How to teach children, by Steve Rowe 9th Dan, gleaned from 50 years experience of teaching successful children’s classes.

Control them before a class, when they enter the hall they must either sit down with arms and legs folded, be practising their techniques or sitting with their parents. If you let them run around or be silly before a class you will never control them in it.

They must be following instructions ALL the time. Either sitting with arms and legs folded, standing to attention or at ease or performing a technique. They must always be looking at you and following directions, otherwise you will lose control. Never allow them to be in an uncontrolled state.

Start with simple tasks and make it an attention game, sit, stand, kneel, lay on your back, front, left side, right side, put up the left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg and keep changing the sequence so they have to pay attention and make sure they are looking and listening to you. This not only gets them to learn left and right, breakfalls, mobility and take instruction but it disciplines the class. Those that can’t follow these simple instructions shouldn’t be in class as they disrupt all the others.

Ask any that misbehave directly “do you want to be in this class?” If they don’t they shouldn’t be there and if they do, then they have to understand that they must follow instructions or leave. When being spoken to they must look you in the eye and it’s best to do this with parents present. Most parents love the discipline. Always give feedback to each child at the end of class with percentages of how they are doing toward their next grade with simple terms of what they need to work on. If necessary give them feedback slips with that information to give to their parents. This way they will know that you are interested and monitoring the progress of each one.

Word soon gets around the ‘school gate’ and local social media pages that the children are learning quality martial arts, discipline and learning how to learn and it’s not just babysitting with games and kids running riot. They will say that the instructors actually care about the children and their progress. You might lose some disruptive children but you will gain many more keen ones.

Change your tone so that your voice lets them understand when to have fun, when they are being encouraged and when they are being driven. They will respond to that. Bring them around you sitting with legs and arms crossed so you can speak more quietly and they know that you are giving them a ‘teachable moment’.

They’re there to learn martial arts, discipline and how to learn. Make basics interchangeable, forwards, backwards, sideways, from seated, standing, punching, blocking and kicking without much repetition so they never know what’s coming next and they have to pay attention and follow directions.

You must never lose attention and be actively coaching the class from start to finish. NEVER turn your back to any part of the class and make sure that you train your peripheral vision to see everyone all of the time. Assistants and team leaders must be taught to do the same, never let them be doing nothing or standing around.

Once you have got control of the class the other children will keep the new ones in line, then they can do pad work in pairs or pairs work with everyone moving together under your instruction as a treat. Never line them up with one person doing a technique to a pad or bag with a queue behind them as you are wasting precious time and will lose control of those in the queue.

Children are in class for around 45mins and should be learning martial arts and paying attention for all that time otherwise they will not improve which means either they will never grade or you’ll be giving grades away, both are ill advised. Any ‘skill games’ must be to improve their martial skill and be strictly controlled so you are commanding all action.

Once you are running classes this way you are not a baby sitter or a time waster but a professional instructor and parents and children will appreciate what you do and feel the benefit.

Everyone, the children, parents, schoolteachers and you will feel the benefit and classes will take on both meaning and purpose.