Archive for the 'visual learners' Category

How to disguise repetitions

Published on December 6, 2011 in 125 Dynamite Drills, karate drills and exercises, karate exercises, teaching karate, teaching karate to kids and visual learners. 0 Comments

So yesterday I got a phone call from Patty who was interested in my 125 Dynamite Drills, but was a little hesitant.

Patty just bought one of my competitor’s products and told me it really didn’t have a lot of stuff she hadn’t seen before and that she was really looking for something new and innovative.

Patty went on to explain that she needed ideas to help disguise reps, so her students wouldn’t become bored. I asked her more about what she teaches, how her classes are structured, etc, to get a good idea if my product would be suitable for her.

To paraphrase one of her questions, she asked:

“How can I disguise reps so my students don’t get bored. Do you have anything in your products that will help them learn a striking combination like punch, up, hook? You see I’ve got a lot of beginners who aren’t ready for sparring or forms yet, so I’m really looking for ideas to help the beginner.”

So I started thinking what I might have to help. I immediately opened up my own copy of 125 Dynamite Drills and browsed through to find something in there that might help her.

Hmmm…

There are over 200 drills in the ebook when you include the variations, so it took me about 30 seconds to find some good drills and give her some ideas.

Without going into detail of all the drills in the guide, here are some ideas for you too, just in case you (like Patty) have a similar question. Let’s consider Patty’s combination for this example below.

Combination : Punch, Uppercut, Hook

Here are some ways to practice this using simple basic repetitions.

From a stationary position:

  • Basic reps to the count.
Everyone knows this, and this is where the boredom sets in, no wonder students quit! Let’s add some flavor…
  • Use the “Plus One” method (great for teaching new combos or for beginners)

Teach the combo one technique at a time, 10 reps, then add the second technique, 10 more reps, then add the 3rd technique, practice 10 more reps. Switch sides of the body, repeat.

This is a little more tasty, but let’s make it a little more appealing…

(A fun challenge is to allow each student to choose the next technique and the whole class must repeat the entire combo 5 times. Then the NEXT student adds ANOTHER technique and the whole class must repeat 5 times… and so on. See how many continuous techniques your students can remember!)

  • Practice with variations

Which hand does the first punch? Front or rear? Change up the combo to use both sides of the body.

  • Practice as a group in a circle to the count.Everyone faces inwards so they are opposite someone else. Tell the group they must be faster than the person across from them. Watch how much faster they perform their technique!Now try everyone facing outwards. Now there is no copying, and no distraction for visual learners. See how the performance changes for different students.Now have everyone face the same direction in their circle and do more reps.

 

Small adjustments like these make simple combinations more fun and relieves the monotony.

Now let’s take a look at incorporating this combo into some simple stepping drills.

For line-work:

  • Practice stepping forward practicing the combination, being sure each time to use the other side of the body with each step.
  • Repeat again using variations as above.
  • Use the “Plus One” method as above.
Ok, cool so we’re starting to make a meal of this combination. So far we’ve got 9 new ways to practice basic reps for our “Punch, Uppercut, Hook” combination… but we’re not done yet.
Now let’s get someone else involved…

With a partner:

  • Using focus mitts
  • Use the “Plus One” method described above.

    This time do 10 reps of the basic 3 technique combo. Then change roles and add a new technique with each change. Repeat until you have a 10 technique combo! You can limit them to only choosing certain techniques.
  • Add movement – partner moves away, circles left, right or moves toward their partner to crowd their space (great for learning footwork)
  • As a speed test – how many sets can one student do within 30 seconds? Have the partner count. Change roles and repeat. Students must try to beat their first score.

 

  • Teaching method
    • Have each student take turns to explain and teach the combination back to their partner, from both stances utilizing both sides of the body.

So there you have it… a quick brain storm to give you some quick ideas.

That’s 
13 karate drills


new ways to practice the simple Punch, Uppercut, Hook combination!

And this was just for learning ONE combo for beginners. We didn’t even look at more advanced ideas for using this combo for sparring or self defense. And we didn’t look at any ideas for learning kata/forms, or endurance and warm-up…

Anyway, so in case you’re wondering Patty went on to get both my 125 Dynamite Drills and my 50 Kids Karate Games (since she teaches kids from 4 years and up). Shortly after she sent me this message:

“Thanks so much!…  I’m excited!  I have a ton of information now and plan on spending my entire lunch hour just working on this.  Thanks again for everything!”

So I’d like to thank Patty again for putting her trust in me. I’d also like to thank her for her question and sparking the idea to write this post that’s allowed me to help you with some ideas for your classes too.

Now what was with all those references to food? I must be hungry… time for breakfast.

Until next time, enjoy!

- Jason

Teaching Karate to Visual Learners

Published on September 13, 2011 in teaching karate, teaching martial arts and visual learners. 0 Comments

Ok, so last week we talked a little bit about how what we see as instructors might be completely different to what our students see.

And we came to the conclusion that until we can communicate effectively to everyone in our class, there are going to be students who, “just don’t get it!” when really it’s our responsibility as martial arts teachers to make sure they do “get it”.

Often students are labelled as talented, smart, intelligent, dumb, stupid, slow, A.D.D, etc. which much of the time may not be true. What might be more accurate is those students labelled as “intelligent” might be the ones aligned with our individual way of teaching… on the same wavelength so to speak.

And those who are sometimes labelled “A.D.D” may certainly be very intelligent, but process information differently to you or me – simply be tuned to a different wavelength.

KEY POINT: Just because we’re listening to different radio stations doesn’t make a student more or less intelligent.

So how do you teach so everyone learns?

If you have the opportunity to work individually with a student there are certain ways to determine if they are VISUAL, AUDITORY or KINESTHETIC in their approach to learning.

Today I’ll give you a brief overview of visual learners since this group makes up 65% of the population.

VISUAL LEARNERS

It’s possible to figure out which group a person predominantly fits into based on a few simple tests. One test is to watch the EYE movements of your student when asked a question.

For example, 90% of people who tend to visualize things will look up towards their left when questioned about a past event. The same people will look up towards the right when visualizing something that is yet to happen, or when they are accessing the part of the brain involved in imagination.
 
Visual people also tend to use descriptive words like “I see”, “watch this”, and “look at that!”. Visual people also speak very quickly as their mouths attempt to keep up with the images they see in their minds.

Visual learners learn well by watching, looking at a diagram or drawing a picture. In essence, they must “see it” to learn it.

Since the majority of your class will be predominantly visual in their approach to learning, it’s the most important standpoint to be able to teach from (in terms of reaching the most people).

When your visual students learn karate they will learn best when you demonstrate things. They don’t need a 10 minute explanation on how to form their stance for optimal power, or how far to pull back their hikite. Nor do they need to be asked, “Well how do you think you should stand to be strongest?”

Visual learners learn by SEEING.

In other words, just show them! 

Demonstrate the technique and have them repeat it. Make corrections by SHOWING them again, and have them repeat it again.

Try to avoid getting frustrated with thoughts and questions like “How many times do I have to show you?” and “Why can’t you just LISTEN to me and do it?!”

Remember they don’t learn by listening, they learn by watching.

Also be sure to draw diagrams using different colors to get your point across, or ask your visual learners to close their eyes and imagine how to do the technique before performing it. You can also give them specific things to work on visually. For example… if your visual student is failing to bend their front knee, have them stop, close their eyes and imagine what their stance should look like. Then have them show you.

These are just some methods I use when teaching visual learners. There are more. But for now these ideas should get you pointed in the right direction.

In part 3 of this article series, we’ll tackle are the auditory learners…

(These guys are so frustrating! I just don’t get why they can’t do it when I’ve shown them 5 times already!)

Stay tuned.