Some instructors, parents and myself are preparing to start kendo classes specifically for children. To facilitate that, I have compiled a list of resources that I’ve found so far in terms of: Articles, Videos, On Disciplining and Kids Who Don’t Listen Well, “Not Exactly Kendo But Related”, Kids Dojos and Associations. Comments and pointers to additional resources are welcome. This page will likely expand as I come across more resources.
Books
- Martial Arts Teachers on Teaching, edited by Carol Wiley, Frog Press, Berkeley (Recommended by Shugo-Nanseikan).
- Paul Collins, Kendo Kids Book, Book Review at Kendo-Guide.com.
Articles
- On Teaching Children
- Teaching Kendo to Children – an introduction for new instructors, Shugo-Nanseikan, Mar 1, 2014.
- Addresses the balance of games vs. skills training, fun vs. boredom:
- A simple way to avoid de-motivation is to remember to teach skills embedded within games. … One example is to have motodachi throw rubber balls at students waiting in kamae. The student must time their cut to strike the ball in mid-air as if it is an opponent’s men, kote or do. Varying the size or number of balls alters the difficulty. This challenging exercise is universally loved because it seems more difficult than it is.
- Ian Parker Dodd, Paul Budden, “Coaching Children – Guidelines for children’s practice in Kendo including competition,” Maltese Kendo Federation, Mar. 2012.
- The section “Train children th[r]ough correct etiquette” in Ota Tadanori (8 dan Hanshi), “The kendo practitioner and rei (etiquette),” translated by George McCall, kendshi247.net, May 21, 2012.
- Teaching Kendo to Children – an introduction for new instructors, Shugo-Nanseikan, Mar 1, 2014.
- On “Why” Teach Kendo to Kids
Videos
- Overviews:
- Kendo Kids by Elizabeth Jacobs, Spokane Kendo Club, Dec 9, 2014 (2:38 mins).
- Can Kids do Kendo? Spokane Kendo Club. (Children receiving bogu)
- Kendo Kids (5:49 mins), 2007 (Starting from 40 secs)
- Ryosuke Goes to Yochien : Inside a Japanese Kindergarten (11:50 mins),
- 4:47 mopping the floor exercise with hands, 7:00 rei, recitations, 7:48 suri-ashi forward and backwards with kiai, 8:16 mins, 8:20 jumping exercises, 8:25 suburi, 9:19 men-uchi with a partner, 10:00 striking shinai‘s where sensei’s holds one in each arm, 10:38 rei at end of practice. (Note: their big kiai and the use of a band drum in the practice).
- Demos:
- Classes without Bogu
- With Shinai
- Kids Kendo Class, Marcus Tries One Out (8:03 mins), First without the shinai (running, plank/burpees, jumping over a sponge shinai on to a mat), with the shinai (suri-ashi, suburi, with target)
- Botokuden Dojo Kendo class for kids (16 secs), kids doing men-uchi.
- Butokuden Dojo Kendo Practice (Kids Kendo Class) (34 secs), suburi with kiai, in the air or striking a shinai, mukusou.
- Kendo kid training (58 secs), kids doing haya-suburi.
- Kendo Kid: After 1 year of Kendo Lesson (52 secs), kid doing kiri-kaeshi.
- With something other than a shinai (e.g. sponge swords)
- With Shinai
- Classes with Bogu
- Kendo kids (2:22 mins), doing keiko.
On Disciplining and Kids Who Don’t Listen Well
Focused more on teaching very young kids (e.g. 4-6 years old) who typically have shorter attention spans.
- “Teaching Martial Arts to Children 4-6 years old,” EndlessMartialArtsDrills.com, Mar 8, 2011.
- I strongly recommend putting 4-6 year olds in their own class because they obviously require completely different teaching methods.
- …kids in this age group love using their imagination, so take a simple game and make it fun or different by allowing them to use their imagination. Examples would be telling them they are ninjas during dodgeball, or they are kicking monsters, etc.
- Change activities every 3-5 minutes because 4-6 year old attention spans cannot handle anything more. If you are going to talk, keep it under 1-2 minutes max.
- I award my 4-6 year old with a sticker at the end of every class if they didn’t have to sit in time out more than once that day. Its a great short term reward system.
- Many 4-6 year olds are not capable of understanding a goal such as a new belt in several months.
- Jesse Enkamp, “How I Taught 100 Kids Karate For 2 Hours (Without Going Insane),” KarateByJesse.com.
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Children should understand what is acceptable behavior in the dojo. Chastisement must be short and should never isolate, humiliate or intimidate. Even a punishment protocol should be fun. 10 press-ups and a quick explanation is enough.
- …if a student doesn’t sit properly or is not paying attention, I will stop talking until they become aware of their behavior. I then ask them politely if they are ready to listen.
- If it happens again, they do press-ups (no more than 10) so the student knows the boundary and understands the consequences of their behavior.
- Also describes some excellent games: Yoi, Sensei Says and the Ninja game.
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- Advice from a pre-school teacher that I found helpful:
- Something to the effect of: “Boundaries and limits are important. The children can have fun ‘within’ them.”
Not Exactly Kendo But Related
- Kids’ Ninja Classes
- Ninja Kids Fun at the Bujinkan Tasmania Dojo (2:36 mins). Jumps, rolls (forward and backwards), side jumps, forward crawls on hands and feet (forward, sideways), averting a swimming noodle strikes (horizontal, vertical) and rolling, obstacle courses, hopping on one leg, sensei wearing a star wars mask.
- Taijutsu Ninja Kids Training (2:33mins)
- Kids’ Chanbara
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Kids Chanbara fights 2010 | International Masters Tournament (2:34 mins) Fighting with sponge swords and helmets.
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Spy Cam: Chanbara | Children’s Martial Arts Plymouth | 30 Days FREE (2:30 mins)
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- Spochan (Sports Chanbara)
Some Kid’s Dojos
- Edinburgh Kendo Kids Club – Info
- TsubakiKendo.co.uk, “What can kids learn and is it safe?“
- TulsaKendo Shin Sou Fu Kan – Kid’s Kendo Camp
Association Resources