Coaching

Research based articles to help martial arts instructors coaching children in martial arts classes.

Kids martial arts class

25 ideas to help reduce excessive chattiness without impacting autonomy and motivation

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You stop the class and start describing the next activity but there are a few children that continue talking. You know the ones, the usual suspects that find it almost impossible to keep their mouths closed. Although you probably would not call their behaviour naughty, it can still be immensely frustrating.  This problem is of …

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Child showing self-confidence, self-esteem and self-efficacy

8 ways to build children’s self-confidence through your martial arts classes

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‘Confidence’ is often one of the main benefits listed in children’s martial arts ads alongside discipline and other such trigger words we think parents want to hear. While I don’t doubt many martial arts clubs do build confidence in their young participants, I am not sure how many coaches could tell you the strategies and …

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Marketing VS Retention

Which is most important to grow your martial arts club, marketing or retention?

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OK, I admit it, the title ‘Marketing or retention’ is a little clickbaity and most people running a martial arts club will probably have realised that they need great marketing AND retention to grow efficiently. That said, what I see out there in the wild is often a different story.  If I asked you when …

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Mission, Vision and Values Signpost

Creating a positive club culture with a shared Mission vision and values

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Your club has a culture. You may not have constructed it consciously or even have any guiding documents describing it, but it’s there. Documenting your mission vision and values will not only help you lay the foundations for your culture but also serve as a guiding light for all the decisions you make in your …

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Coach correcting child using praise correct praise method

Effective in action feedback: Replacing the tired praise correct praise model (PCP)

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Praise correct praise is a method martial arts coaches often use to correct mistakes during their classes. This tactic is also used in businesses, though the terminology is not quite as child friendly (poo sandwich). The praise correct praise technique usually involves praising the child for something they are doing well, correcting their practice and …

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Queue busters

Queue busters: reduce downtime and maintain engagement in your kids martial arts classes

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What the hell are queue busters? Let me explain………. When I first started martial arts back in 1990 at 16 (yep, I’m getting on a bit), we all performed quite a chunk of our training in ‘class lines’. You will recognise the familiar-looking matrix with the higher grades at the front and the lowest at …

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Rotating curriculum

Do you know the difference between a linear, rotating and nested rotating curriculum?

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You may have heard the term rotating curriculum thrown around in martial arts circles before but what about a nested rotating curriculum? For years I have been using the traditional linear curriculum delivery model to teach our members but a few years ago I came across something called a rotating curriculum. This made me reflect on …

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Photo of games for martial arts classes

Are games for martial arts classes a good idea?

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I know this article is looking at the question ‘Are games for martial arts classes a good idea?’ but you should know that I was going to name it ‘Here come the fun police: why are so many children’s martial arts instructors against games?’ Before we get started, I just want to reiterate a statement …

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Young martial arts children showing ready stance while kneeling

25 tips to build engagement and fun in your kids martial arts classes

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Every now and again I get a request from a martial arts instructor asking how to build engagement and fun in the classes they deliver as part of their kid’s martial arts programme. This one thing is obviously top of the list when it comes to increasing enjoyment and retention. I thought it would be …

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Anxious Child

3 reasons anxious children may not join in your martial arts classes

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Have you ever had an anxious child attend your class and refuse to join in? You book a new starter in for a trial class on your young children’s martial arts programme. You email / text / message to remind the parent about the trial class and they tell you the child has been talking …

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