General Info

Why is it that in many karate schools instructors yell at, brow beat, even demean students in the guise of discipline? Isn't there a better way to teach discipline than at some military boot camp wannabe? The reason this is so is that many instructors learned martial arts at least partially through military training and/or have little teaching experience. The fact of the matter is that kids are not just little adults, rather children have different needs and abilities and thus require a much different approach than adults do. For instance, many instructors give push-ups for punishment, such as for excessive talking, fidgeting, or not trying hard enough. For young children pushups can cause physical injury because children's back and shoulder muscles are not fully developed which can result in back strain. Further, children can feel humiliated by being singled out and punished in front of his peers resulting in a loss of self-esteem. At KTL Karate, we firmly believe in positive reinforcement. For example if Johnny was excessively talking, the instructor might say to the class look at how Pete (who would be next to Johnny) is watching up front and is quiet. Most often the class will quiet down. Continuing, the instructor would say Pete, why don't you come up front and be my helper? And whoever is the best listener will be next. If Johnny is quiet, the instructor will pick him. Problem solved. No backache, no humiliation, and Johnny is learning to listen without realizing it. We keep our classes fast paced, educational, high energy, structured and fun!