Scott Taylor

Using S.M.A.R.T. Techniques To Make Your Karate Drills More Effective & More Enjoyable

The are many was to improve your methods of teaching classes. Be it the highest senior or to the junior rank being given his first teaching assignment; who wouldn't like to improve their teaching ability?

Nobody likes boring or unorganized classes. Even teaching your core senior students can lead to frustration if you cannot convey what you need to or the class structure is lacking.

One of the easiest ways to help this is to write clear, organized lesson plans for weekly classes.

Another method to running smooth, enjoyable classes is by following a few simple rules when building your lessons.

S.M.A.R.T. - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed

The first three points are examples of actual dialogue to illustrate the point.

Specific: “The purpose of this drill for the next 5 minutes is to focus on getting your knee up for the front kicks.”

Measurable: “Okay, to begin with let's hold our front leg up in the initial chamber position; note where your knee is in relation to your belt. This is your benchmark; we will focus on raising the chamber position an additional 2-3 inches.”

Achievable: “A 2-3 inch increase in height is a realistic and achievable goal for this class; we will continue to try an increase the chamber position to reach our desired goal, small steps!”

Realistic: Set realistic goals for your classes, students need the confidence to be able to see these immediate in-class achievements. Realistic goals is nothing more than shooting for the moon one step at a time; instead of 'demanding' a student be able to do a particular move, technique right there in class they need to have the encouragement keep practicing to reach what ever goal you have set for them.

Timed: Spend just as much time as it is necessary to teach and reach the goals you are setting for class; drawing a drill out too long will just lead to boredom for your class; this can be especially seen when the drill is going well and the students are performing as they should be. Once the point is made and understood you should move on.

When you give a clear idea of what is expected and an exact method to reach a solution to the problem at hand, you are building a better chance of success.

There are many different methods to use to improve the clarity of your teaching, this S.M.A.R.T. Method is just one of a number of proven concepts.

Good luck, train hard!

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