Had a rather unproductive lesson tonight despite the fact that we had TWO senseis in the school. (-_-)

3 things that I found disappointing tonight:

(1) The partner that I worked, who's like 5 levels above me (but the 2nd most junior ranking student; so we got paired together) just has NO idea on anything... stances were virtually non-existent, no concept of distance and absolutely no concept of putting any force behind the punches (even in non-contact, you can tell when someone throws a proper, solid & forceful punch). Really... I had NO reason to even try and counter my partner's punches as they ended so far away that they weren't even making contact. And if they did... my 2 year old hits harder than that. *sigh*

(2) No partner rotation. I was stuck working with that same partner all night. *sigh* Last week was better when we rotated - got to work with some brown belts too.

(3) Endless use of repetitive rote learning I know that there are benefits to rote learning in the beginning of a lesson when you're familiarising students with core concepts, but once you've done that, then bloody well move on and engage in some more deep learning! But our entire lesson was based on moving from one rote activity to another. I would never even teach a Year 7 class entirely in rote (they'd go absolutely bonkers from boredom for one thing)... this was an adult class... people who are cognitively developed.

This is like my Yang Tai Chi school all over again - cos that was endless rote learning too. Teaches you the moves just fine... but did teach me to use it in a fight? Nope! Likewise each lesson I'm feeling more and more confident in executing moves and doing the katas... but do I feel like I could use any of these moves if someone suddenly jumped me in a dark alley? I doubt it. Even beginners should be able to execute what they've learnt instinctively appropriate to their ability level. i.e. a beginner should be able to execute beginner level moves like it was second nature. e.g. if some tried to kick me, I should block it with a basic gedan-barai without thinking about it. But if you kicked me now, that would not naturally come to me. Conclusion: I do _not_ have a deep understanding of gedan-barai. I can do it in a kata, I can do it in a drill (either single or with a partner) just fine... but unless I can do it in a more spontaneous scenario (e.g. spontaneous/randomised partner work, sparring etc.) then my knowledge of this block is only superficial.

The Sensei I spoke to on Sunday told me that they do lose student retention because people don't like the repetition -- and previously when I've spoken to people who "used to do Karate," and I asked them why they stopped, they usual answer is "It was too repetitive and it got boring." Sensei said that people today lack patience... well... then adapt and create more engaging lessons!! That's something that classroom teachers face everyday. It's a FACT that kids today are used to being constantly stimulated -- from the moment they wake up they have television, mobile phones, computers etc. -- then they sleep. Generation Y are used to constant stimulation. And Generation Z (those born in 1995 or later) are gonna be even worse, as they are the first generation of people who have never known the world without the internet. My daughter already knew how to shuffle through photos on a smart phone when she was 1. Welcome to the digital generation.