by Sensei Matt Klein on April 16, 2013
Patience is needed to bring out the flavours. Same with teaching children martial arts.
Put some love into it
Just like kids, food can somehow tell when you are agro. If a person does not enjoy cooking, they will rush everything just to get through it, which brings us to……
Be patient
You can’t rush frying the onions and garlic, or fail to let the dish simmer properly on the stove. Just like children, the more you try to push them the more they will resist. You need to coax out their “flavours” and bring out their best.
Be in the moment
You have to enjoy the process and not be anywhere else. Engage fully and with all senses. I cook on weekends as it is fun and relaxing and yes, very Zen. A bonus: plenty of delicious, healthy, and cheap leftovers for the week.
Focus on strong basics
Like how to chop onions properly, make a sauce, or boil rice without it getting gluggy. The basics are doubly important for kids since they are generally unable to grasp very complex moves. Stances and footwork are key. Besides, the basics work best in a self defence situation. The complex moves, just like advanced cooking techniques, will be easier to grasp once the basics are mastered.
Constantly re-invent and refine your teaching or children will get bored
In cooking, this experimentation and going outside your comfort zone is how you get better and expand your repertoire of dishes. Be bold!
Learn to cook with your heart and teach martial arts the same way and the children will be drawn to you like a bear to honey.
by Sensei Matt Klein on March 24, 2013
The black belt is an exclusive club for a reason.
A little brother of one of our brown belts came in to his brother’s grading. I asked the child why he quit training and he said “I was bored”. Fair enough. But I added, “Not everyone is cut out to be a black belt”. He looked up at me with a bit of irritation on his face and stated, “If I wanted to be a black belt I could, I just don’t want to”. I left it at that, because I did not want to insult him or crush his self-esteem.
Lacking Passion
But I thought to myself, if someone is bored by the journey, the process, and the day-to-day work that it takes to get to the top in the martial arts, they are not cut out to be a black belt. It is not any reflection on them, but a person has to be passionate about it. Nothing less will sustain them over the long journey to black belt.
Lacking Determination and Persistence
In our system brown belt is the first real challenging belt. A good many of the candidates don’t pass it the first time around. But more importantly, this is the first test of determination and persistence. Many give up after not obtaining it, thinking it is too hard, or maybe they thought they should have passed. Some quit because their friends passed and they did not. But the ones who eventually make it to black belt get more determined and sometimes put forth the most impressive efforts of their classes the next grading. It is an inspiration to see. They have passed the most important test on the way to black belt.
Lacking Desire
Only five percent of the people who walk through the door will ever make it to black belt. Many of the ones who quit have exceptional talent. In fact, some are so good they look like a black belt at purple belt. But they lack one important quality—desire to be a black belt. My football coach used to tell us “You have to want it”, and it is the most truthful statement I have ever heard about desire.
Not everyone is cut out to be a black belt. That little boy truly did not want to be a black belt. Hopefully those that quit are able to find other sports or activities where they can excel and where they have enough passion, determination, and desire to get to the top. The black belt is, and should be an exclusive club.