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.