| More Pictures.... |
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| Another pic from Shotokan Karate. This is from a demo we did. |
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Sarah On... Sparring... I enjoy sparring. I think it might sometimes unnerve the person I am sparring with to see me smiling, and laughing when I get hit. I believe that sparring is a learning experience. Whether you win or lose (and in class- we don't keep score), you learn a great deal. Everyone has a different sparring style, even if only slightly, and sparring exposes you to different types, so you can be prepared. Sparring also helps you to develope your own unique style of fighting. Sparring is not only about stregnth and speed. It also involves a great deal of endurance. This is one lesson learned by the tip test, where you have to spar 8 black belts in a row for two minutes each. If you wear yourself out on the first two, because you were fighting full energy, what are you going to do when the next six come up? You have to learn to make every move count, and not waste anything. Katas... I also enjoy Katas. One reason is the aesthetic value. Katas *are* pretty to look at. But they are also a great training tool. You can take what you learn from the Katas and apply it to sparring. Katas give you application examples to practice, that are more practical than just doing the same movements up and down the floor. While, I beleive this repetion is effective in ingraining the movements into your mind so that they become natural, Kata also gives you combinations. Teaching... I guess I am an assitant instructor. It's never been said that's what I am, but that is what I do. I've done everything from warming the class up to instructing katas, to supervising the young ones sparring, and more. My favorite part about teaching is that, in explaining something, I come to understand it better myself. My least favorite part is when I teach so many days a week I feel I might burn out. But like I said, teaching is learning too. The easiest, and at the same time, the most frustrating age bracket to teach are the youngest karateka. They have shorter attention spans, so you can't spend a great deal of time on any one thing before going to another. They tend to respect your authority, and if they don't they are small enough to pick up by their belts! hehe... Teenagers are the hardest to teach, because this is a very difficult age. They are young enough to still need a very structured environment, but old enough that they occasionally question your authority, or just want to do what they want to do individually. What works for me, is showing respect for them, while still remaining "in charge." Let them be a part of the process. The hardest, for me, to teach are those who are older than me. The reason for this is pretty obvious; because they are my elders, it is strange for me to be teaching them. Some don't like someone younger teaching them, but most are there to learn, so age doesn't matter. As they progress, you find you learn as much from them as they do for you, and it becomes more of a partnership in learning, than a teacher-student relationship. NEW! I now have my own class, for Summer only, at the Calcutta YMCA. More to come... |
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