Being a teacher of karate can be an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling job. People want to learn karate for various reasons whether it is to keep themselves fit, learn a means to defend themselves, improve their mental focus or just to have an interesting hobby. It is either learnt as an art or from of self-development known as budō, a form of self-defence or as a sport in which to compete. Karate classes are commonly focused on kihon, kata or kumite. These divisions of training are the basics, the forms and sparring. When teaching karate classes any good teacher needs to cater their lessons to the different ages of the students and act accordingly. Techniques which work well for one age group will not necessarily work well for another one. Here are a few of the differences which need to be accounted for within the different age groups.
Adults
Of all the age groups, adult learners are the most likely to drop out of classes. There are numerous reasons for this but as a teacher you need to understand what reasons they have chosen to start the classes and by doing so you will be able to give them what it is they were looking for and then hopefully retain as many students as possible. A big draw for lots of adults is to learn self-defence. Due to this, you should think about how to incorporate this element into your teaching schedule as much as possible. Alongside this factor you need to have patience for the fact that some adult learners will not be able to commit to their classes 100% due to the nature of life throwing things at people that need to be dealt with there and then.
Teens
Teens are clearly at a point in their life where their body is going through a lot of physical changes. As well as this, they are experiencing a time when their psyche and personality is being shaped as they find their identity and place in the world. Teens can be at very different points of physical and mental maturity and as a teacher you need to be the most flexible in your methods when teaching this age group. It is important to have a good balance between the various elements of the martial art and mix up the basics, forms, sparring and mental focus.
Children
Teaching children can prove to be the most rewarding of all the age ranges. The joy of seeing a child learn something new and then build upon their previous learning, acknowledging the help from their teacher will give you a great sense of achievement. The main thing to be aware of is that you will need to show a lot of patience and encouragement and alongside this you will need to demonstrate skills such as mixing up students more and being mindful how certain individuals work with others. Ensuring that your class is doing as it is instructed is key and be you will need to be cautious of some children causing potential disruptions in your classes.
