teaching karate

Over the summer, i taught kids weekday mornings and over 40 guys in the afternoon. After summer ended, i taught twenty year olds on evenings. I learned quite a bit from the experience.

Kids are quick to learn. You just have to deal with their short attention span. They also respond well to kindness and light negative reinforcement.

The over 40s are just as quick to learn specially if you explain things to them. However, some have health issues you need to keep informed about but they adapt just as easily as the kids.

The twenty somethings are the hardest to teach!! Somehow, they have forgotten which is left and which is right, literally. Some are conscious of their looks and even if you correct them several times, they still make the same mistake. They are old enough to understand but dont. They are young enough to improve dramatically but they wont push themselves. Of course i cant generalize but my students are such.

As a teacher, i must know more than my students. As a karate teacher, i must be stronger and faster than they are, too.

It is so rewarding to have the little ones open up to me and tell me what concerns they have and the littlest one is really sweet when she asked me to teach them again. ( the guys who teach them now are a little strict thats why) Dont get me wrong, i dont baby them and i give them just as much work to do as the other guys but i try to make it more fun and i keep changing it to maintain their focus.

One of the older students told me how much it has improved his stamina in basketball and how fast his movements have become. It also warmed the heart when he said that sometimes, one knows when a person knows his stuff and that im one of those who knows what im teaching.

Karate has been a part of my life for 26 years last april 9. It is quite fulfilling when i have finally stepped up to continue the cycle of learning in this martial art. Just as my teachers taught me in the past, i now pass on the knowledge to my students. Hopefully, i do so just as well or better than they did so that in time, my students will eventually be able to pass on what i taught them to the next generation of karatekas.

I have much to learn but i do feel confident enough to be able to guide the colored belts up the ranks until they reach the point that they can learn on their own. In karate, a colored belt rank is like grade school and once you reach black, that is the time when you truly begin to learn karate.

(i swear, the things that enter my mind at 2am are crazy/weird)

wants and needs

I have an old Palm tungsten E, a nokia 6600 for my smart, an n6085 for my globe, a 3310 for my sun, a 2600 for the pldt landline plus and a n2125 for the bayantel. Toxic right? Gave the sun to my dad and trying to get rid of the bayan for no other reason except that the signal sucks in my room (outside is ok). I now have a day to decide on whether i should get a treo 680 which is on sale and can cut down my devices by 1 since it is a pda and phone in one. I have some money on the side so that i can get it if i want it. However, i do need to upgrade my ancient (8 year old) desktop and maybe get a laptop so that i can work at the dojo. I also need to get a firesafe for my room.

Why do i need the palm... i have always had a PDA since 1989. It helps keep me organized. I suck at memorizing stuff and my data doesnt fit in the piece of paper i keep in my wallet. My tungsten E still works but i cant access the web through it. The treo can help there but the buttons are too small for my gargantuan hands.

I guess that solves it ;) No treo.

We just gave my dad a laptop for his birthday. If i need to, i can use it i think. So no need to buy a laptop.

Upgrade it is then :) and then the firesafe. .. Im not that rich but i do have important documents that need protecting and data. Crazy banks dont have any available safety deposit boxes for me. I also dont want to put stuff in a safety deposit box because what if i want to go abroad the next day like what happened before, i cant wait for the bank to open to give me access to my money and passport.

Am i so weird to be always scrimping on myself while being generous when it comes to gifts and stuff for people i care for? Ive always been that way. It has always been a matter of need when it comes to material things. Ive learned not to accumulate stuff, too. When i moved out, i realized how much crap i was keeping. Becca had this rule of checking if she used an item in the last 6 months. If she didnt then out it goes.

The last item i bought for myself was.. a pair of needle nosed pliers because the smart assed mouse stole the wire basket for cheese i made for the mouse trap. (caught the mouse by the way...and i didnt know that cockroaches drowns just as fast as mice! I always thought that cockroaches were these ninja vampires that died only when you cut off its head because stepping on it doesnt work and they seemed to swim well enough to last on water for so long.. i digress) The last big ticket item i got was the laptop for my dad. The last expensive thing i got for myself was a 21 inch tv 3 years ago. Prior to that, i was only watching tv from my computer screen since i had a tv tuner installed on my computer.

The last thing i personally spent on that was over a thou was for a bunch of pizzas for the KDA Dance kids. The last thing i spent on that was over a thou for myself was a pair of shoes since the one i usually use gave up.

Dont get me wrong, i am not wanting for stuff. I have everything i need. The stuff i want... well, i dont really want a lot of stuff. As long as things work and serve me when i need something then thats enough. If something breaks down, i open it up and fix it. If i cant fix it then i that is the time i replace it.

I would really have been a good jesuit priest if it was really for me :) Vow of poverty .. not a problem :)