Teaching

I'm still teaching the kids classes, and last Thurs was a doozy!  It was a great night of classes, but not because of me teaching, but rather because of those in attendance; the students and the parents.

I always have a theme in my head when I get out there with the kids.  I use that theme as my main idea for the class and then I slip in all kinds of other stuff in between.  On Thursday, my theme with the tiny tigers was kicks.  By the end of the class, it wasn't.  A week ago, I started to talk to the kids about bullying, and decided on Thurs, I would test drive the "STOP" technique with the kids. They caught on instantly, and that quickly became my class theme. Just out of the blue, without warning to the kids, I would charge towards the kids, and they would step back, put up their hands and yell, STOP!  Then I would jerk backwards as if freaked out, and the kids loved it. What I found most interesting, was that by the end of the class, I would charge towards a particular student, and the surrounding students would not only put hands up and yell stop, but they would put themselves between me and the student I charged.  That sent shivers up my spine. It was fantastic to witness them protecting others.

For the black dragons, I did relay runs....with a twist. I incorporated some things that Sifu Brinker talked to us about at our meeting on Tues.  For example, part way down the run, the beginner students had to stop and do 2 kicks over a shield.  The next class had to do kicks over a team member.  If they knocked over the shield or kicked a team mate, the entire team had to do jacks, or squat thrusts.   In different parts,of the class, I added in some competition between teams. The kids loved the class. They added their own level of excitement to the class.  In turn, the parents got excited too.  Instead of sitting around and talking to the person beside them, parents were attentive to the class, excited and they laughed at various times. I stood along the wall by the parents, as I encouraged and lead the students, so I heard all that was going on with the parents. It was great!  I was able to accomplish a lot of what Sifu Brinker had talked to us about in the meeting.  I got the kids to add excitement to the class.  I got the parents involved.  I got the students to do their best and work hard. I gave the students a reason to do just that. It felt super!

For me, succes in life means, leaving a positive influential footprint on their earth in the short time I am allowed to be here. Teaching Kung fu has given me the privilege to do that.   At 52 years of age, I still remember those adults throughout my life who made an impact in my life and gave me the drive to be where I am today. The grade 4 teacher, the grade 12 history teacher, the neighbor, the close pre teen friend, and of course, my own Kung fu instructors throughout the years.   I think of these people and the never ending impact they made to my life, and I have always strived to do the same for others.   I will never know if I have been successful in making a lifetime impact, but I try to leave my students at the end of each class, feeling better about themselves than they did before class.  To me, that's a start.