Extra Post: September

Nothing much is different when comparing this month and August. It is still the exact same work: leading groups of kids through the assigned activity. I currently regret that the actual activities very rarely involve teaching. Mostly I am judging games, with the occasional kata or weapon. I am planning to discuss this with my mentor. I hope to work with Anthony and gain a closer understanding of how he teaches.

Speaking of Anthony, he's the person I interviewed. He's a Nidan (Second-degree black belt) who's

 been learning and teaching longer than I. Besides my mentor and his wife, Anthony is one of my better examples for teaching.

The key word is better, because there are other examples for teaching. Specifically, there are 3 other black belts who teach the older kids and adults alongside Sensei, Anthony being among them. Anthony suggested I take as much information as I can from other upper belts and apply their knowledge to my project. I plan on doing exactly that. I hope to interview each of them at some point.

I was thinking a nice way to spice up these extra posts would be more pictures. Specifically of me and the kids. However, I don't think I can right away. The kids are anywhere from 4 to 7 years old. I expect the parents won't want their kids on the internet without permission, even if I don't give names. To rectify this, I'm considering making a permission slip or something. Just to know the parents approve of me putting pictures of their children on this blog. I will probably also have to check the city. I wouldn't be suppressed if there's some law that prevents the photography of underage persons who are being cared for by a business blah blah blah. My point is I want to do this, but I think there's a few obstacles to get around.

Throughout the month, it became harder and harder to find sources for research check that looked like they applied to my topic. I plan on checking out books next. I found a series of children's books for teaching karate that I plan to take notes on, and several books about the history and fundamentals of karate. I see it as understanding the children's point-of-views and knowing what exactly I'm teaching.

All in all, there are a few things I hope to achieve

• More interviews with the other upper belts
• Gain more experience teaching the children by doing more actual teaching
• Read books to gain a larger understanding
• Get permission from parents and possibility the city to take pictures of the kids 

Here's to a fruitful October for everyone!

Blog 6: Second Interview Preparation

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work?
My mentor is Sensei Jerome Walczak, secondary his wife Beverly. They work for the cities of La Verne, San Dimas, and Glendora teaching karate. I am mentoring in La Verne.

2. What 5 questions will you ask them about their background?
I plan on asking Sensei Jerome the following questions: "What has been the extent of your karate training?", "Who did you receive your black belt under?", "What black belt level are you?", "How long have you been practicing karate?", "How long have you been teaching karate?".

Blog 5: Mentorship and Research Reflection

1. Mentorship question: Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?
My mentor is my karate Sensei (instructor) who I've been with for 12 years. I have already spent the majority of my volunteering with Sensei, doing exactly what I'm doing now. Asking him to be my mentor was easy.

2. Research question: What has been your most important article your have read so far and why?
My most important article has been "An Open Mind" by Peter Lindsey. It outlined many qualities he believes a karate instructor should have, and how to attain those skills. I believe this article is invaluable for an instructor, and I hope to learn from it.

Extra Post: August

Before this became my senior project, I spent most of my volunteering doing exactly what I'm doing now. I'll detail why it's hard.

The kids range from age 4 to age 7. Despite being a difference of 3 years, the differences in development really show. The best part is that the kids aren't necessarily grouped by age. Grouping is either by belt or by size. While there is correlation between belt, age, and size, you get things like a tiny 6 year old who happens to be one of the higher belts in the class being grouped with 4 and 5 year olds half her level (<-- true story, her name is Claire). Not only that, when it's about even in age, there are lots of factors that make it hard to teach.

The 4 year olds barely pay attention. Even if I'm leading a game, it seems like the work is more interesting. If I'm teaching weapons or kata, the games or other work activities are more interesting. Even though they don't pay attention all the time, they at least do what they're told, even if I need to tell them multiple times for them to get it. I think this group - often the very new ones - do want to learn, to some extent.

The worst though is when the 5 and 6 year olds or middle belts are in groups together. The 5 and 6 year olds want to do things their way, particularly when doing games. They also love to show off how good they aren't are. When we're doing work, like kata or weapons, they will do it, but there are always comments like "I'm doing it!" or "I did it! Did you see?!". When it's game time, they all need their wrong opinions heard (even though all the talking means I can't hear them!). There are some of them who realize that bombarding me with talking takes away from their game time, but the rest don't care. I try to focus attention on the more rational kids, but my (the leader's) voice falls on deaf ears. Multiple times with the same general group of kids, nothing was accomplished.

The godsend are the 7 year olds, or the highest belts in class. They understand how it works. In games, I tell them what to do, and they do it. I even feel comfortable asking for their opinions, because I know they're more rational opinions (also because I'm just judging games, and don't know how it feels to them the players). When I do work, they often know what to do, which makes it easier to correct the little mistakes.

The last part that makes this hard is the actual teaching. I have to speak out information I never did before. More than once I find myself lost on what to do, or stumbling over my words trying to find the correct one. I may have the entire kata memorized verbatim, but I have trouble saying it, simply because I don't do it often. Secondly, when I teach kata or weapons, I have to stand in front of the group and look over my shoulder to make sure they're getting it. That's hard because I have to realize which hands and feet are which for them, which is mirrored for me. To add more, often times in that situation I can't make major minor fixes, because I have to finish the form for everyone else.

It's not all bad. A lot of the games are fun to judge, and I learn from them as they learn from me. I think I just need to do research on guiding kids.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?
I plan on interviewing Anthony-sama, one of the black belts at my karate studio. I help teach the kids alongside him, and he has more experience teaching than I.

2. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions do you plan to ask?
I plan on asking questions such as: "What techniques do you use to engage the children?", "What motivated you to start teaching?", and "What, in your opinion, are the best and worst parts of teaching kids?".

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1. List your topic here: Teaching Karate to Children

2. Write a question to help focus your research: What is the most effective way to teach karate to children?

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship

1. Metorship Log
For my current mentorship log, click here 
 

2. What is the contact name & number of where you volunteered?

I volunteered through the City of La Verene's Community Services Dept with the Karate program. Their phone number is (909) 596-8700. The department head is Bill Aguirre. The Karate Instructors are Jerome and Beverly Walczak. Their phone number is (909) 5**-97**.

3. What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?  List them. 

What is the most effective way to get the kids to pay attention to me? What is the most effective way to retain their attention? What is the most effective way to teach them? How does one start a business of a karate studio?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing I gained from the experience is how exactly the kids are different. A 6 year old who has been in the class for 2 years pays more attention than a 6 year old who had just started. A 4 year old may pay little to no attention. Even the 6 year olds who have more experience could have trouble retaining information. On the other hand, a new 7 year old could have an easier time retaining information.

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did what you did help you choose a topic?  Please explain.

As of right now, I am torn between 2 topics. Either teaching children karate, or the business of running a karate studio/dojo. I spent the majority of my time with the kids, but my discussions with my mentors about the business interested me. Most likely I will continue to work with the kids, but it is not certain.