any situation I might face if I teach karate. Having a basic knowledge in first aid might help me be much more prepared.

4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your other logs and call it the independent component 2 log.
=>

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

• LITERAL
  (a) “I, Lizzeth Acuna, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
  (b) My mentor, Fabian Villalobos, aided me in successfully completing my independent component.
  (c) My mentorship log is to the right. =>
• (d) My goal with my independent component was to gain more experience and a better understanding of teaching karate. Throughout the last 3 months, I've consistently gone to my mentorship and observed my sensei's teaching style. Not only have I helped  out in running and teaching the class, but I actually had my sensei assess me in my teaching. On a particular occasion, in mid December, my sensei had me teach all four classes all on my own. He sat on the side and wrote notes on what I had to improve. All in all, I feel that I did accomplish my goal.
• INTERPRETIVE 
  Over all, my main job was to practice my teaching skills. I have a myriad of pictures of me teaching. I also took notes on my sensei's teaching style and way to describe some techniques in particular. And just to be sure, I took pictures of the tournament in which I participated. 
  
• APPLIED
  Actively teaching and constantly getting feedback not only helped me get answers for my EQ, but it also helped understand karate better. By constantly asking my sensei about the techniques he teaches and why teaches them the way he does, I was able to learn a lot more than what I would have expected. For example, instead of teaching a knifehand strike with the traditional shokotan technique, he teaches it with a traditional budokan emphasis because he found that it's more effective. I also found out that there's a lot more similarities in the technique style between different oriental martial arts. Also, since part of my component involved going to a tournament, I was able to unofficially interview a sensei that has studied many different karate styles. He described how the fighting stances tend to vary a bit between the styles, but that somehow a horse stance is basically the same for all styles.  

Evidence

             As part of my evidence I have pictures of me attending tournaments, me helping teach, and of some of my notes.

 

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

Content:

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I'm proud that I was able to make time. In my first presentation I had an issue with that but this time around I made time. Also I feel like I did an ok job connecting both my research and my answer so I felt pretty good about that.

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
I feel like I deserve a P because I made sure to meet all the requirement. I tried to make everything work out to the best of my ability. For example, I made sure to write speaker notes, I brought a decent amount of books and printed research, I brought a lot of props, and I tried to connect my research and mentorship to my answer. I strived to get an AE, but I honestly feel that I wasn't fully able to go above and beyond enough to fairly deserve an AE.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
I would have to say that my lesson 2 gave me the foundations I needed to begin effectively formulating my next answers. I also feel like my activity was effective enough to perhaps be used in me final presentation.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
Maybe I would change my wording of a few things. I feel like I might have unintentionally put too much emphasis on the fact that teaching karate is an actually business and that my answer (parental involvement) was not only important to my EQ (which focuses on teaching only) but also in creating a healthy business.I guess to a degree, I might have come off as if I was putting my effort on keeping a business alive and not on effectively teaching kids, which is the point of my topic.

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

I think that my answer 2 will be: A positive and encouraging attitude from an instructor can go a long way to encourage and inspire students to learn. My research for this is still in the works, so I'm not entirely certain about it quite yet.

The Respect of a Given to a Belt

Often enough I've noticed that, in martial arts, people get respect both by their belt color and by the skills the show they have. A lot of if has to do with the amount of experience you have. This is especially noticeable when you go to tournaments and when you have guest sensei's come over and teach for a day.

In tournaments, you will always be given respect, but usually you don't get as much respect until you either show that you have some pretty ninja skills or that you really know what you are doing. In essence, a black belt to other senseis does merit respect, but they will not take you seriously until you, in one way or another, prove that you really deserve that belt. A belt will just be empty unless you can really show that you truly have the expertise that a black belt should have. The way that this is usually done is when you either do a demo and show off some ninja skills with a bo staff, or if you simply show that you really know karate and that you're not just a freak that bought the belt on Amazon.

Whenever a sensei is asked to come over to a class, right off the bat you know that they are knowledgeable. This is mainly because they would not be invited if they weren't. Yet the interesting thing about this is when you observe how a class reacts to them. I have stepped back and watched how a class didn't take a substitute sensei seriously regardless of the fact that he was doing an ok job. Sure he got respect because of his belt, but the kids didn't really give him their full respect. But now, the fun part is to watch a sensei who has over 25 years of experience teach. The kids tend to respond almost immediately. She never raised her voice yet they readily followed her commands word by word. It was so intriguing to watch her mold the most rowdy and rude students to calm and respectful. This is the mark of a true master.

Even if you don't know a karateka as well, you will always be able to tell a lot about their knowledge and experience level just by watching the unheard respect that those around them give them. Its the way that you can tell apart who is a first degree black belt with barely a year of teaching experience as opposed to a fourth degree black belt who has been teaching for decades.

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

For my third interview I'm planning on interviewing my sensei's mother. Not only has she been taking her kids to martial arts classes since they were very young, but she has been helping my sensei run all the paper work for his karate class for the past 10 years. To me it's important to understand the perspective of the parents as they are the ones that bring in their kids for classes. Now without further ado, here are my interview questions.

1. To you, what are the most important factors for effectively teaching karate?
2. What is the best way to keep kids interested in learning and staying in karate?
3. How do you get parents to give support to their kids in karate?
4.  What is the most difficult thing about running a karate class for kids?
5. How does having an adult karate class help parents stay interested in karate? How does it not help?
6. What type of activities(ie sparring, bags, katas, weapons, random games) help the kids understand karate better?
7. What is most essential thing to have in order to be a successful and effective instructor/ sensei?
8. What is something that you've noticed good teachers tend to do?
9. How do you deal with injuries that might occur during class?
10. What is the best way to handle kids with special disabilities?
11. What is the best way to handle disrespectful or hyperactive kids?
12. What is the best way to handle disrespectful or rude parents?
13. What do you consider to be the best age for a child to begin learning karate? Why?
14. In what ways did learning karate help your kids?
15. Have you noticed anything in common with the kids that tend to take karate classes?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 hours check

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
For my mentorship, I've been assisting my sensei in teaching karate classes. I've also been teaching and having my sensei tell me later what I do wrong and what I do right. Also, I help out some kids one on one when they ask me for help. 

2.   Who is your contact?
My contact/mentor is Fabian Villalobos. He's been working as a sensei for 11 years. 

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?   
I've completed a total of 28 hours with 30 minutes for my independent component. 

4.   Summarize the hours of service you did.
I've done demonstrations, I've taught katas, I've taught students how to teach katas, I've taught full classes, and I've judged in tournaments.

5.   Email your house teacher the name of your contact and their phone number confirming who they should call to verify it.  
I already filled out the information on spreadsheet Mrs. Pittman gave us.

*You need 50 hours plus the original 10 in the summer by May.   The original 10 from the summer do not count toward the 50.  By the end of the year, you will have 60 hours counting that original 10.

Senior Project: The Holiday

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?
During Winter break I was finally able to go over a lesson plan binder that my sensei gave me. It is literally a textbook's worth of information on techniques, how to teach, lesson plans, how to do some activities that help with karate, and so many other great ideas and tips for senseis. I went through every page and put post it notes on pages that I found interesting or that I could use as reference for later.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
Overall, I got a bunch of new ideas and tips on how to improve my skills in teaching. Honestly, I think that this is the most helpful source I've read so far. I truly believe that by applying what I learned from all those lesson plans really is going to help me better organize how and what I teach. 

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?
I'm planning on doing my interview on my sensei's mom. The reason being that she's been through the whole experience of taking her kids to martial arts classes when they were young and she knows what it's like to be a supportive mom for her kids. After so many years she actually knows a very great deal about the techniques and how to administer a karate teaching business as she she helps her son in running his classes. I believe it's very important to not only understand and address issues that might arise with the kids, but also their parents. They are the ones that bring their kids to karate classes and its of paramount importance to understand them and know what concerns they might have. By conducting an interview with her, I will have a more complete understanding of a sensei's perspective (I interviewed my sensei in my first two interviews), the student perspective (that would be me and some of my peers), and the parent's point of view.