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I want write this topic as one post, but the more I write, the more I have to say. So, to help manage the length I will be dividing this topic into a series of smaller posts. _______________________________________________________________________________________ As a teacher I cannot do the same drills each class. This would lead my students [...]

DRILL VARIATION Another way to disguise repetition is to focus on drill variety. The primary way I approach variation is through looking at the sparring applications of techniques. Take a simple partner back kick drill with a shield. The easiest format is for students to take turns kicking the shield/ target to work [...]

There is a balance between teaching students new material and working on improving current forms/ techniques. I have trained and worked at schools that have made the mistake of swinging to much one direction or the other. When all you do is introduce new material, students will stay excited, but they will never [...]

Last night I was teaching one of my competitive students, working on padachugi or slide back round kick. As I watched this student I noticed that while he normally transitions between the slide back and round kick very smoothly and with no extra steps in regular classes, last night during our drills in sparring [...]

In previous blogs I wrote about teaching methods, but in this blog I want to write about one of the most important aspects of our program, Life-Skill development. Any Taekwondo program is going to develop discipline, focus, etc. Beyond these intrinsic skills a martial arts program should layer intentional character development. Every month at [...]

As students perform, we as instructors make corrections and adjustments. The manner in which we make corrections is important. If we make corrections too harshly, then we end up discouraging our students, rather than truly helping them. An emotionally discouraged student will be less motivated to learn. Praise, correct, praise helps give corrections in [...]

As students learn, we help them set goals, achieve those goals and set new goals. This happens on multiple levels, from improving individual techniques to memorizing forms, and application. In the previous blog I talked about 'praise, correct, praise,' which is part of the goal setting process. This helps students set small goals. It [...]

It took me a while to formulate a new topic to write about. I wrote a few different partial blogs, but nothing I wanted to post. Last night I was teaching and the idea for this topic came to me. I have watched plenty of Taekwondo students who have good technique, but do not [...]

One on one attention gives students the opportunity to learn faster. It allows them to ask questions and receive hands on correction. Regardless of the class size, as a teacher we need to spend time with each student. When classes are small, it is easy to give individual attention to a student. Students learn [...]

Taekwondo can be emotionally challenging and stressful. There are many times when the physical challenges become emotional challenges. As instructors it's our job to help students manage the stress and overcome their challenges. Some students embrace challenges, when things get hard, these students often meet challenges head on. From my experience, these types of [...]