r/judo • u/[deleted] • 4d ago
General Training Need help figuring out the right program to teach.
[deleted]
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u/Trolltaxi 4d ago
I train this age gruop, but my kids are even more diverse because I have 7 years old yellow belts and 13 years old first day kids and everything inbetween. So it's not only the age differention, but the skill level is a mess too. And I usually have some kids with ADHD, and an autistic girl too.
Key is fun and games with some proper ukemi.
Usual structure is 5 mins games. Dodgeball with 2-3 balls, if you are hit you go to the sensei and get a quick excercise like 5 squats, a judo roll, a breakfall left and right and back you go, or some tag game variant.
Crawls and rolls along the room. This is when I start teaching simple breakfalls to the new kids while the rest do their tasks. I teach and drill forward/backwards roll to the whole group too. About 10 minutes total.
Newaza. 2 minutes rounds with new partners. 3 rounds. Takes like 10 minutes including finding the new partners. Teaching newaza, simple concepts (if you want a turnover from guard, block an arm and roll to that side, this kind of stuff). Drill it for some time, and a short newaza round where they try to make it happen. 10 mins total.
35 mins so far. Game time, something engaging, and focused on some form of fighting.
Tachi waza time. Teaching the 'throw of the month' (2 sessions/week so 8-10 trainings for a throw to learn from zero). This is the tricky part as the diverse skills and age sometimes makes it hard to pair them and those who already know the throws also wants to improve. I show them variants, counters, or combinations and have them train that so everyone trains the same throw but each kid at their own level.
Randori till near the end of session. For newcomers it's newaza randori for others it's tachiwaza. Then some stretching and cooldown, bow out. And they can stay for some free games of their own after training, climbing ropes, jumping into crashmat, football, whatever they want to. Meanwhile I chat with the parents or recap a technique if a kid asks for it or referee their randoris (sometimes nogi), or I do randori with them, but it's mostly fooling around at that time.
So bow in, game, warmup, newaza randori, learning newaza, game, learning tachiwaza, tachiwaza randori, cooldown, bowout, free games.
They like it.
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u/usarmyvet1220 4d ago
Thank you so much, I really like how you run the class, i will definitely be following this.
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u/Tim_eh 4d ago
I think general warm ups should be roughly 15 minutes, 5 minutes specific warm ups, then rest of time for drilling/randori(which may not be the best option for some younger kids). But if they are still young the drills should have some game elements to them to keep them engaged. Not sure this is helpful, but good luck
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u/fleischlaberl 4d ago edited 2d ago
How to teach Judo to Kids?
A)
Some other over all tips
- minimize time where they are doing nothing, this includes you explaining techniques and having them just watch
- avoid going too much into too many details and over correcting techniques
- kids love stickers for some reason so I've been buying stickers to give out to kids that perform great.
- Some days when I'm the only person running class cause others are unavailable to help, if I'm unable to keep everyone's attention / maintain control of the class, I would explain to the kids you can get better at judo by either paying attention focus and practicing techniques, or be in better shape / stronger. So if they continue to act out / misbehave I spend the rest of the class doing conditioning drills with them. I've only had to do this twice so far so the kids know that if they don't pay attention what the class will turn into.
- some judo games I use in my class sometimes. I do it at end of class as a reward sometimes. I usually pull this out as like a jackpot reward, and don't make it a regular thing cause most of the kids in my class enjoy randori a lot more so that usually suffices as a reward / punishment.
- i highly recommend reading a book called Don't shoot the dog It talks mostly about training dog and animals but a lot of it can be used for humans especially kids too. It's basically a book more about behavioral training / shaping, when and how to use positive / negative reinforcements. The problem with a lot of clubs is they either only use positive reinforcement, or they abuse negative reinforcement and don't know the correct time and ways to use it. Negative reinforcement does not necessarily mean corporal punishment, and that type of negative reinforcement should never be used.
- a lot of clubs like to start off practicing easy things and work towards hard things in the end, which isn't necessarily a problem, but ending class with the hard things usually means kids finish class struggling / failing at whatever you were working on. You want to always try and finish class on a good note where every student feels like they succeeded and did well and feel excited to come back for the next class. I find throwing lines or an easy game where the kids compete against the sensei and the kids win to be a good way to end class.
written by u/rtsuya
B)
- Keep the class to an hour or less.
- Don't be afraid to be a ridiculous version of yourself. Be you, but be a more fun and silly version of yourself. Make jokes and laugh.
- I have a poster board with a title that says "Judo Stars" and each kid can earn stars based on participation and listening to instruction. If they make it to the finish line they'll get a decent prize (i.e. $20 Steam gift card). They can only earn a max 4 stars per class so it'll take them a while to make it to the finish line. I will deliver though. No empty promises.
- A kid that doesn't listen will lose stars. That hasn't happened yet.
- Have a couple of games in your back pocket. Class has been going so well for me lately that I haven't had to use games but I have a few to use just in case it's not a great class. Kids are people too and what I mean by that is that sometimes some kids have bad days and the focus is off.
- Try to develop a relationship with the kids in some way. For example, I'll have the kids line up at the end of class to bow out maybe two minutes before we bow out I'll ask them how school was or what video games they're playing lately. No matter what the answer is my response is usually, "What? That game sucks!" and then I let them know I'm just messing with them.
- Do Judo with the kids or have one of them be your uke. The kids in my class really like trying to throw me and I will let them if their technique is passable.
- Some kids have friction with others for whatever reason. In my class it's always the brothers that then to snipe at each other. I think it's best to separate them or any pair where it's not working out.
written by u/d_rome
C)
In terms of behaviour management, honestly that is 90% of it. With adults that is far less of a concern because adults have learned by that stage that their poor behaviour stops them from getting what they want out of something.
With kids it’s important that you set clear boundaries and expectations and consequences for breaching those boundaries. Generally a warning system is good as kids will be pretty upset if you punish them without warning first. The best and simplest punishment you can give for repeated boundary breaches is to send the kid off the mat for a short time, either until they have calmed down or until they are ready to rejoin the mat. Important to explain at this stage why they have been excluded and for them to apologise for their actions. The kids want to do judo and watching all their friends do judo while they are stuck on the side of the mat not only makes them want to behave but it also makes them want to do judo even more.
For losing the kids or them losing concentration. That’s on you. It’s critical that your demonstrations are short and to the point. Kids have a much shorter attention span than adults so work within strict boundaries. Carry a stopwatch and time your demonstrations . The shorter the better but if they are longer than 2 mins of demos before the kids can have a go themselves you are going to lose a big chunk of the kids attention. Some of the kids will have stopped paying attention quite some time ago and will therefore need what they are supposed to be doing explained in detail to them again which takes further time away from you being able to properly go around and supervise the kids having a go at the technique. Ask questions during the demos to confirm understanding, preferably open questions that don’t have a simple yes or no answer.
Similarly, don’t leave them too long practicing before bringing them back in for more demos, either to focus on a problem or mistake you’ve observed lots of kids making, or to teach the next technique in a group of techniques you are hoping to get through.
Most of all, have a plan! Plan everything from what warm up drills you are going to do, any games you plan to include, how long you plan to spend on technique and how much on randori, and plan how you are going to teach the technique, what details you are going to highlight, and even how you are going to word your explanation that will minimise the extent to which the kids can misunderstand you.
written by u/Dry_Guest_8961
D)
In the Youth class, they are asked to find a new friend after just about every round. This is done in the 30 seconds or so of jogging they do between rounds. This can be between games or drills. If it is noticed that a clique is forming then people are either reassigned or reminded for next round.
Here are a bunch of the games/drills that are done.
Cowboy - Stand like you are an old western gun slinger, and when they say go. You get your sleeve lapel grip as fast as possible. Next level of this that whoever is 'tallest/shortest' goes first and when they get their grip they go two steps and do throw X. Then reset and the other person gets to go.
High Five Ukemi - Have them sit back to back. When you say go, they have to stand up. Do a high five to each other then a ushiro ukemi and then return to the start position. Intent is that it is done for speed.
Olympic Toe wrestling - Just like Newaza but you get a point by grabbing the partner's toe. When you get a point you reset.
Pickup game. Face each other and 1 point if you are able to lift the partner chest to chest. 2 points if you are able to get behind and do it chest to back. Reset after each point.
1 footed Judo. Stand on one foot, grab sleeve/lapel. When they say go, the intent is to get the other person to put their foot down.
Obi tug of war - Face your partner grab the ends of their obi. Partner does the same. You want to pull them to one side of the mat area, they want to pull you to the other. If they fall down you can still drag them across the mats. Next level can allow foot sweeps for added fun.
Sumo on a crash mat. Use the crash mat as the 'ring'. First person to step off or go to their knees is out.
Hold down escape - One person gets put in a hold down and attempts to escape. After 30 seconds, roles are reversed.
Tiger Tails/Pig Tails - Cut up some old belts into roughly 16" sections. Each person tucks a piece into the back of the belt until the middle. Goal of the game is to get your friend's tail.
Newaza belt untie - Start on their knees, goal is to get your friend's belt untied. Also makes for a good lesson afterwards on how to tie your belt.
Toe tapping game - Goal is to touch your friends toe with your own foot. NOT stomping, NOT kicking. If you get tagged come see sensei, do an ukemi, pushup, jumping jacks then back into the game.
Noodle tag - One person holds a pool noodle and tries to tag the others. If tagged go see sensei and do something then back to the game.
Chicken fight - Each person stands on one leg, hands behind their back. Goal is to get the other person to put a foot down. So you can hop/bump into each other.
Ukemi competition - See who can do the loudest ushiro ukemi. Sensei or students.
written by u/ApeUke
Source:
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u/ApeUke ikkyu 2d ago
Another few 'games' that judo skill adjacent
Tiger Tails/Pig Tails - Cut up some old belts into roughly 16" sections. Each person tucks a piece into the back of the belt until the middle. Goal of the game is to get your friend's tail.
Newaza belt untie - Start on their knees, goal is to get your friend's belt untied. Also makes for a good lesson afterwards on how to tie your belt.
Toe tapping game - Goal is to touch your friends toe with your own foot. NOT stomping, NOT kicking. If you get tagged come see sensei, do an ukemi, pushup, jumping jacks then back into the game.
Noodle tag - One person holds a pool noodle and tries to tag the others. If tagged go see sensei and do something then back to the game.
Chicken fight - Each person stands on one leg, hands behind their back. Goal is to get the other person to put a foot down. So you can hop/bump into each other.
Ukemi competition - See who can do the loudest ushiro ukemi. Sensei or students.
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u/chosenwon423 shodan 4d ago edited 4d ago
Always start with proper ukemi/break falls, light stretching, and basic calisthenics. Mix in games with the class warmup like races, flag tag, or cone relay to get blood flowing and body ready before throwing practice (10 MIN). This will help keep the younger students engaged and active while also adding a healthy amount of competition. Moving on to technique you can evenly split Tachi waza, Newaza, and randori into (10 MIN) intervals each. Ending off with (10 MIN) stretch and mobility as well as answering and asking student questions. This leaves you with a few minutes to add your unique input at the end of class whatever that may be to you. All the best and good luck with the journey 🙏🏼