Tag: karate

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Teaching Children Martial Arts

Steve Rowe

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 … Continue reading Teaching Children Martial Arts

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Tai Chi Does Me

Steve Rowe

My morning training sessionI think I’ll work on this or thatThe moment I drop into ‘the zone’Everything changesTai Chi does meInsight and wisdom arisesWay beyond what normal me could think ofIt’s wordless, full of understandingsThat would be impossible to describeI’m in awe of what comes throughThis morning it showed me the yinHow all the yang outward techniquesHad had an inward yin expressionStrikes gouges and pushes outwardHad strangles, chokes, throws and pulls on the insideBoth could co-exist at the same timeAnd be trained at the same timeLike in the yin/yang symbolWhile one was being expressedThe potential for the other always existedHow … Continue reading Tai Chi Does Me

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Martial Art ‘Business’

Steve Rowe

You don’t have to be good at martial arts to make money from them. It all started with the Americans. They brought formatted marketing, franchising, revolving door recruitment, squeezing money out of newbies until they were bled dry and the ‘briefcase sensei’ to the U.K. in the 80’s. Those of us old enough remember, watched as junior instructors were encouraged to leave their Sensei and association and follow the American ‘yellow brick road’ of a purely commercial Dojo. When a new student joined, their black belt was put on the wall with the potential date of when they would achieve … Continue reading Martial Art ‘Business’

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Absent Students

Steve Rowe

Any long term martial arts teacher knows this. When someone says “I won’t be there because….. “ whatever follows doesn’t matter. They’re not going to be there. I remember saying “it’s okay, I’m always happy to see and teach you, but when you’re not here, I never think about you.” The student looked hurt. The thing is, if we get upset when people don’t attend sessions, we’d be upset all the time. To be happy when they’re here, but not think about them when they’re not, keeps a good relationship and keeps the teacher sane. In the 70’s martial arts … Continue reading Absent Students

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Stop Shoplifters!

Steve Rowe

What’s happening with retail security? As you all know I worked in security of all kinds for many years, some of it in retail, undercover for fraud and some in charge of store detectives. I can’t understand how these thieves that openly walk in and fill their bags, with security, staff and the public just watching them do it and letting them leave. Watching these videos makes me feel really angry. When I was doing that work, no one got away. We might have let some old ladies and kids off but the real thieves were always stopped, we had … Continue reading Stop Shoplifters!

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Learning How Yo Learn

Steve Rowe

Learning how to learn is important. First we need to allow our perspective to broaden, otherwise the filter we’re using to absorb knowledge is muddied by our past. Second, we need to work on our ‘beginner’s mind’ so that we can accept what we’re being taught, practice it sufficiently without bias, before testing and challenging it to ensure that it’s viable. Third, we mustn’t be scared to walk our own path because fashions and fads amuse the stupid and lead them astray but penetrating the underlying principles, ideas and truths in an art requires an unfettered, strong, individual mind. Fourth, … Continue reading Learning How Yo Learn

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A Conference With My Body

Steve Rowe

A conference with my body. Before I train I monitor my mental, physical and emotional state to present my case to my body on how I’m going to train during the day. My body has its own intelligence that I know I can rely on. As I start moving it immediately starts communicating in its own instinctive language that is my first (not second) language and directs the format. Some days it’s purely health, calming body, emotions and mind and when all excessive tension is gone, it opens, stretches, closes, compresses, twists and releases driving the energy through open channels. … Continue reading A Conference With My Body

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Why Being On A Programme Is Important

Steve Rowe

Martial art classes are so random because: It’s rare that the same people turn up each time. Even with lesson plans, to cater for a group that are at different places in their learning and have patchty attendance is difficult. Classes are generally treated more like gym training these days so a ‘workout’ tends to take precedence over skill learning. The teacher often teaches what they’re enthusiastic about or what the students want rather than what they need. My Tai Chi programme is so successful because: The programme is highly structured. The same people attend every month. They pay enough … Continue reading Why Being On A Programme Is Important

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How To Get ‘In The Zone’

Steve Rowe

The window of ‘maximum depth and efficiency’ in your training session. You cannot waste this precious time. In coaching and my Tai Chi Programme we talk about preparation and warm up for this phase, how to structure it and how cool down from it. The important thing to understand is that with practice, how deep, profound and insightful this window can be and why it’s important to recognise and not waste it. In our sessions we talk about ‘waiting for Tai Chi to arrive’ Tai Chi being the perfect balanced state. Preparing to train is important, the acts of hygiene, … Continue reading How To Get ‘In The Zone’

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FOMO In The Martial Arts

Steve Rowe

Sometimes I wonder whether too many martial arts teachers suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out). We are supposed to be strong independent people knowing exactly what we’re doing and where we’re going and not influenced by outside forces. But the pressure from social media does seem to produce this fear that if we don’t follow certain trends that we’re missing out. If we don’t cross train in other arts, run seminars with certain instructors, attend events and certified courses, manage our club in a certain way, make fools of ourselves with ‘entertaining’ reels and videos, advertise within the current … Continue reading FOMO In The Martial Arts