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New classes:
Starting
on Monday 1st March 2010, I will initially be running two classes
on Mondays and Wednesdays. The Adult
Class will begin at 7:00pm and is for people aged 16+. An earlier Junior Class will run at 6:00pm
for 10 to 15 year olds. I intend to
set up a class for a younger age group of about 7 to 9 years of age at 5:00pm
too, and this will require a minimum of 10 students. Likewise, if there is enough demand,
I’ll run a later Adults class starting at 8:00pm too, and again this
will need a minimum of 10 students.
Adult classes (16+ years of age):
7:00pm – 7:45pm
Junior classes (10 to 15 years of age): 6:00pm – 6:45pm
Cadet classes (7 to 9 years of age): 5:00pm - 5:45pm (proposed)
Adult classes (16+ years of age):
8:00pm – 8:45pm (proposed)
Classes are held Mondays & Wednesday 46 weeks each year. There is one night each month that classes
are not held. Please see the
“Academy News” section for details.
What happens in the classes?
Class training is divided up into about 3-month periods where specific skills
and techniques are coached. At the end
of each 3-month period, there will be an examination (grading). Each period will have mandatory techniques
that will be taught and due to our teaching skills, and with a little daily
home training of about 15 minutes, these should be easily attainable by
attending most of the available training days. So if a few lessons are missed, the ability
to pass each grading shouldn’t be compromised. There are skills to be learnt during each
period, yet with our flexible approach in how these are delivered,
the classes need not be run rigidly.
Each period of children’s and adults classes will generally
involve the following:
- A warm up
- Foundation techniques
in Tae Kwon Do (“basics”)
- Fitness training
- Kicking & punching
drills on appropriate martial art targets such as focus pads, kick
shields and “pork chops”
- Partner drills
- Non-contact sparring
- Optional semi &
full-contact sparring (with mandatory appropriate safety sparring kit)
- A cool down
What is
required?
A smile J! An
attitude of willing to try new things and behaving in a manner that shows
respect to everybody else. This
mindset will help you develop the physical qualities such as improved
balance, coordination, flexibility, stamina and power. I believe most people recognise that
someone who has achieved a black belt is a person who has great
determination. You heard it said in
the film Spider-Man “With great power comes great
responsibility”, and I believe this to be especially true in martial
arts. Safety is the single most
important factor in our classes, so self control, good behaviour and a
willingness to try new skills will serve you extremely well.
Are the 45 minutes classes
long enough?:
Certainly. I’ve been teaching 45 minutes classes
for over 9 years and have graded more people to black belt using this format
than longer classes. For many people
that used to train in long martial arts classes of over an hour, this may
seem strange. Yet being qualified as a
Professional Trainer with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, I
know that it is not what is taught, but how it is taught that is the
important factor. I too use to train
in such classes that lasted from an hour to an hour an a half. Yet over the last few years, as more
research has gone into fitness and sports science, it is now understood that
work outs, such as martial arts and weight training, should not last over 45
minutes.
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