Every once in awhile, we’ll hear that a student is considering giving up on karate to pursue dance instead. People often don’t realize though, how well karate and dance complement each other.
1. Flexibility
Karate helps develop flexibility, which is critical in dance.
2. Fitness
Karate is great for increasing one’s cardiovascular capacity and stamina, both of which dancers need.
3. Strength
Karate helps students develop strength in their core and limbs, which is critical in dance.
4. Memorization
Performing kata, or forms, in karate helps kids memorize sequences of movements, and that’s useful for dancers who need to learn choreography.
It didn’t surprise me then, to read about this Scottish teen whose karate training has put him at a distinct advantage over other dance students.
Andrew Cook building on the great foundation he got from earning his 2nd-degree black belt in karate to pursue a career in ballet:
Seventeen-year-old Andrew Cook, a second dan black belt, is set to follow a dream of one day performing on the West End by pursuing his passion for dance…
“The karate’s been incredibly useful, especially for me being a late starter, as it’s given me flexibility and the ability to memorise sequences of movements.
“And I’ve had no taunting at all about doing ballet, apart from friends, but that’s just banter.”
Andrew, who started ballet just two and a half years ago, was also offered a place at Manchester but says the remote Scottish school, near Oban, “felt right”.
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Thanks to everyone who came out to our 2nd Annual Summer Barbecue on July 23rd!
It was a hot day for sure, but as you can see, we all found creative ways to keep cool. It was such a fun, relaxing time – and a great opportunity to reconnect with all our students and families outside the school.
Here’s a video from the barbecue:
If you missed this year’s barbecue, be sure to come next year!
Throughout August 2011, we’ll be working on the concept of “teamwork.”
All our discussions and activities will aim to help our students understand that successful, collaborative teamwork can shorten the time, divide the effort, and increase the morale of a group who are working towards a common goal.
To inspire your own discussions at home, here are five of our all-time favorite quotes about teamwork:
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
—Henry Ford
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
—Helen Keller
“Successful teams are powered by people who didn’t let individual egos get in the way of group triumph!”
—Dr. Robyn Silverman
“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”
—Babe Ruth
“Individual commitment to a group effort? that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
—Vince Lombardi
There’s no better way to drive home the lessons we teach at Urban Martial Arts than by reinforcing them… well, at home!
To give you more ideas for conversation topics, here’s a run-down of what we’ll be discussing this month:
Week 1 Teamwork defined: What is a team? What is teamwork? Week 2 What makes a team succeed or fail? Sportsmanship, attitude, character, effort Week 3 How can I contribute and what can I learn? Leadership, strengths, & lessons Week 4 When should I stand up vs stand strong together? Disagreements & compromise
We’d love to hear how your conversations go with your child so do share with us!
After-school programs are critical for working families because they provide supervision for kids while parents are at work. But there are many benefits for children beyond that.
1. Improve kids’ school attendance and test scores Numerous research studies have demonstrated that students enrolled in after-school programs get better grades and miss fewer days of school than students not enrolled in after-school programs. According to the non-profit organization AfterSchool Alliance, 45% of students enrolled in the federally funded after-school program 21st Century Community Learning Centers improved their reading grades and 41% improved their math grades.
2. Prevent kids from being victims of violence
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, juveniles are at most risk of becoming victim of a violent crime during after-school hours — between 2 pm and 6 pm. By keeping kids off the streets during this critical window of time, after-school programs can help keep children safe.
3. Keep children out of trouble and on track for success AfterSchool Alliance reports that kids who don’t spend time in an after-school program are 49% more likely to have done drugs and 37% more likely to become a teen parent. After-school programs can help keep kids away out of trouble by keeping them engaged with constructive activities after school.
4. Help kids develop better interpersonal skills
Children who participate in after-school programs have better social skills and improved self-confidence, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In this way, after-school programs set up children for success later on in life by developing the interpersonal skills they need to thrive in the workplace.
5. Combat childhood obesity by keeping kids active
The journal Applied Developmental Science found in a study that elementary school students enrolled in an after-school program were less likely to be obese and more likely to be accepted by their peers. Since many after-school programs incorporate fitness and sports, they can help keep kids healthy and active.
It’s the beginning of a new month, and that means it’s time for a new Powerful Word!
Throughout August 2011, we’ll be working on the concept of “teamwork.”
All our discussions and activities will aim to help our students understand that successful, collaborative teamwork can shorten the time, divide the effort, and increase the morale of a group who are working towards a common goal.
Powerful Words is the name of our character development curriculum here at Urban Martial Arts. It’s designed by one of the nation’s leading childhood development experts, Dr. Robyn Silverman. Every month, we’ll focus on a different Powerful Word, or concept around character development.
Here’s a video from Dr. Robyn Silverman in which she introduces some of the concepts we’ll be covering this month:
Successful, collaborative teamwork can shorten the time, divide the effort, and increase the morale of a group who are working towards a common goal.
Great teams accentuate strengths, compensate for weaknesses, and bring out the best in every member. Goal-getting just seems easier.
Perhaps that’s why T.E.A.M. is said to stand for “Together Everyone Achieves More” or sometimes even “Together Everyone Achieves Miracles.”
We want all children to learn about the benefits of teamwork and effective teams. Of course, all teams do not guarantee the production of teamwork nor do they always guarantee success.
Therefore while we must teach children the many positive functions of teams, we also must teach them when to speak up and challenge the culture of the team. Simply going along with the group can be just as toxic as the problem itself.
Speaking up can be tough for anyone, especially children who just want to be accepted. Yet, this is a necessary practice for leaders.
In a review paper published 2 months ago in Leadership Quarterly, Susan Murphy and Stephanie Johnson discuss the early roots of leadership.
As we want our children to emerge as leaders rather than passive followers, the connection between character development, teamwork and leadership is important.
The researchers agree that youth sporting activities tend to build initiative, teamwork, and ability to regulate emotions– all vital skills that can serve them well in future leadership roles.
This month we will talk about the benefits and challenges of working as a team.
We’ll pay attention to the teamwork that helps us to thrive in our own lives. What lessons do we learn about working with others when on a team? What lessons do we learn about ourselves?
Please share with your children your experiences with working as a team. How have they benefitted and challenged you?
There’s no better way to drive home the lessons we teach at Urban Martial Arts than by reinforcing them… well, at home!
To give you more ideas for conversation topics, here’s a run-down of what we’ll be discussing over the next 4 weeks:
Week 1 Teamwork defined: What is a team? What is teamwork? Week 2 What makes a team succeed or fail? Sportsmanship, attitude, character, effort Week 3 How can I contribute and what can I learn? Leadership, strengths, & lessons Week 4 When should I stand up vs stand strong together? Disagreements & compromise
We’d love to hear how your conversations go with your child so do share with us!
Throughout July 2011, we’ll be working on the concept of “perseverance.”
All our discussions and activities will aim to help our students understand what it means to never quit, and to stick with your goals until they are achieved.
This month’s “Dear Dr. Robyn” column is all about teaching our children about perseverance.
Dr. Robyn Silverman is the child development expert who created Powerful Words, our character development curriculum here at Urban Martial Arts.
Dear Dr. Robyn,
I was always raised to believe that you never quit something you start. I truly think my children can do anything if they just stick with it! But one of my children starts off strong with whatever the “favorite” activity is and then loses interest. How can I get her to commit and stick with it?
— Pat G, Charlotte, NC
Dear Pat,
It can be particularly frustrating to see a child start something and refuse to finish it– especially when you know the good that comes from the activity itself, realizing one’s goals and working through pitfalls. As perseverance is a precursor to future success, it’s vital that we cultivate it early.
So let’s talk about some ways to get children to persevere:
(1) Set small goals: Encourage your children to set short term goals to practice committing. This may be completing a small art or gardening project, doing a special class for a few weeks, or walking someone’s dog while the owner is on vacation. Once they can stick with these kinds of short-term goals, have them create longerterm goals as well. In this case, practice is vital!
(2) Show them how it’s done: Many children don’t realize that we set goals for ourselves. Declareyour goals publicly and talk about both the successes and the frustrations you must deal with on your journey to goal realization. And of course, talk about how proud you are that you stuck with your goal until you reached it!
(3) Create a family “vision to mission accomplished” board: At the beginning of the year, I encourage all families to create “vision” boards– poster boards with pictures, photos, text, and other reminders of one’s goals this year. To celebrate perseverance, encourage your children to mark each “mission accomplished” on their vision board with a large red mark or a photo of them after they achieve that goal. This makes perseverance more tangible and visual. It’s fun to see how far we’ve come at the end of the year!
(4) Praise and reward stick-toitveness: Perseverance has it’s advantages. Reward your children with special time with you or a celebratory call to a beloved relative to declare the good news. Provide full appreciation for their effort. They will also get the privilege of declaring a new, perhaps even “better” goal. Children and teens will automatically get the reward of achieving the goal in the first place but knowing that you noticed it and celebrate it with them will help etch the importance of perseverance in their minds.
Here’s to your success!
Dr. Robyn Silverman
* * *
There’s no better way to drive home the lessons we teach at Urban Martial Arts than by reinforcing them… well, at home! To give you ideas for conversation topics, here’s a run-down of what we’ll be discussing this month:
Week 1 – Perseverance defined: What it means to keep going and never quit
Week 2 – What gets in our way? Fears, priorities, character flaws and peer pressure
Week 3 – What keeps us going? Support-Passion-Action-Reason-Knowledge (SPARK)
Week 4 – What are the benefits of perseverance? Goal-getting, character, & confidence
We’d love to hear how your conversations go with your child so do share with us!
One of the first self-defense techniques Sensei Serge teaches new students at Urban Martial Arts is how to escape a wrist grab.
It’s nothing fancy, but this simple technique could literally save your life.
A 12-year-old girl in Salt Lake City, Utah was recently a victim of an attempted kidnapping. A man grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her into his van.
Luckily, as ABC 4 reports, she remembered the self-defense technique she learned in her martial arts class.
Adams credits her martial arts training. She says, “I remember this move that my karate teacher showed me in third grade. You twist your hand around, it hurts their hand and they let go.”
We shared Adams’ story with Brian Corrales, a martial arts teacher. He says self defense and awareness are key lessons in his class, “It’s just your gut instinct and I tell the kids that when you have an icky feeling inside, that’s something of you saying to respond and you need to get out of that situation.”
His classes are filled with girls too small to fight an attacker, but his goal is to arm them with tools to buy them time, seconds that could mean life or death. Corrales says, “The idea is to teach them one technique. You get one chance. Stun your opponent and then the child screams, yells, and they’re told to find the nearest adult.”
Photo Credit: ABC 4 Salt Lake City
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Every once in awhile, we’ll hear that a student is considering giving up on karate to pursue dance instead. People often don’t realize though, how well karate and dance complement each other.
Get 6 weeks of karate classes, plus a free karate uniform and T-shirt ($60 value) for just $179! Enter your email address below to see schedule and details.
Throughout August 2011, we’ll be working on the concept of “teamwork.”
After-school programs are critical for working families because they provide supervision for kids while parents are at work. But there are many benefits for children beyond that.
It’s the beginning of a new month, and that means it’s time for a new Powerful Word!
Throughout July 2011, we’ll be working on the concept of “perseverance.”