Where do you draw the line?

I know that this is kind of a follow on thread from "MAs in school" but what the hell...

In my local area there are quite a few judo clubs and instructors that are used as cheap baby sitters. Come saturday morning our clubs (not mine) are flooded with kids that are there purely because "mummy" wants a bit of time to shop.

I have big issues with this. I believe kids shouldn't be taught MAs until they are old enough to make the decision on whether or not they should go to class, by themselves (10-11?). If they don't want to be there or they only want to be there to muck around then it's a waste of time and effort for the instructor.

I realise that by starting young you can get an advantage in MA but where should we draw the line?

My second question is "Do all you instructors out there get paid to teach?" Where I live, taking money to teach your MA is unheard of, but i have heard some nasty rumours...

 

Yeah, I agree with you that some clubs are just there for the kids to burn off energy and have fun as opposed to productive, constructive instructional time. But if parents, kids and teacher are okay with that who are we to judge? Not a situation I would want my kids in however. Of course if the instructor is frustrated by either parent or child's attitude and behaviour he/she is totally within his/her rights to terminate the relationship. As far as age goes and starting MA I think it depends on the child and instructors ability to teach children of diff ages. In our present club we have 6 year olds who show amazing concentration and aptitude and a couple of 14 year olds who are obviously not able to train with any degree of seriousness because of their immaturity. I think the instructor should draw the line at the limit of his ability and patience - some deal well with four year olds and some can't deal with anyone less than adults. Knowing their own limits is vital for an instructor. As far as teaching professionally I see nothing wrong with it as long as you are actually trained to teach what you say you are teaching, teach what you say you are teaching, and love it. My particular dojo is non-profit but I have no prob with professional schools as long as students do the research and make sure they are getting into something worthwhile and reputable.

 

Of course this happens.
But these particular children often drop out eventually, some of them though get an education they wouldn't or couldn't get at normal school, partly because of the discipline factor & partly because the activity is practically more fun - a teacher at school can't make a child miss the fun bit or sit out for the rest of the class or do press ups forever. Not that i do either but both can be useful discipline tools if really needed.(there are other more fun ways to encourage co-operation from a child)

As usual there is a place for such classes & these can play a valuable role in a childs life even if it's not recognised until much later in their life.

Children of all ages(& adults for that matter)can be lazy & just not bother with any activity, they need to be nudged in the right direction occasionally, even if it is for the sake of mum & dads sanity.

I do not charge for my services but sometimes i think it...........

 

How is an instructor to pay rent, taxes and keep the dojo in good shape without getting paid to teach???

 

Personally for our karate school, I do not put an age limit on it, (although for insurance purposes we will not take anyone below 4 1/2), this is because I have seen a great variance in aptitude, some young kids have a great desire and natural affinity towards karate at a young age, some people will never take to it regardless of age.

Rather than give an age limit my ruling is - if they are enjoying themselves, without causing harm to themselves or others and they do not disrupt the class - then they can train.

Neither myself or my other instructors get paid to teach, however I don't see a problem in instructors getting paid, after all becoming a MA instructor requires a great deal of committment to the school/club and students, in my opinion this is worthy of financial reward.

 

my instructor has classes for children only and then other classes later in the day. personally, as long as the kid isnt an obnoxious s.o.b. obstructing my training or the training of other people then whats the problem with them going to class. hell, its better then rotting in front of the tv all day.

 

Well i got placed im my first martial art school when i was three and i am ever so glad about that but that is my life.... As to wether or not putting young children into a ma is good or not dosnt the same apply to everything its just a part of life like pre-school painting riding a bike playing in the sand pit with a tonka toy .....or at least thats what it should be like
And while i dont think teaching ma is about a business the teacher still needs to eat and have a place to teach...

 

political forum----------->an effective, democratic system would seek to return income through inherent lifestyle. Humans are industrious creatures and all individual undertakings are productive in some sense, to a well organised market place.
Consumers, by definition are business people.

I think anyone would find it a shame that a capable, marketable and equitable martial arts instructor would spend their days soliciting income by individually irrelevant means, as a cultural acquiescence which, in clarity is merely a lack of democratic assertion.
Do what you want, make it work for you. We're supposed to be past the medieval period of politics.
That we may not yet completely be should not preclude the endeavour.

 

Err...thanks for clarifying that for us Vanir!

 

Well, I've seen some very young kids do very well in MA's of all types. I think it does reflect back on the instructor if he doesn't have control of his class.

 

yes, exactly.

but I am still seeking a market demand for my belly-button lint, or for the act of picking it.

 

There is a school here in Nebraska that advertises itself as "martial Arts Daycare". "Your children can learn something useful after school and not just be babysat" it is no longer a shameful secret that this happens, somebody determined that this is exactly what some parents want to pay for.

 

You at least need to give the children the opportunity to begin training at a young age. My brother and I started at age 3. Our dojo only allows children of ages four and above, due to insurance problems. A lot of our best competitors started at an age that young. You can get a lot of dedicated students who have trained for a lifetime from a pee wee class.
Yes, you will also end up with the problem of gifted students that suddenly quit. (We have lost more students to soccer than anything else.) But the numbers do get balanced by dedicated students who love what they do.
Oh, and Sensei Darian doesn't charge. The rec center charges for use of their facility, but Darian doesn't get paid. Neither do Senseis Michelle, Jboy, Phil, Blanchard, Itomar, Jason, Ian, or Sean. (And those are just the ones that come on a regular basis. That doesn't even count the Senseis that bring some students to visit every now and again.) And they're all out there teaching us, dealing with the little kids, dealing with the big kids, and doing what they love.