It’s about a week since the announcement of our webpage. I have received a lot of support both in words as well as financially. I am very grateful for this. I will pay forward by utilizing the fundings towards popularizing Judo, educating children for a prosperous life through the spirit of Judo.
Summer break is over in Chicago and starting September 7th, the Junior Class (ages 7 to 14) and toddler class (Cubby Class – ages 4 to 6) has restarted at the Dojo!!
Practices are on vacation during Summer Vacation – US Style…lol
Kids I haven’t met in a while approach me yelling “Megumi! Megumi!” was so cute. This gave me a real soft feeling, but I had to switch my mind to go through the 3 hours of coaching. I believe my coaching was executed properly. However, my English is still Toddler class…
Although this is in the United States, the class is Japanese style.
- Starts with a warm up session for 20 minutes (Running and Stretching)
Words like EBI (Shrimp) and KAME (Turtle Position) need no translation!! - Next comes “Strengthening and Conditioning” for 20 minutes.
This is tough for kids, but during this phase, this is more important than WAZA (the JUDO techniques) The challenge is how to motivate kids to go through this…
For kids, Piggy Backs and Dashes are popular. - Then comes the Technical Session for 30 minuts.
This is where the JUDO techniques fall in. I can teach with body language, but not oral…yet. - Last is RANDORI (similar to sparring) – 5~6 rounds of 3 minutes.
Although they’re kids, it’s a serious bout. Kids to taller and bigger than in Japan so if you try to wing it, they can get you. I need to build their confidence up and at the same time improve skills that match each individual.
As a freshman in coaching, I learn something new everytime.
This 90 minute class is 1 set. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, I go through 2 sets (Kids and Cubby) for a total of 3 hours. Not only the body, but the language portion also burns me down quickly, Everyday when I am done, I am totally exhausted.
However, my room for improvement is infinite – my US Judo life has just started!!
