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 | | From: | Neorican | | Subject: | 6 year old in TKD...Help! | | Date: | 21 Jan 2005 18:08:33 -0800 |
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 | Here is the situation; my son is in TKD, outside of TKD he kicks and
punches like a champ, strong lil one. However, when he is sparring he
hits like he is afraid to make contact. Also his balance is shotty.
I have no martial arts training, but I want to help him at home. So the
question is...are there training techniques/exercises that I can help
him with to stabilize his balance and others that will boost his
confidence?
Side note...he is totally in love with TKD so i have ruled out the
possibility that he does not like it. He has been doing it for 4
months now and it's the center of his life. He knows his first two
forms and does them with style...talks only about his TKD class and
always wants to practice his form...the staff at the school is great
but they.
I guess the reason I am looking around to others for advice is that it
breaks my heart to see him disappointed in himself. I don't want
these small things to take away from his enthusiasm for TKD.
Thanks in advance,
NeoRican
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| | From: | hcannon18 | | Subject: | Re: 6 year old in TKD...Help! | | Date: | Sat, 22 Jan 2005 08:07:59 -0600 |
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| Try enrolling him in a Judo club instead.
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| | From: | Fraser Johnston | | Subject: | Re: 6 year old in TKD...Help! | | Date: | Mon, 24 Jan 2005 14:46:42 +0800 |
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"hcannon18" wrote in message
news:MEsId.71445$Wo.39036@lakeread08...
> Try enrolling him in a Judo club instead.
>
Seconded.
Fraser
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| | From: | Nikoli Yetti | | Subject: | Re: 6 year old in TKD...Help! | | Date: | Fri, 21 Jan 2005 23:56:31 -0600 |
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| I think just let him enjoy what he is doing. He is only 6 years old.
"Neorican" wrote in message
news:1106359713.310136.91520@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Here is the situation; my son is in TKD, outside of TKD he kicks and
> punches like a champ, strong lil one. However, when he is sparring he
> hits like he is afraid to make contact. Also his balance is shotty.
>
> I have no martial arts training, but I want to help him at home. So the
> question is...are there training techniques/exercises that I can help
> him with to stabilize his balance and others that will boost his
> confidence?
>
> Side note...he is totally in love with TKD so i have ruled out the
> possibility that he does not like it. He has been doing it for 4
> months now and it's the center of his life. He knows his first two
> forms and does them with style...talks only about his TKD class and
> always wants to practice his form...the staff at the school is great
> but they.
>
> I guess the reason I am looking around to others for advice is that it
> breaks my heart to see him disappointed in himself. I don't want
> these small things to take away from his enthusiasm for TKD.
> Thanks in advance,
>
> NeoRican
>
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| | From: | GreenDistantStar | | Subject: | Re: 6 year old in TKD...Help! | | Date: | Sat, 22 Jan 2005 02:33:33 GMT |
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"Neorican" wrote in message
news:1106359713.310136.91520@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Here is the situation; my son is in TKD, outside of TKD he kicks and
> punches like a champ, strong lil one. However, when he is sparring he
> hits like he is afraid to make contact. Also his balance is shotty.
>
> I have no martial arts training, but I want to help him at home. So the
> question is...are there training techniques/exercises that I can help
> him with to stabilize his balance and others that will boost his
> confidence?
>
> Side note...he is totally in love with TKD so i have ruled out the
> possibility that he does not like it. He has been doing it for 4
> months now and it's the center of his life. He knows his first two
> forms and does them with style...talks only about his TKD class and
> always wants to practice his form...the staff at the school is great
> but they.
>
> I guess the reason I am looking around to others for advice is that it
> breaks my heart to see him disappointed in himself. I don't want
> these small things to take away from his enthusiasm for TKD.
> Thanks in advance,
>
> NeoRican
That's an 7.5 on the Richman Scale for me.
A subtle yet stinging indictment of the art, complete with six year old
little dragon.
I'm impressed.
GDS
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| | From: | Stephen Horgan | | Subject: | Re: 6 year old in TKD...Help! | | Date: | Sat, 22 Jan 2005 07:18:58 GMT |
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| On 21 Jan 2005 18:08:33 -0800, "Neorican" wrote:
>Here is the situation; my son is in TKD, outside of TKD he kicks and
>punches like a champ, strong lil one. However, when he is sparring he
>hits like he is afraid to make contact. Also his balance is shotty.
>
>I have no martial arts training, but I want to help him at home. So the
>question is...are there training techniques/exercises that I can help
>him with to stabilize his balance and others that will boost his
>confidence?
>
>Side note...he is totally in love with TKD so i have ruled out the
>possibility that he does not like it. He has been doing it for 4
>months now and it's the center of his life. He knows his first two
>forms and does them with style...talks only about his TKD class and
>always wants to practice his form...the staff at the school is great
>but they.
>
>I guess the reason I am looking around to others for advice is that it
>breaks my heart to see him disappointed in himself. I don't want
>these small things to take away from his enthusiasm for TKD.
>Thanks in advance,
>
The best thing that you can do is buy him a punch/kick bag, a very
soft one of course because of his age. That will both help his
balance and teach him how to make contact, though he will find using
it difficult at first. There is a huge difference between striking the
empty air and striking a target by the way, but training against the
latter is by far the best way to hone striking skills.
He has only been doing TKD for a short time by the way and he will
get better so don't despair.
--
Stephen Horgan
"intelligent people will tend to overvalue intelligence"
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| | From: | scottsummers | | Subject: | Re: 6 year old in TKD...Help! | | Date: | 22 Jan 2005 08:16:24 -0800 |
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| Just practice and time thats all. It will also help him to spar with
slightly more skilled opponents than him because if he fights the same
way he usually does it will not work. After awhile he will throw more
focused and quicker shots just to "survive" against the bigger dogs.
Thats what happened to me when I was in karate. I started to get
better and was ok at sparring around green or blue belt (about 2 years)
then as my skill increased my grandmaster would be like, ok don't fight
him anymore you can beat him, here's a 2nd degree black belt, here's a
fourth degree, etc. At first i was scared to death and fought just to
last the two minutes or so but later on it became more natural and i
became a lot better when fighting people of equal rank than before.
Travis
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| | From: | slecky | | Subject: | Re: 6 year old in TKD...Help! | | Date: | Fri, 21 Jan 2005 21:24:15 -0600 |
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| "Neorican" wrote in message
news:1106359713.310136.91520@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Here is the situation; my son is in TKD, outside of TKD he kicks and
> punches like a champ, strong lil one. However, when he is sparring he
> hits like he is afraid to make contact. Also his balance is shotty.
>
> I have no martial arts training, but I want to help him at home. So the
> question is...are there training techniques/exercises that I can help
> him with to stabilize his balance and others that will boost his
> confidence?
>
> Side note...he is totally in love with TKD so i have ruled out the
> possibility that he does not like it. He has been doing it for 4
> months now and it's the center of his life. He knows his first two
> forms and does them with style...talks only about his TKD class and
> always wants to practice his form...the staff at the school is great
> but they.
>
> I guess the reason I am looking around to others for advice is that it
> breaks my heart to see him disappointed in himself. I don't want
> these small things to take away from his enthusiasm for TKD.
> Thanks in advance,
>
> NeoRican
I commend you on your support and concern for your son!
First off, a little bit about where I am coming from.
I have had about two years training in Wing Chun kung fu, over 15 years of
yoga, and about 10 years of Chi Kung. I also spent some time in the Marines.
I am not a martial arts school snob - I think they can all be effective and
lift the body mind and spirit. And I think deep down they all say the same
thing. They have to, because we all have the same human form. But I am
partial to Kung fu.
What I hear from your question is that his power and skills are being held
back due to the safety of his classmates. I can only guess as to why his
balance is not more accurate. Maybe a large class size??
To answer your questions. What you can do---
1.
There are many exercise that can help his balance. My Sifu said he used to
read standing on one leg; the left leg for the left page, the right leg for
the right page.
Another thing you can do is just find some yoga postures (asanas) that focus
on balance. But you both have to realize that these exercises are slow,
long, and boring. Stillness is essential. So it might not be very "fun" for
him. But it will work.
2.
Have him practice his forms very slowly. Let him feel the way his body
shifts and moves and the changes in his balance as he moves through his
forms.
This will build an awareness in his mind of how his weight is shifting. Then
when he moves faster, he will have that awareness and not lose his balance.
An example would be a simple kick. Have him do a simple kick, but very
slowly - up, hit, down - without losing his balance. If he can do it slowly,
he can do it quickly.
3.
Perhaps you yourself could try some form of martial arts or yoga? Then you
and your son could share what you have learned about the way the body moves.
I guess what I am getting at in all these suggestions are some of the core
principles I have picked up in my experiences:
---Stillness is the beginning of all movement. If you can practice
stillness, then you can follow your movements from beginning to end. Then
you can control them precisely!
---Body awareness is by experience alone. Noone can tell you how to walk You
have to learn how to walk yourself. It is the same with martial arts. There
are things you will learn about your body and mind that can only come from
experience. So slow down your practice once in a while, and observe what is
happening.
Moving fast and being powerful are very very important. But the mind
sometimes cannot catch up to the body. There is always a place in the
martial arts for stillness.
I think it is great he is starting so young. What a good foundation!!!
************************************************
I leave you with some quotes from Bruce Lee. Perhaps you and your son can
contemplate these together.
To hit or kick effectively, it is necessary to shift weight constantly from
one leg to the other. This means perfect control of body balance. Balance is
the most important consideration in the on-guard position.
Relaxation is essential for faster and more powerful punching. Let your lead
punch shoot out loosely and easily; do not tighten up or clench your fist
until the moment of impact. All punches should end with a snap several
inches behind the target. Thus, you punch through the opponent instead of at
him.
Voidness is that which stands right in the middle between this and that. The
void is all-inclusive, having no opposite - there is nothing which it
excludes or opposes. It is living void, because all forms come out of it and
whoever realizes the void is filled with life and power and the love of all
being.
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