Physical

Delivering the physical aspects of an age appropriate martial arts programme

Queue busters

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

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 […]

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

Young martial arts children showing ready stance while kneeling

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

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

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

Young girl in karate uniform performing splits and smiling

Building members for life: Leveraging Self Determination Theory in your martial arts club

Ryan and Deci’s Self Determination Theory has been the subject of study in sports contexts for decades. Centred around building intrinsic motivation, it’s surprising that it hasn’t been the focus of attention for martial arts clubs and organisations looking to grow their memberships. If we can understand the motivation of our members and create a

Building members for life: Leveraging Self Determination Theory in your martial arts club Read More »

Pushing action from Functional Movement Patterns

8 functional movement Patterns for your kids martial arts programme

Although Functional Movements Patterns (FMP) have appeared in many different adult strength based systems over the last couple of decades, they were initially discovered through the observation of infant’s growth and motor skill development. (Wu et al., 2020). If you watch the way a young child performs a deep squat to pick up a toy

8 functional movement Patterns for your kids martial arts programme Read More »

Physical stages of development for young children practicing martial arts

The knowledge of the physical stages of development is a priority if you want to maximise the development of your martial arts students. Sometimes we may feel we are not very good at delivering sessions to the young children in our care. They don’t always listen and sometimes they ‘just don’t get it’. In other

Physical stages of development for young children practicing martial arts Read More »

FUNdamental Movement Skills for children’s martial arts

Often abbreviated to FMS, FUNdamental Movement Skills describe the ability to move the body in specific patterns using different body parts. They cover both gross and fine motor skills and are usually broken down in to three groups; locomotion, balance and object control. These skills are the building blocks the children will need to be

FUNdamental Movement Skills for children’s martial arts Read More »