Postby Rod-Thornton » Sun Aug 27, 2006 2:58 pm
My question is how much are we allowed to teach youth. They have access to the non-member side of the website, any books, and the tutoring of the adults in the group. We have allowed them to learn some of the physical aspects... stance, steps, and the 8-cut drill. We just started using a staff drill as part of the muscle warm-up.
The website states: "but official curricula instruction is provided only to full members."
What is protocol? What can we teach them until their membership is approved... What can be taught when they official?
Please share what approaches are used to teach about character, ethics, and chivalric values.[/quote]
Hey Denise.... since no one else has chimed in yet, I'll toss in my two cents worth... I too have a kid who's a bona fide ARMA Youth member, and does more than just let the claim of membership sit in a desk drawer.
-My 13yr old daughter is an active participant in the Virginia Beach study group and has been actively training with them now for a little just over a year.
She got the interest by the third training session watching Dad . She's serious about learning a martial art and committed, having given up her Saturday mornings to trek the 1 1/2 hour trip up to VAB from NC each week thus far to train and she gets no breaks either....when her form's poor or technique is lacking, our study group leader gives her the equal course-corrections anyone else would get. Having said that, all I can say is this -
1. Focus on the basics, including, but not limited to all the basic stances for longsword, guards, footwork -footwork -footwork drills, tipogressions, and practice at the pell doing the meisterhau....pell practice pellpractice pellpractice....and then some more... It is quite unglamorous, but ingraines the basic and instinctive forms necessary to attack and defend with the longsword. When they are proficient in single attacks, then begin to put them together.... Like say, to the pell - a zornhau right then zwerchau left then shiller right, then another left...and put as many together in a multiple attack as ability allows. It will condition them and teach good combo follow-through. It will also be a great cardio-vascular workout.
2. Later, as that comes together, do all the basic absetzen and versetzen drills with partners and masks. 1/2 speed to understand the mechanics, then at actual speed as skill levels allow. A common mantra our instructor teaches her is go as slow as you need to until you develop the form of it...but then go as robustly as your good form will allow with appropriate energy. The result, some cuts suck and still need work, but some cuts really come together and some defenses develope the instinctive trait necessary to pull them off in freeplay.
3. Of course, sparring is next. She maybe a peanut, but gets no breaks there either. This past week she got a good clock cleaning by Shane for her inability to throw in more than 2-3 cuts at any one time and so she paid for it, but then again, the double unterhau she launched after a hengen caught me squarely across the wrists on the second one with a pass back. So....while I recommend proper safety equipment and parental permissions, let them spar. Our instructor did have to make a smaller longsword padded sparring weapon though since the collective study group gear was all far too heavy and oversized. Remember though, that while the weapon is the great equalizer (hey, isn't that while they used them?) the kids maybe a little smaller and so intensity can be ratched back a tad...e.g., while our crew will, when sparring, not give anything in to a lazy or sloppy fencer, they also don't throw her or do any severe joint binds and throws, since I think she only weighs about 80 pounds wet.
4. As they show real commitment to it, other weapons may then be taught as well. In addition to reading the books we have, my daughter has found she likes learning the dagger as well, and she's been taught that as well as a number of ringen techniques that , alas, she has practiced through the week on her poor brother. (We don't encourage that, but times are he deserved it).
To your point, what will they learn? I asked my daughter that and her response was:
a. "How to go about defending myself."
b. "How to have a commitment and stick to something not easy to get or learn right away."
c. "Pride, cuz although I still get scared, I will stand in the ring with guys like Matt and Shane and fight."
d. "How to really use weapons the right way and tell when other people don't know how to."
e. "Alot of history stuff."
I'd like to think that besides her list, she's also learning
1. personal discipline,
2. a small measure of self confidence,
3. a little courage,
4. a little about how to accept criticism constructively, and
5. perhaps, how to learn being comforatable with doing the uncomforatable.
Hopefully that helps you in understanding how her training is developing what you called her character, ethics, chilvaric values, while also showing a strong good foundation of basics (cuz you're only as good as your basics!) to the martial art for when they grow in it and develop as adult members. It sure ain't gonna come as a lightswitch though, but rather with the slow grind of time and when enough of it passes, you look back on it and say, wow....it all added up. cool!
Rod W. Thornton, Scholar Adept (Longsword)
ARMA-Virginia Beach Study Group
