Teaching Martial Arts in 4D

Everyone likes PIES!

This is pretty much a true statement, in my opinion, however, we take pies to the next level.

What do I mean when I say “PIES”?

P – Physically

I – Intellectually

E – Emotionally

S – Socially

The SKILLZ Martial Arts program’s continuing education materials allow our instructors to effectively teach our students in these four dimensions!  For example, let’s look at our Basic Skillz martial arts classes for kids between the ages of 5 and 6 years old.  As with all of our programs, in the Basic Skillz class our instructors target all four areas to ensure continual growth of the child:

P – Physically

Instructors look for benchmark SKILLZ in the Basic SKILLZ class like the ability to properly perform exercises with good technique beyond 10 reps! This would be considered being above their stage of development!

I – Intellectually

With the average Basic SKILLZ Beginner being able to retain 3 commands in total, we know that if they struggle at the advanced level to perform the appropriate portion of their form, we need to target our instruction to help increase their ability to retain information.

E – Emotionally

We have the understanding that a Basic SKILLZ student may need to be reminded of the rules more than once. So instead of reprimanding them, we will instead choose an alternate technique to nurture their Emotional stage of development.

S – Socially

Sometimes the Basic SKILLZ kids will also become very upset when they lose a game or even become overly excited when they win. The instructors know that the next goal for them would be to show great TEAMWORK in competitive situations.

What does this mean?

This means that from the beginning of the class until the very end, our instructors are constantly evaluation their delivery of the instruction, as well as, their method of delivery.

Sometimes we receive questions in regards to why or why not certain behaviors were not addressed or why more instruction wasn’t given to a student. Often, the reason the staff did not do this may have been:

The mentioned level of instruction was above the student’s Stage of DevelopmentThere were more factors that were contributing to the behavior and a different route of instruction would produce faster results from our experience the level of performance demonstrated was appropriate for the purpose of the drill

Every student is at a unique point in each four of the aforementioned stages of development. This is what helps drive their individuality and our martial arts Instructors work to nurture each student in a specific manner to help them learn and grow with the goal of becoming better versions of themselves!

Parents always want the best for their children and will always be passionate about their progress and performance. This is why our parents are so awesome! It is important that when parents coach their children at home, between drills or while at the dojo that we all share the same vision. A student that receives two (or more) different methods of instruction can quickly become demotivated because it is too hard for them to live up to both expectations. Because consistency is so important, communication between parents and instructors is key when /if the parents have any concerns.

If you have any questions about your child’s journey feel free to contact me anytime!

Thinking about starting your child in martial arts classes?  You can learn more about our Skillz Martial arts classes for kids in the Los Angeles area by clicking here.