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.