STEVE'S HOT TIPS

This section is where I can share training tips to help you get more from your karate.

ENTHUSIASM. ENCOURAGEMENT. EXCELLENCE.

Coaching advice for parents.
As parents we all want the best for our kids. We naturally want them to succeed in everything they do and karate is no exception. However, coaching is a skill and you must tread carefully. Practice is important. Without it we don’t improve. But practice must be fun! If your child is practicing quietly, leave them alone. Even if you think they are “doing it wrong”. The mere fact they are practicing is a good thing! If they are criticised every time they practice it wont be long before they stop practicing. If they are not practicing don’t nag them to start, because then we get into what I call the “tidy your room” syndrome. They’ll do it, (especially if you offer them a reward or threaten punishment), but they won’t do it again until the next time you nag them!

Gradings are a coaching tool, not a weapon! Never say something like, “come on, try harder or you’ll fail your grading.” Instead wait until they do a little practice without being asked and tell them, “You’ll have no trouble passing if you keep that up.”

Always be positive, but don’t over praise. One skill of a coach is knowing when to say nothing. Praise is one of the best tools we have but it should be used sparingly. If a student is constantly being told, well done, that’s good etc. they become “praise rich”. It’s like giving a fiver to a millionaire!

If your child asks for help, always avoid negatives in your advice. “Wrong” is a useless word when coaching. Never use it in connection with a technique. Telling someone, “you’re doing that kick wrong.” doesn’t help at all, you’d be better off saying nothing! Instead, tell them what they could do to improve the kick.

“Wrong” also has no quantity. Tell someone who is confident of their ability that their kick is wrong and they will think something like, “I need to lift my knee more” but someone who lacks confidence may think “I’m useless at this kick, I’ll never get it.”

More to it than you thought? Don’t be put off. You can play an important role in your child’s karate training if you stick to the following,

Be positive but don’t over praise.

Avoid negative statements.

If you’re not sure what to say, say nothing.

All students are enthusiastic when they start. I believe that if we encourage and build that enthusiasm it will lead to excellence.

Good luck.

Keep a diary
Recording your training can help you in many ways. You can look back and see where you went wrong, or what you did right, when preparing for a competition or grading.

You can monitor your fitness - times of runs, pulse rate etc. Your diary can also be a hard taskmaster, if you open it and find a couple of blank pages it can shame you into training harder!

The average student trains in the dojo once or twice a week - THIS IS NOT ENOUGH! You need to do your homework. Work on your fitness, practice your techniques, record it in your diary and DON'T LEAVE BLANK PAGES!