Kung Fu'ing My Kids Part 6 of...

One of my IHC personal requirements is to encourage the kids to practice their Kung Fu at least once a week, outside of their regular class time.  Initially my intent was to work with them at home, but instead I have been taking them to open training with me.

Emma has been really good at self-motivating herself while we are there.  She will sometimes get distracted, but she has many things that she can work on and I've been encouraging her to approach any of the Black Belts or higher queue belts with her questions.

Nathan will often grab an escrima and make up his own form.  Or he'll sometimes kick and punch the heavy bags between many, many mini-breaks.  Other than that, his "go-to" is to coerce Sidai or Todai Bkorkquist into showing him the weapons.  Although there isn't often alot of actual training happening, he's happy to be there and he's engaging on his own.

Slowly, over the last few weeks, I am seeing the benefits of making Saturday open training a regular event.  I am seeing them create some of their own opportunities.  I am seeing them take some control and initiative over their own Kung Fu training.  I am seeing them make personal connections with their instructors and fellow students and slowly find their place.

If I can continue to encourage them with this, I think everything else will fall into place.