Blacklist August 2012 Events

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Blacklist Skillz Youth Programs

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I wanted to take this time to update all the parents and youth students on the improvements we have been working on this year. As some of you may know, I’ve been working a lot with Master Melody Shuman on what is the best way to teach children. Under her advice we divided up the classes into age groups to better teach material geared to your Childs learning abilities and stage of development. On my last trip to KRU Headquarter in New Jersey I was able to receive my Children’s Martial Arts Instructor Certification from Master Melody. It was a great honor; she is by far the top children’s Martial Arts instructor I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.

As some of you may have noticed the children now have the opportunity to test for their skill stripe every class. Each color stripe represents a different skill. There are eight basic skills in each age group and nine belts to earn. Once your child earns all eight of his skill stripes, they will then be eligible for their Skillz Evaluation and next belt rank. If your child misses classes, please contact us by Thursday to set up a makeup class! Some of the kids already have belts from the old IBJJF system. We will make these adjustments at their next belt graduation.

As I stated above, our classes are now divided up by age group as follows;

Early SKILLZ for 3 and 4-year olds

Three to four year olds love physical activity and anything involving play. They have a rich imagination and strong desire to be less dependent on their usual caregivers. With that said, a structured program introducing early skill-based training in Martial Arts can prove to be very successful. The problem is 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 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 the next age group.

Basic SKILLZ for 5 and 6-year olds

Five and six-year olds are the most enthusiastic students. They love creativity and problem solving, which makes them ideal students in the Martial Arts. The problem is they are so progressive in following tasks that some teachers tend to treat them like their older peers. This is a problem because they still do not have the basic skills necessary to keep up with children ages 7 and up. The solution is to provide them with their own program that targets their stage of development in a manner that adapts to their social and intellectual curiosity while at the same time building skills that set them up for the next age group.

Core SKILLZ for 7 to 9-year olds

Seven to nine-year olds are what most people consider "the golden age." They are proficient in their vocabulary and problem-solving skills, yet they are not at the age where they want complete independence from adults. This makes the teacher-student relationship stronger than ever. The problem is they still lack core skills, and although they are highly intelligent, they struggle to keep up with students ages 10 and up. The solution is to provide them with their own program that targets their stage of development in a manner that adapts to their adventurous attitude and youthful nature while at the same time building skills that set them up for the next age group.

Extreme SKILLZ for 10 to 14-year olds

Ten to fourteen-year olds are the smartest students in the school. Yes, they are smarter than most adults! They are also physically competent and can excel in most physical challenges that are presented to them. The problem is they are so focused on what is socially acceptable that they have a hard time keeping themselves emotionally driven to the task at hand. The solution is to provide them with their own program that targets their stage of development in a manner that nurtures their social and emotional instability while at the same time building skills that set them up for the next age group.

Gameness XT Gi is now available

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