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neverblushed
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Need Kid Sports Advice - Karate
neverblushed
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My son, who is 9, has been taking karate for about 2 years. He's good at it and he really likes it. In November, he moved from green up to purple belt, which means there are only two belts between him and the black belt. The green and purple belts generally work as a group during practice. At each session, they work on some combination of basic motion skills, one-step fighting and take-downs, or katas/forms. My son has known all the forms and all the basic motions he needs to pass the next belt test for a long time. However, he needs to know 5 one-step techniques, and he has only ever been taught 3 of them.
Several weeks ago, he complained to me that he needs to learn 2 more one-step techniques before the next belt test, and that he's really frustrated. I told him he needs to ask the teachers during class. He says he has asked them a few times, but they either don't work on one-step at all that week, or they work on the same 3 he already knows. It is entirely possible that my son is not being very assertive or clear about what he's asking for with the teachers. However his class can be a little disorganized; different teachers rotate around between the belt groups, and he may not have the same teacher this week as he had last week. It's possible the teachers are just not really on top of things, especially if there are a lot of new green belts in his group.
He has a big tournament on 4/26. The next belt test will be in May. He doesn't have much time to learn these skills before the tourney and the test, and he's getting even more frustrated. We generally just drop him and his buddy off, and his buddy's mom brings them home. It's the norm for parents not to stay, since the class is older elementary and middle school kids.
What would you do in this situation? Would you say something to the teachers? Push your kid to be more assertive?
High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:
DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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Re: Need Kid Sports Advice - Karate
IMO teaching a child independence is a balancing act. You throw them in to "learn on their own" and they may fall, others will swim.
If your child is a little less secure around authority, practice what you want to say to the teacher at home...teach & guide him, maybe go with him to a meeting and be there for support too.