Kids! You’ve Got to Love’ em

It’s truly amazing to see students who start off at a very young age. Sometimes, we adults, become annoyed when the kids ‘get out of hand’ in class but we have to be patient and acknowledge this is part of growing up; we were once kids so we should not forget that. A time will come when these little ones will be able to have a mature conversation with you. You will also realise that you might have to tell them to take it easy on you. I have seen many of them grow up, including my own, and some of them who have stuck it out long made it to Black Belt. We, Instructors, find children to be a very important part of the school because they are the ones who will lead the way into the future; they have a lot of years ahead of them. If a child comes up to you, especially if you are a higher rank, give them some attention; usually it is because they look up to you. We all agree we feel good when somebody of higher rank compliments us on our performance; that goes a long way with a child so feel free to pass one on. Complimenting can also be for a child behaving in class and doing a good turn for one of the other students. Even better still pull one of them aside and teach a technique. Especially important for the Instructors ‘students don’t want to know how good you are, they only really want to know how much you care’. KIDS! YOU’VE GOT TO LOVE' EM.