Bowley Kenpo Karate » Entries tagged with "kids"
Karate Drills: Mr. Trejo’s Duck the Punch Drill
In July 2012, Mr. Frank Trejo taught seminars at my instructor’s school, Disciple Martial Arts, in Edmond, OK. All of his classes were highly engaging and informative. He gave each class and age group different drills to work through. One of them we work frequently in our school focuses on ducking a punch and countering the attack. We’ve dubbed it Mr. Trejo’s Duck the Punch drill. (While we don’t know if he created the drill, … Read entire article »
Filed under: School Information, Sparring
Kids Karate Sparring March 2013
March has been a testing season both at our school and also at Disciple Martial Arts in Edmond, OK. All the students testing did fantastic. Below are a few of the sparring videos captured during the exams. (The headgear has been equipped with a GoPro camera.) Allison vs Luke at Bowley Kenpo Karate. Both age 8 and testing for their 2nd purple stripe on this evening. Serra sparring with some of the students at Disciple Martial Arts … Read entire article »
Filed under: Belt Promotion, Sparring
What Can I Do?
As a father of two daughters and a martial arts teacher, the tragic events from Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut have weighed heavily on the heart and mind. The grief of and for the families there is indescribable. In the coming days and weeks, the media will talk about violence in schools, mental illness, gun laws, and anything else to help for a better understanding of “why” the event took place. My … Read entire article »
Filed under: Philosophy
Review – Empty Hand The Real Karate Kids Movie
[Editor's note: This is not a paid review. The movie was purchased independently with no review expectation.] If your read no further into this post, the quick takeaway is Empty Hand The Real Karate Kids is a very good movie for the casual fan and also a must-watch for any dedicated karate practitioner. The movie is a documentary, filmed in 2009, following 4 martial artists and their families as they prepare for a world championship tournament in Ft. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Product Review
Kenpo – From the eyes of a parent
Last weekend our school had its quarterly’s karate test. One of our students, Nate, earned his second junior blue stripe. In response to pictures of the test being in our weekly newsletter, we received this email from Nate’s mother. Sam, Just reading your newsletter and thinking that you should write something about how people (like Nate) with different/varying abilities can be successful in Kenpo. You do an awesome job with Nate and he is so proud of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Belt Promotion, Personal Stories
Everyone But Daddy
“It takes a village to raise a child” is a common proverb almost everyone has heard. While talking about how it’s a group effort to teach a child the necessary characteristics to be a responsible, well-round adult, it can apply to martial arts training as well. Anyone who teaches karate to, and specifically spars, with their children will probably be able to relate. As of this writing, my daughters are ages 11 and 13. They’ve been … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal Stories, Philosophy, Sparring
Karate Drills: Bad Guy Won’t Die
One of the karate drills we like to use, especially for belt and stripe tests, is Bad Guy Won’t Die. In this exercise, students run a series of back-to-back techniques against an opponent who won’t seem to stay down. Usually it’s 5 techniques strung together, though for higher ranks 10 is good too. We’ve found, kids work their techniques better on adults due to being able to hit harder (hitting with intent). In Kenpo karate, students testing for intermediate and advanced belt ranks are often asked to create their own forms built from techniques. These are techniques each student has created. Bad Guy Won’t Die is a good precursor to that concept. While it isn’t technically a form, students begin to see how one technique can flow into another, especially when … Read entire article »
Filed under: At Disciple Martial Arts, Belt Promotion
How Young Should Kids Start Karate
How young should (or could) kids be to begin taking karate lessons? This is probably the most common question I’m asked from friends at social events. A question such as this has two answers: easy and hard. The easy answer is: at whatever age your local karate school will accept them. For our school, it’s age 5. For my instructor’s school, age 3 or 4. Easy answer, done. The hard answer is why do the parents … Read entire article »
Filed under: Philosophy
My Green Belt Test
My daughter, Serra, age 13 has been doing Kenpo with me since she just turning 10. Serra learns in our school, helps teach the kids class, and has trained (and sparred) with most of the black belts in Mr. Duffy’s American Kenpo Federation. She’s worked hard and has developed into her own martial artist. Back in November 2011, she tested for her Junior Green Belt under Mr. Damian Wilson. For a school paper this year, … Read entire article »
Filed under: At Disciple Martial Arts, Belt Promotion, Personal Stories
Kenpo Lessons Sink In
The other night, while driving home from the movies, my oldest daughter and I saw an electronic billboard on the side of the highway. The sign had been updated to say a child had been kidnapped in our home town of McKinney, Texas earlier in the day. The description of the car and license plate were also listed. My daughter, age 13, asked why would someone kidnap a child. She was clearly rattled by the situation. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal Stories
