Introducing the Internationally-Acclaimed Early SKILLZ Program!
Martial Arts Classes for Children Ages 3 - 4
Three to four year old children greatly take pleasure in physical activity and everything relating to play. At this age, children possess a powerful imagination and intense yearning to be more independent; they desire their independence, yet. The problem we discovered is that many children this age have a hard time with structure in a group environment like what is commonly found in most Martial Arts schools. The solution we found is to provide them with their own program that targets their stage of development in a manner that keeps them entertained while at the same time building skills that set them up for success. With that said, a structured program introducing early skill-based training in Martial Arts has proven to be very successful.
Here is an overview for the stages of development of children ages 3 and 4:
Physically - They typically have low tone and poor hand-eye-coordination.
Initially we expect them to drop their arms when punching and fall when kicking or jumping. We also expect them to have no concept of spatial awareness; therefore, they will drop things that are thrown to them and bump into people and obstacles often.
The goal for our program is to get them to punch without dropping their arms; kick without falling; jump without falling; and catch objects thrown from various directions and distances.
Intellectually - Children in this age group typically have a limited vocabulary; consequently, learning is normally limited to visual and kinesthetic activities.
In the beginning, we expect them to lose focus when activities are over-complicated. We also expect them to struggle with commands that have more than two instructions.
The goal for our program is to get them to follow verbal commands with no visual demonstration. Additionally, our goal is for them to remember rules and commands without continually reminded.
Emotionally- During this stage of development, children typically have strong preferences and anxieties; subsequently, they will normally act up or rebel when their emotions get out of control.
We expect them to run off the mat when they have anxiety. We also expect them to shut down when something either scares them or does not go their way.
The goal for our program is to help them follow directions and persevere through an activity even if they are initially emotional.
Socially - We expect children this age to behave in a very self-centered way; furthermore, due to their limited vocabulary they often use physical contact as there most common form of communication.
They are more prone to mock each other, such as falling when a classmate falls. We also expect them to crash into things when they are excited, because they are still physically developing.
The goals for our program are to help them build good social skills such as spatial awareness; not interrupting when others are talking; and taking turns properly.
By understanding the stages of development of 3 and 4-year old children, we were able to select 8 age-appropriate skills that make up the Early SKILLZ Program:
KICKING
PUNCHING
BLOCKING
CRAWLING
HOPPING
ROLLING
RUNNING
CATCHING
We cover one of the skills listed above each class (in order.) During each class, we run a warm-up; deliver a mat chat about the skill; run two or three skill-building drills and then we have them demonstrate the skill to earn their skill-stripe. They must earn all eight skill-stripes in order to graduate to the next belt level. Once they earn their next belt, they will continue to run through all eight skills earning their skill-stripes with more challenging curriculum as they advance to each rank. They graduate to the Basic SKILLZ program after they have successfully completed all nine belt ranks of the Early SKILLZ program.
Here is an example of what a white belt must demonstrate for each of the eight skills above in order to earn their next belt:
KICKING – Front kicking in the air, alternating legs. They must be able to execute ten kicks in a row alternating legs in order to pass.
PUNCHING - Straight punching in the air, alternating arms. They must be able to execute ten punches in a row alternating arms in order to pass.
BLOCKING - High blocking in the air, alternating arms. They must be able to execute ten high blocks in a row alternating arms in order to pass.
CRAWLING - Bear crawling across the mat. They must be able to bear crawl up and down the floor without their knees or elbows touching the mat in order to pass.
HOPPING - Hopping down the floor with both feet. They must be able to hop down the mat with both feet together and without falling, five times in a row in order to pass.
ROLLING - Rolling a ball down the floor. They must be able to roll a ball down the floor while alternating hands and keeping at least one hand on the ball at all times, in order to pass.
RUNNING - Running down the floor. They must be able to run down the floor as fast as possible without falling in order to pass.
CATCHING - Catching a ball thrown underhand from one step away. They must be able to catch a ball five times in a row in order to pass.
As you can see, we take Martial Arts training to a completely new level! We use early elements of traditional Martial Arts curriculum to build skills that are appropriate for three and four year old children. This means that your child will learn and grow at a pace that is not too easy, nor too challenging. The best part is the Early SKILLZ program will equip your child with skills that they will utilize in every area of their life and it prepares them for the Basic SKILLZ program, which is the next step in their martial arts training.
6 Week Special ($150.00 Value) Your child will receive two 45 minutes classes for 6 weeks and a free uniform. Children must pass a pre-evaluation to determine if their social, emotional, intellectual and physical attributes that are appropriate for their age group, which will help to insure their success in our martial arts programs.