How to train your child at home

As instructors, we set goals for our students.  At ATA Elkton, there is a goal every two weeks.  Some students take longer to achieve them but most students stay right on track.  Depending on your rank, the requirements for stripes may change!  Ask your instructor if your not sure but one thing remains - you must practice at home to get it!

In between days that you have class, schedule a few training days.  The workouts don't have to be crazy, the best training I've ever had have been low-key and for between 15-45 minutes.  I just review all my material and practice doing it perfect or practice performing with speed and power!  

You can do the same thing!  And the best part- you don't even have to know how to do it perfect.  Practice whatever you know, however you know it.  When you come to class next time, you'll be able to polish it up and improve.

"But he won't practice at home with me!"  You have to make it their IDEA to practice!  Don't try and force it.  Kids know better than adults - no one can force you to do anything - NOTHING.  But if you make it their idea, they will be more likely to stick with it.  

Here's how the conversation can go:

"Mr. Hayhurst really wants you to practice at home by just doing your forms a few times.  How long do you think he wants you to practice at home"

Kid says, "I don't know, like 6 hours?" (Most kids don't get the concept of time)

Mom says, "Haha, I don't think that long.  Maybe like 5 minutes." (Understate because it's coming from Mr. Hayhurst, the kid will think it's a lot longer)

Kid says, "Yeah, probably like 20 minutes."

Mom says, "I bet you can practice for 20 minutes and not stop the whole time, you're pretty tough compared to some of the other kids." (Kids will always compare themselves, and it's OK.  Competition is GOOD!)

Kids says, "Yeah I could probably do 100 minutes!"

Mom says, "Well, what, like 2 days per week and then go to class 2 days per week?  Do you think that would be good enough for Mr. Hayhurst?"

Kid says, "That is probably good."

Mom says, "Well you have class on Mondays and Wednesdays, which days should you practice at home?"

Kid says, "Sunday and Thursday!"  (Probably just random days)

Mom says, "That sounds good, then let's try that, do you think Mr. Hayhurst would be proud that you practiced at home?  Let's tell him!"

Kid says, "Yeah!!"

There, you came up with a plan.  Now, write it down on 3 sheets of paper, really big like a sign.  Post one on the fridge, one on the child's bedroom door, and one on your bedroom door.  That way it's always all over the house and the kid knows what to expect.  Kids are creatures of habits whether they want you to believe that they are or not!  Post the exact time 6:15pm - 6:35pm on Sundays and Thursdays.  In addition, post the days that classes are too so if the child is busy with Nintendo DS or XBOX, they know class is soon and they have to save their games soon!  Then don't miss one workout.  Any kid can become a champion - ones without discipline, focus, or skill.  A lazy parent makes a lazy kid.  And lazy kids don't become champions!

Stick to it and stay strong!

More workouts = Less Effort

What!?  When we're talking about Martial Arts forms, sparring, weapons forms, and combat sparring, it's totally true.  Based on research I've done over the past two years, I've come up with a startling discovery!  Now, I'm probably not the first one to discover it, but I use it in my advanced classes.

Here's the science:  When your muscles become stronger, they require less oxygen (aka Fuel) to get the same amount of work done.  For example:  Let's say I'm working out with a much stronger partner and we're working on squats.  The bar is loaded up with 200 lbs and I'm up to do my set.  My goal is 10 reps and I pick the bar up on the front of my shoulders, squat down and struggle to come up.  Burning out 10 reps seemed almost impossible but I was finished, strained, and out of breath.  My bigger and stronger partner comes up to do some squats and he does it without taking a break and not breaking a sweat.  He's also not breathing any harder than he did when he was watching me!   This is because he got the same job done as me but with less effort.  He is more efficient

What that also means, is his capacity for weight is much higher than mine - he should probably do the same reps with more weight, right?  Then he would be struggling as much as me and breathing just as hard.  Let's take that same stronger guy and he's doing forms.  We are competing against each other and we both throw a strong front kick.  The science is the same - he just effortlessly throws out that kick and it looks awesome.  For me to have the same amount of power on that kick, I'd have to use every ounce of effort possible!  You don't want to make it looks like you are really trying hard, you just want that attitude in your facial expression (the Mean Karate Face!).

So, what the heck am I talking about!?

It's like this - use power lifting and other weight lifting programs in order to strengthen your muscles and balance your body in order to make your competition performances better.  Once you become stronger, you will need to relax your muscles and just whip the techniques out instead of pushing hard on every technique.  Sometimes, you'll feel weird about some techniques in forms and weapons forms.  The moves don't FEEL cool but they sure do LOOK cool!  So try recording yourself when throwing techniques.

Here's the moral to the story - the STRONGER you get, the less EFFORT you have to put forth.  In the video, I used Knifehand strike, it looks like I can control my power pretty well with those, but watch as I try to use all my strength on the front kicks, how sloppy they get!  Watch the video right after this sentence for a visual description!

To take a stand (this is impossibly important to me)

I was taught the meaning of "taking a stand" last summer during a leadership seminar in Philadelphia.  The class was a very intense 3-day weekend where I learned a lot about myself, other people, and how we interact with each other.  One of the many affirmations that I got from the seminar was "Big people take a stand for each other."

Over the past few months, I've been talking to parents about taking a stand for their children.  My call to action has been:

"My passion for the character development in children inspires me to give you this call to action:  Take a stand for the important people in your life that train in martial arts - get them to commit to competing in a tournament to make them better martial artists and stronger people."

Sometimes, you really have to "force" a kid to do something they won't like so that they can become better people or better at what they do.  This could be a Lacrosse Camp that they don't want to go to, a tutoring school that's extracurricular, or a martial arts tournament.  No one can "force" anyone to do anything.  A parent can take things away from a child and ground them or whatever they want but when it comes down to it, a child will make the decision whether to do something or not.  Parents give motivation or inspiration for a child to do something, that is what we mean by "force."  For example:  A parent can motivate a child by saying "If you get 1st place at world championships, I'll buy you the Star Wars Death Star Lego Set!!"  Or, the parent can inspire the child by saying, "Can you imagine what it will feel like wearing your Black Belt??  That will be the coolest thing in the world!!"  But picking a child up and bringing them to karate class will not make them into black belts, the parents must inspire or motivate them to do it. 

Here's a quote that I truly believe in.

Re-reading the last paragraph makes me think about two kinds of kids and parents.  Parents who have self-motivated kids who try their best always and parents that have to constantly motivate their children with negative or positive reinforcement to get them to do their best.  There is always a teeter-totter of emotion about staying on track for their goals and keeping a high level of discipline.  But what about those parents that don't take a stand? 

Parents who don't take a stand for their child and let them make their own decision.  A parent that allows their children to skate through a program, not helping to keep them engaged because of their own personal interests.  I feel bad for the children whose parents let them quit.  The children in a seemingly happy household whose mother and father will not take a stand for something that a child has, at one point, set forth with intensity to achieve something that only a few can.  And at the first sign of failure or loss-of-interest, the parent lets the child decide what's best for them. 

Think about the 8 or 9 year old kid who looks at her mother and says, "I don't want to go today."  Mom says, "Oh you're going, don't even try it."  The child attends their class at their martial arts school or dance school and enjoys herself, as usual.  It really hurts me to think about that same girl who looks at her mom and she says, "OK, don't do it then."  Mother doesn't care whether the girl does it or not.  Mother doesn't care. 

Something about Respect

Recently, I visited a gym that had a very unique policy.  As we walked by the over 50 pieces of cardio equipment, the sales person said that this is a judgement free zone - "members can relax, get in shape, and have fun without being subjected to the hard-core, look-at-me attitude that exists in too many gyms."  After that, we got a tour of the strength training equipment in the back.  There were machines that you push, pull, sit on and kick your legs up and back, and a bunch of other things.  There were free weights and something called a Smith Machine (it's like a barbell machine that actually guides your movement instead of being free).  On the wall was a big alarm that said it will go off - light up and make a loud sound - if someone acts a certain way.  Specifically, if a person grunts, drops weights, or judges other people

After studying fitness and training in strength, cardio, and martial arts over the past 10 years, I've created a plan-of-action for myself that I share with everyone that trains with me. 

My philosophy on training: 

• When it comes to training in a gym, there is no "relax."  You should go in, get busy, then leave.
• There is nowhere in the entire universe that is "judgement free."  You will be judged your whole life on everything you do.  You may not hear what other people are saying about you, but trust that your every action will be judged.  The way you handle criticism and compliments is a true test of your character. So what would you rather be judged on - not trying hard or watching others work out or being the hardest working one in the gym?
• As far as the person that grunts, drops weights, or judges other people in a way that others are embarrassed or creeped out, that stems from the other person's insecurities.  When someone grunts loud on every exercise, they are usually looking for attention.  When you judge and criticize other people, it is usually because you're insecure about yourself.  You will notice people that are nice, outgoing, and friendly, usually are secure about the way they look and feel good about themselves.  So the grunter, weight dropping, judger is just a person that shows a lot of disrespect for the people near him/ her.
• To really become the strongest version of yourself, you have to come out of your comfort zone.  Train with people that are better than you and develop a vision of how you want to look and feel a year from now.  Let others set the example for you until you reach your goal fitness level!

To finish this, I feel like having an alarm for a "lunk" is a passive-aggressive way to solve a problem that is caused by a tiny minority of people showing disrespect in a gym.  Let's show more respect to each other like this:

• Be aware of others' personal space 
• Don't stare at someone unless you are going to say, "Hi!"
• If you feel someone disrespects you, speak your mind in a respectful way to tell them how you feel and a solution to the problem - if that offends them, then welcome them to the club!

Instead of joining a "beginner's gym" or a gym that brags that you will get results there, just come and take ATAfit.  The class is to-the-point, we have fun while we're training, you get to punch and kick bags, and if you try your hardest, you'll improve your fitness level. 
CLICK HERE to sign up for a free class

Special Training for color belts

Check out these videos designed for our school. Do 30 seconds of each warm up drill, every basic technique ten times on each side (with 100% power), and the segment in the video 10 times.

For beginners: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2jL9KmpkWc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

For intermediate levels:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VbuHXTzMmQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

If you are red black belts or higher, choose which video to practice as a quick martial arts workout. Perform this stuff at 100% and it will be a great warm up to a perfect work out!

Upcoming events this summer

June 16th:
Father's day classes!!
9:30am - 10am Tiny Tigers and their Dads, Dudes, and Daughters!
10am - 10:30am Juniors and their Dads, Dudes, and Daughters!
After that, Hyper Pro Training and Leadership Action Classes as normal.  This is also the last day to register for promotions before the "red zone."

June 23rd:
NO EVENTS - Regular Classes

June 30th:
Belt Promotions!
10am - White through Yellow Belts
11:30am - Camo through Red Belts
3:30 - 5:30pm Black Belts

July 4th:
Abridged schedule: 
We'll be closed at night but have 2 classes in the morning:
9:30am - 10am - All Tiny Tigers
10:15am - 11:00am - All Juniors
After that, go hang out with your family!

July 7th - 13th:
ATA Elkton will be closed for mandatory decompression, sorry :(

July 14th:
NO EVENTS - Regular Classes (see new schedule)

July 16th-20th:
HYPER Summer Camp!!  Kicks, Tricks, and Flips!  9am - 3pm with after care til 5:30 if needed.  Still $199 to register and there are still some spots left.  Check out HYPER TV for more info!

July 21st:
Outdoor Training Event - Hyper Park Session - FOR EVERYONE!!

July 28th:
Regional Tournament in Lincroft, NJ
Mandatory for all SWAT and Instructors - you should totally go!!

July 30th - August 3rd:
RANK UP Camp!  Forms, Sparring, Self Defense!  Try your best and go to the next belt at the end!  9am - 3pm with after care til 5:30 if needed.  Still $199 to register and there are still some spots left.

August 4th:
ATA Summer Picnic!! More details to come!!

August 11th:
NO EVENTS - Regular Classes

August 18th:
HYPER Olympics and ATA Inner School Tournament
All Morning/ Afternoon.  Register at the front desk to compete and see who wins the point contest!

August 25th:
Belt Promotions (same times as the June 30th one)

This just in:

September 15th:
Kid Power Child Safety Course:
Stranger Danger, Bully defense, and focusing on how to have a successful school year. Most importantly, dealing with one of the five dangers facing our kids today: Lack of Motivation! Times will be posted soon!

Class Planners and how to be a black belt

We've organized every single class from the time a student begins until the time that they earn their 4th degree black belt.  This includes Tiny Tiger students, ATAfit students, and Leadership Classes.  I feel that with this structure, the parents will be more involved in practicing with the kids and will even join the class themselves. 

In addition to that, I've asked a few parents what would help them practice at home better.  Most said, "If you come home with me and work out with my son."  Well, I'm not going to do that with everyone but what I'll start to do is creating a 1 or 2 minute training video on "what to practice tonight."  This will create a plan so that you can practice for 20-30 minutes, know the actual techniques to practice, and have a world champion plan.

The disconnect here is that many parents don't check their emails - those parents aren't even reading this.  Some have facebook and haven't "liked" ATA Elkton.  Some just don't pay attention.  To keep your child involved long-term, train with them!  Stay tuned to get all the training for next cycle!

Here are some of our Overviews and How each student can get their stripes next cycle:
Here's what the color belts are DOING
Here's how you can earn your STRIPES - remember stripe 1 is week 2, stripe 2 is week 4, strike 3 is week 6.  Share that goal with your son or daughter!
Here's what the First Degrees are DOING - We're starting from cycle 1
Here are some CHECKPOINTS, use these just like the color belt stripes(for 1st Degrees)
Here's what the Second Degrees are DOING - we're starting from cycle 4
Here are some CHECKPOINTS, use these just like the color belt stripes (for 2nd Degrees)
For third degrees, there will be a check points sheet and a list of midterms coming soon, for now, use the 2nd degree one but switch out 2nd degree form with 3rd degree form since the requirements will be the same, only at a higher skill level.