Tournaments and Tests!

Recently my sensei and I conducted evaluations for the students. They've been working hard for a while now so it was about time that we had them show off their new skills in exchange for a new, handy dandy belt. Things went smoothly and most of the student did pretty well. Before they went on the chopping block, I made sure to review with the students individually to see if they had any mistakes, thusly ensuring that they would do a good job.

We also had some our students participate in a karate tournament. They all did a very well and most of them went home showing off their well earned trophies.

When students perform well in either evaluations, tournaments, or both, it really reflects their hard work. But most importantly, it shows their sensei's dedication to teaching them to the best of his/her ability. To have a successful student you have to have a dedicated teacher and a hard working student.

(This is Mykaela, she's just earned her first trophy.

She's adorable. :D)

Blog 5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

The Pentagon: 
(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?
     - I've learned a lot more about karate than what I previously knew. I learned a bit more about a more traditional style of karate than the one I currently practice and I'm planning to apply it to the way I teach. Also, I'm becoming more used to teaching and I haven't encountered any difficulty with my mentorship or research thus far. I think now I'm well on my way to becoming a good sensei.


(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?
     - Well when I did my interview, my sensei actually told me a great deal about how it's like to teach on a regular basis. Also, how it was like for him when he first started, and some of the major issues he had encountered so far. He explained to me a great deal of key aspects that make a good sensei and that really helped me narrow down my topic even more.

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?
     - My mentorship has actually worked out for me pretty good, but what has worked for me the best is my research. So far I've found a plethora of research to use and all of it is really informative. At first I thought that the main flaw in choosing karate as my topic was going to be the lack of research I was going to find, but clearly I was wrong.

(4) What hasn't worked so far?  
     - Actually everything has worked well so far. If anything the only thing that I can say hasn't flowed smoothly is remembering to record my mentorship hours on a regular basis. That's probably because I'm so used to helping out with karate class anyway that I just don't see it as something out of the ordinary. 

(5) Finding Value:  

•  What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)

     - What is the most important factor for successfully teaching a karate class?

•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  

      - I'm just planning on continuing helping out at my class. That basically includes me showing up early for the  lower belt classes and helping out with the stretching, the actual teaching of the class, or supervising sparring. I've already talked to my sensei and he's more than happy to be my mentor and help me out with anything I may need. 

An interesting talk with my sensei...

After completing my 1st interview with my sensei, he kept telling me some anecdotes from past years. After finishing up a few stories he told me, "You know, being a sensei is more than just teaching." He explained to me being a sensei encompasses being a good mentor, coach, and a role model. Also he told me that although the goals of being a sensei differed between individuals, a few things that every sensei should pursue while developing a class should be to:
- effectively transfer knowledge
- establish a class
- raise capable students
- training competitors
- and finally to raise a successor
In addition you should also be aware of the needs of your students and try to cater to their learning pace and style. Basically, there's so much more to teaching karate than just the act of telling a bunch of students how to perform a kick.
Therefore, in order to be a good sensei, you should not only be able to teach techniques, but also go beyond that to truly establish your class.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?
     I'm planning on interviewing my sensei (Sensei Fabian) because, well, he's my mentor. Also because he has a lot of in depth information and I feel comfortable asking him to do the interview. 

2.  You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask? 
    Some other questions that I would ask my mentor would be:
- In your eyes, what role does a sensei play? 
- What role does a student play?
- How important is the role of the parents?
- In your experience, what is the biggest issue when it comes to teaching karate to kids? to adults?
- What do you like about teaching karate?
- What do you not like about teaching karate?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

1. Topic: Karate

2. What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLR's? Be specific and use an example. Examples can come from senior project, model assembly, core, and/or participation in senior class ASB or other organization on campus.
   - iPoly Citizen: This year I plan to accomplish being a good ipoly citizen by making sure that I'm punctual and if possible be a little early. I also hope to be able to ensure that I turn in everything on time. As well I'm planning to continue tutoring students this semester.
   - Effective Learner: For this school year I have set the goal to stop procrastinating. I will make sure to use my time wisely both in class and at home. I will also try my best to create my project and I'm hoping to make the best model assembly I can.
   - Effective User of Technology: I am hoping to be able to create a good, solid, in depth research about my topic. Therefore I'm planning on making a good use of my computer to find some legitimate articles, and locate relevant books in the Cal Poly Library.
   - Effective Communicator: To show growth in this section I am planning on putting my listening skills to practice. As part of my mentorship will actually take notes of my instructor's lessons, so I will have to listen very carefully and take detailed notes. Also, I'm planning to do the best I possibly can in all of my core classes, and for this I will have to listen closely to every lesson and pay attention. A clear example of this would be for Mrs. Pittman's class. When she teaches more about kinematics, I would make sure to take notes and understand the concept well. And in the give case that I don't, then I would ask her.

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship Component

Literal

1. (Know) Mentorship log => Mentorship log

2. Contact Name: Fabian Villalobos; Contact Number: (909) 659- 8352

3. (Need to Know) What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?
- One of the questions that I had after my mentorship this summer is how do you run the paper work karate class? This question was raised because I often see how my instructor deals with all the paper work but after this summer I'm a bit more curious about it. Another question that I have is what is an effective way of keeping a class in order. After seeing my instructor do that seemingly without any trouble I didn't give it much thought, but after having to do that myself a few time I realized how tough it might actually be.

Interpretive

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience?
- The most essential thing that I learned this summer is that there is more to teaching karate than what meets the eye. Not because you see somebody do it with such ease means that its easy, it just means that they are just that good at what they do. To be good at teaching you need to be disciplined enough for the students to be respectful, but friendly enough for them to learn and have a good time. Overall its a balance that you need to learn to have. And the only way to learn this is to actually try and teach yourself and have somebody tell you in what areas you need to work on.

Applied

5. How did what you did help you choose a topic?
- My experience overall helped me be more sure of choosing karate as my topic. This would be because I actually like karate. I'm also even more sure of my topic because I see that I still have a lot to learn and it would benefit me in many ways if I took the time to actually learn it. In my eyes it's actually very interesting and I could also use what I learn to get a well-paid job teaching karate for when I'm in college.

2013 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

1. The presentations I viewed were the following:
    Theatre Acting - Dean
    Tae- Kwon Do - Indra
    S.T.E.M. - Joseph
    Non - Profit Organizations - Audrianna
    All Star Cheerleading - Pricilla
    Water Treatment - Ryan
    Structural Engineering - Andy
    Art in Education - Catherine
    Floral Shop Administration - Aldo
    Preschool - Emani
    Yoga - Jordan
    The Art of DJing - Edwin
    Physical Therapy - Olivia
    Music Education - Amanda

2. I have no questions regarding any of the senior presentations I saw. I have to say that they were actually really good. The only question I have is what are the types of components that comprise the senior project as a whole? I know that the 2 hour presentation is a major component, but what are the rest?

3. Based on what I observed from the senior presentations, the most important part of the senior project is that you truly know your topic in depth and that you have a passion for it. Having a good essential question and having an interesting topic is important, but if you don't love your topic doing an entire 9 -month project on it will be incredibly difficult. You need to have a very thorough understanding of your topic and be willing to learn more about it. Also, even if you have a not so interesting topic, if you have a passion for it, even your audience will be involved and actually find it interesting.
   
4. For my senior project topic, I am planning on doing it on karate. I have been in karate for roughly 10 years and I have a great deal of experience in teaching, competing, and actually doing karate. I already spoke to my sensei and he has agreed to be my mentor. If that doesn't work or if I need some one else for an interview, I have a few other people who I could ask. Although I'm not sure of what my essential question will be I'm mainly going to focus on teaching karate.