teaching tips

[PangQuan]

so there is this kid in our class. hes somewhat new. bout 6 months.

hes a little, shall we say, slow upstairs.

but he has the desire to learn. which is good.

anywho, i am usually the one to teach and correct him. I have a problem getting this kid to relax.

example:

our introductory set is xiao hong quan. most of the hand strikes in this set are open hand palm strikes, this kid is constantly is hyperextending his elbow. I am ALWAYS lightly bending his arm and explaining to him he needs to relax more and not to do that or he will hurt himself.

so, i dont have a great deal of time under my belt in the teaching area.

whos got a good tip for this particular kid, he has spirit and i want to help him out here.

anyone have any similar experiences? what was your solution.

or do you think time will eventually solve this problem. might i add i have explained this to him MANY times.

p.s. i dont want to jam his elbow up and make him learn the hard way.

[yenhoi]

Use Rafiki method:

Bonk him on the head with a stick until he gets it.

Works. Tried and True.

Same teaching method we use for FMA.

:eek:

[PangQuan]

lol, boy would i like to.

however i am not the master of the school and that is not the method my teacher chooses to use on his students.

although that is how he was trained, more with a bamboo staff across the back though :D

so im looking for something a bit more subtle.

[EarthDragon]

pang,
I used to have a deaf student and commend you for taking the time to teach and share with others.
Be patient and break down everything into tiny bits & pieces. I have had to show some students how to make a fist so the road is long, take the time to show him and make him take notes to remind him of exactly what you want him to do this will help tell him to study the notes and do what they say, this will lossen up some major time.

In the old days one technique was perfected before another learned, take this approach without being boring and uninterested, after all YOU are his first impression in martial arts this kid has ever had, dont make him dislike it becuse you couldnt get through to him.. good luck be patient and it will work, this challange will make you a better person and a great teacher

[PangQuan]

thanks for the advice.

im trying to take it slow, as he needs a bit more attention than others.

he doesnt yet understand that he needs to practice on his own, though he has been told.

he may never be a great martial artist, but i know regardless, the study of kung fu will benefit him anyway.

he is definately not much of a forms person, and i have let him attack me full force for a while yet. i dont want his muslces to memorize incorrect postures and movements that will effect his fighting.


on a side note, I also wanted to start a thread that is not dedicated to debate, but more along the lines of a sharing of knowledge that can help many.

No one has ALL the answers and if we pool what we have we can get a lot of people some great ideas.

[Shaolinlueb]

we have a couple of thsoe at our school. jsut break it down slwoly and dont show him a lot at once. 3 moves or so and have him practice it.

[PangQuan]

hes been there a bit, and has since learned the full set.

he has the basic movements, he just needs details, so when i get him i will have him work his set and just have him repeat it over and over and over and i correct the same things over and over and over.

i refuse to give up on this kid.

[Red Wind Fist]

I have been teaching now for almost 3 years. the nightmare of having children with special needs (IE- ADD, ADHD, slow upstairs,and best of all tourettes syndrome) is that you've got to be creative. When I was teaching the jade palm to the kids, it also requires the elbow to be bent. Certain techniques in the shotokai karate forms require bent elbows. I took a peice of thin rope and tied their elbow in place.I did this by making a sort of sling, making sure they couldnt do such a thing, soon afterwards I removed the string. BAM, they got it.It takes time. never ever give up, let the student give up. a good sifu or sensei wont give up. a willing and hardworking student will never give up.

[poorboy]

I think that if you keep hounding him on what he's doing wrong you're going to lose him as a student, especially a child. that's something you can do with a loyal student that you know will not drop out but not a beginner.

if you've told him "many times" already and he hasn't gotten it yet then let him make the mistake. In the next week/ month, after accentuating the positives explain his mistake again. when it's time to go to the next form/level and you feel that it's important to you or your sifu that he correct his arm/elbow position then tell him that he has to correct that before he advances. it will give him incentative to correct it.

I study a southern system and at 6 months we concentrate on correct stances/footwork first, upper body second. without a good stance your punch won't have any power no matter how correct your arm is.

[Shaolinlueb]

hes been there a bit, and has since learned the full set.

he has the basic movements, he just needs details, so when i get him i will have him work his set and just have him repeat it over and over and over and i correct the same things over and over and over.

i refuse to give up on this kid.

thats a good attitude to have. jsut go over the form slowly with him. and correct one thing at a time and have him do the movement over and over until he gets it. maybe 2 or 3 depending on how well he gets it. i got the samew situation. dont forget to copmpliment him though. always give him praise when he does well. dont hound him too much. be strict but fun with him. and also encourage him to compete and suhc.

we have a autistict kid at our school we have been teaching for a year or so. in the "autistic divisionsd" at tournaments he would whip ass and take golds, but he insists on not competeing against his "own kind" and we encourage hiom to compete in the regular divisions, sometimes he even wins. jsut encrouagement. people that are slow or have autism arent gonna be the poewrfect martial artist.

[taaigihk]

example:

our introductory set is xiao hong quan. most of the hand strikes in this set are open hand palm strikes, this kid is constantly is hyperextending his elbow. I am ALWAYS lightly bending his arm and explaining to him he needs to relax more and not to do that or he will hurt himself.


Hi,


I'm not sure about how it works or is explained in your style, so perhaps it'll interfere with its principles, but its cma so some concepts maybe the same.. Anyway, I beleive there should be a kind of "cheng jin" or opposing power felt between the base of the striking palm and elbow tip of the other hand that goes to the hip/waist (at least in some cases). You may put your fingers on his palm base and on other hand elbow tip, and press against so he has to oppose it (along the line). He will be able to feel that kind of power (cheng jin) and also feel that he'll lose it if he hyperextends the striking hand elbow.

:)

[Jingwu Man]

I've experienced this problem while teaching also. The willow leaf palms in Xiaohong seem to be confusing to some. The way I've found that works best is to get the student to actually strike something, albeit lightly, to show how the right way feels opposed to the bad way. Especially the willow leaf palm. Too much arm extension and you hit with the fingers instead of the triangle bone. It's got to be right on.
Anyway, that's just the way I've helped some of the students here. Hope it helps.

[PangQuan]

thanks for the responses guys.

some is a bit advanced for him, he does not yet understand how to feel proper alignment and power distribution.

i definately dont hound him, and i always give praise when one breaks any barrier they have, no matter the size.

i suppose i will continue to be patient with him.

i will probably have him hit something (likely me) as suggested. this might help him figure it out.

trying to find his trigger ya know.