Children between the ages of 5 and 6 are in the “dynamo” stage of development. They are now at a point where basic skills become the foundation for their continued growth. With the right mindset and curriculum, martial arts can help them build a more solid foundation for basic fundamental skills, which are essential for continued development.
Below are milestones that martial arts can help accomplish:
Top PHYSICAL development milestones:
- Demonstrating BALANCE by performing high repetitions of kicks without putting the foot down.
- Showing good CONTROL with the body while keeping it in motion.
- Demonstrating good FITNESS by applying technique in exercises beyond ten reps.
Top INTELLECTUAL development milestones:
- Demonstrating good FOCUS to the task at hand, with little or no distractions.
- Demonstrating good MEMORY by retaining three or more commands at once, and beyond, while staying in order.
- Demonstrating COORDINATION by performing various left and right commands with a variety of different strikes and kicking combinations.
Top EMOTIONAL development milestones:
- Maintaining DISCIPLINE by following directions after only being told once.
- Demonstrating DISCIPLINE by not acting silly when performing activities that require leadership.
- Showing CONTROL of the mind to work through during difficult tasks.
Top SOCIAL development milestones:
- Demonstrating good TEAMWORK in competitive situations.
- Showing CONTROL by not interrupting, such as raising your hand when someone else is speaking.
- Having the FOCUS to sit still when appropriate.
For example:
Skill: BALANCE
Drill: Alphabet
Benefits: The students will practice their balance by kicking while saying the letters of the alphabet as they kick, and also keeping their leg in the air in between each kick.
This is a fun way to teach the students how to PHYSICALLY develop balance while they kick.
This is a great way to improve INTELLECTUAL development because they need to focus on the sequential order of the alphabet while multi-tasking by focusing on balance and kicking.
This is great for their EMOTIONAL development as they gain the motivation to challenge themselves to kick at higher reps each turn.
This is great for their SOCIAL development to show good sportsmanship on the third round when it turns into a healthy competition.
Click here to download the drill:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/816mkafxmj9fipk/Alphabet.pdf?dl=0
As you can see, we know how to take a simple drill and turn it into a drill that has VALUE.
It’s all in your mindset about drills and how you target age-specific benefits.
Hope this helps, make today a great day!