It is very important to remember that parents are also martial arts coaches. When children first start their training in the martial arts, especially in the case of very young children, we often find that they have not yet developed the self discipline to practice at home on a regular basis.

Practicing At Home
Practicing at home greatly enhances performance at the school and it should be encouraged. We suggest that you talk to your child and agree on a daily practice time. It can be as little as ten minutes per day, if that ten minutes is used for quality practice.

Developing the habit of setting a goal (next belt) and working for it on a regular basis will give your child life skills that go far beyond punching and kicking. One of the easiest ways to help your child is by simply showing that you are interested in his or her training and talents. Children love to show off what they have learned in class and we encourage parents to ask their child what he or she has learned every single week.

Encouragement
Show your encouragement by offering positive feedback, and compliment them in the areas where you can see improvement. This approach with children works wonders for their self-image and for their motivation.

In fact, if you use this approach in just about anything your child does, whether it be homework or chores, you will soon notice the difference. If children believe that they are getting better it boosts their self confidence, which in turn encourages them to try harder still. When children know that when they do well they will receive recognition and praise, they will want to do well because it makes them feel good.

Children will rise to the level of your expectations, but only if they are encouraged and praised along the way. Testings and tournaments are an excellent opportunity for you to praise your child’s accomplishments.

Never compare the skills of your child with others. The goal of Martial Arts is to compete with one’s self and develop the individual, not to compete with others.

How Our Program Works
Our curriculum is divided into sessions that are typically seven weeks in length. The goal of the session is to prepare the student for his/her next testing. The material a student learns throughout the session is a building process. The following explains how the material builds up to the testing:

Week One: Basics. Students learn new kicks, blocks and strikes that will be contained in their form.

Week Two: More Basics, Forms. Students refine the new skills learned in week one and begin to learn and memorize their form.

Week Three: Students are expected to know segments of the form and can now begin to focus on proper execution of each technique.

Week Four: Students will begin to learn One-Steps and continue memorizing and perfecting the form.

Week Five: Students should know their form, be able to execute it with proper stances and technique, and know the first One-Step.

Week Six: Students should be able to do their form with proper stances and technique, and know their first and second One-Steps.

Week Seven: Students should be able to do their form and One-Steps with proper execution of stances and technique.

Week Eight: Testing! This is where students demonstrate what they have learned and perfected over the prior seven weeks.

It is vitally important that students attend classes during each of the eight weeks, to ensure their success. If your child cannot attend consistently due to travel or illness, please notify us as soon as possible and make arrangements to attend extra classes or work with an instructor privately. The earlier in the session this is addressed, the better chance your child has of catching up and learning the material in time for testing. We are here to help your child succeed.