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Through my extensive experience with children and adolescents, I recognized opportunities to be able to have a positive effect on children by martial arts education. Traditional martial arts give children important impulses for their thinking processes and behaviors and reduce aggression in a targeted manner while additionally imparting values. The result is a healthy and balanced self-awareness. In addition, this approach is consistent with the child's needs.
For this reason, martial art pedagogy was created in 2003. Here I create an effective symbiosis of my experience as a college teacher for social education and as my function as a martial arts pedagogue in a steady progressive process. For several years, I give workshops and classes in the methods of martial arts pedagogy at schools, kindergartens and educational fairs (eg: Didacta), as well as vocational training.
The special thing about our kids Kung Fu: The training method
The Redboat Training is also an exercise in matters of daily life. In a protected environment, the child acquires playful physical skills and strategies, which are transmitted to his mind over time. Kung Fu is an excellent medium to reach children. Unlike team sports, experiences of success or failure always go to the account of the exerciser. Accusations are irrelevant.
Kung Fu is not taught AGAINST each other but WITH each other
Only when dealing with others the different learning contents can be understood and retained. The training partner helps to improve our technique. This creates a feeling of cooperation and not competition. Competing with others is an important training content for children and indispensable to martial arts.
Almost all children start a martial art for a very simple reason: They want to be able to defend themselves and want to become “invincible” by practicing Kung Fu. They emulate movie heroes like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan.
Therefore many parents and children come to the dojo with a completely false picture of a martial art. With my work I want to counteract this image, which was distorted by the media and parts of the public perception.
An important lesson: accepting rules
Some children have difficulties with the acceptance of rules and fixed behavioral rituals at first. That's why we design together a set of rules which everyone must uphold. The requirements on my part are limited to letting the children decide independently about sense or nonsense of the proposals made. For the phraseology, it is most important to accept the wording that the children choose.
The fact, that the rules are introduced by the children themselves, enables them to identify with them. It turned out that the children explain "their" rules to new students –and impose them vehemently.