Hi, I'm a teacher for the Gr. 8-12 level in High School and will be teaching a unit on self-defense soon. Do you have any suggestions if the kids should be in shoes socks or barefoot?
I'd say it would be better to train barefoot, supposing you are using a padded surface. Uniformity helps and you dont run the risk of students wearing innapropriate footwear etc. Out of curiosity what sort of self defence methods would you be teaching?
If they taught MA in PE back when I was in school I might have attended it more often..The bonehead jocks who became PE instructors in my school were only interested in the reconized sports...The best of luck to you..Make them go barefoot is the only advice I can offer..
I'd say go with wearing shoes, unless its on a matted area of course. If its on a matted area I'd say do any takedown type technique on this and any other standing stuff on non matted area in shoes. After all its most likely that any self defence situation in real life will take place on a hard surface when your wearing shoes. The mechaics change slightly with shoes and its better to have the experience of wearing them and moving on a sticky surface.
I'd say shoe-less so when the kids that didn't pay attention properly accidentally boot their partner, their partner won't be hurt as badly. I remember gym. lol. I'd say no shoes!
Shoes Or no shoes,Let them decide. It's best to let them wear what they would wear on an Average day, It's defence, not tradition. I Am An assistant and still learning in a self defence class (I'm doing a seminar with my instructor in a few days as well,cant wait) and the students can take off their shoes or leave them on,if it's what they are comfy in,let 'em wear it.
Mountain boots, with crampons I'd avoid socks especially in a gym where it will make things a little slippery. If barefoot watch out for long toenails. Shoes will protect the feet from injury but cause more harm to the kicked.
Well, I say just have them dressed normally. Half of them prob won't be able to kick if their life depended on it (no offence) and most will probably only ever use or be able to use arm techniques such as Outside/Inside Wristlocks Also most of their perceptions of fighting will be just fists so it will be a lot easier to concentrate on that,
Hi Cristina, As far as i am concerned your kids should have shoes on. Reason being that's what they will be wearing in the real world, out on the, street, in the palyground, in the park etc. The more used they are to how things will feel the better. Also, from a health and safety point of view it won't hurt as much if they step on each others toes. Thanks, Iain http://uk.msnusers.com/EXPLOSIVESELFDEFENCESYSTEMSTANNESGROUP/homepage.msnw
I would opt for shoes personally. How much of the unit focuses on "awareness", vocalization, and such?
Pity we haven't had a response as yet from christina... How about doing a combination of both? With and without shoes? However, "reality" training at that age might be a little premature. Can't kids just learn a little bit of discipline, co-ordination training and socialisation and as they develope and grow in their training, then go on to training shoes, but only the ones you feel have the control to practise in them?