Monday, June 11, 2018

Kids Karate: One Dad’s Take on His Daughters Training at JMAC

Kentaro, father of JMAC student Haruka, shares his thoughts on her training at JMAC:

“I have found that the way that they teach is very good and I’m very impressed with the instructors.”

“There have been some occasions where Haruka was invited to events at other martial arts schools and I found JMAC to be more organized and clean. It seems too, that the focus at JMAC is to teach kids martial arts in a manner that is fun for them without compromising safety and Japanese tradition. This is not always the case at other schools. It’s important that the kids are learning martial arts and not just playing.”

Read the entire interview here!

Kids Karate: Haruka Describes Her Training at JMAC

In an interview, JMAC student, Haruka, and her dad, Kentaro discuss training at JMAC. Haruka describes how her training has carried over into her everyday life:

“In school, it has helped me put a lot more focus and effort into one thing and to not procrastinate.  Although, I still procrastinate,” she adds.

“And, this is a basic thing”, she says, “when it gets cold and icy outside and I fall, with the practice of falling in class, I just fall easier and don’t hurt myself.”

“I think that even though it’s self-defense, it’s not just preparing for if someone attacks you, but more so about how you would mentally prepare yourself to work hard.”

“When I’m at karate class, it benefits me to watch not just what the teacher is doing, but how the teacher is teaching other students.  It’s an extra something when you get to understand what another student’s difficulty is as it helps you to better understand what you are doing.  When you understand what you are doing right, it helps you understand more of it. And watching other people in sparring, you notice their reactions, strengths, and weaknesses that you could use when you are sparring them.”

Read the entire interview here!

Friday, June 1, 2018

Playing Judo: This Dad Makes Martial Arts Fun for Kids!

“First, I have kids that age so I’m dialed in.  Second, we keep it fun and interesting with things they want to do at that age.  They love running around and we try to organize the chaos, we keep it simple where they are achieving things.” It’s obvious that Andy is passionate about this program as he continues “They get a big kick out of it.  They love judo tag, which is tag, but you have to do a movement before you get up! They love it!  They get all excited about all the different movements.  I think they like it because they are learning cool stuff and making progress.”

He thoughtfully adds, “Most of them have made a lot of progress – They have better focus, listening, and attention. And you can see the motor skills improving in all of them. We have some of our older students that are doing phenomenal! The improvement is very noticeable. They are almost ready to graduate to the kids karate or judo class.”