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Gary Dolce
11th August 2000, 00:10
I have always had questions about the best way to introduce beginners to Shorinji Kempo. I am interested in discussing different ideas for integrating beginners into practice.

To start from the very beginning - how much screening do you do of prospective students? Do you require prospective students to watch a class first? Do you require beginners to start at certain times, or do you take them whenever they are interested in starting?

Do you offer separate beginners classes or just take them aside during regular class? How long do you keep them separated from the rest of the group while they are learning the basics? What do you expect them to do before they join the rest of the class? Who teaches them during these first classes?

Thanks.

Steve Williams
11th August 2000, 21:29
Hi Gary

In answer to your questions:
No we do not have a dedicated beginners class, and we do not require them to watch a class first, on the contrary we encourage them to take part even if they express a desire just to watch. We do not screen anybody but we will ask a few questions, done any other training, any illnesses, how did you hear about Shorinji, any friends train, etc...
Also we get them to sign a form and pay a small amount of cash up front (equivalent to one session training fee, in UK about equivalent of 2 pints of beer) which gives one month third party insurence and one month membership, if they continue then they pay the remainder of one year insurence, if they train and someone is injured then we are insured etc...


These are my experiences and my current "formula" for teaching beginners:

When I started training I had a small amount of karate knowledge, Shotokan, found after the first lesson that I may just as well have started "cold" for all the good it did me, everything seemed strange and different (seemed being the operative word here).
For my first lesson I was taken aside (after warm-up) and taught by a sho-dan student, and a little by a ni-dan student, for the whole first lesson (the sensei was on holiday that week and these were the most senior kenshi at the dojo).
For the second lesson I was put into the main class but had a sho-dan kenshi next to me during kihon correcting my (many) mistakes.
After the first three or four lessons I was taken to be a "normal" member of the club.

Now that I am a branch master I try to follow a similar pattern, in that I seperate beginners from the class for at least the first lesson, maybe for more if they are uncoordinated or not "getting it", then I follow the formula described above.
I find that this works very well for my class but it is dependant on having one or two good assistant instructors.
If my class that night has no senior students then I will make it an extremely hard but extremely basic lesson, this benefits the beginner and is also very good for the kyu kenshi as evryone needs to always practice the basics.

Something that I also always do (which was advised by my sensei and he always does it, holidays notwithstanding) is spend a short time teaching the new student myself on their first lesson, usually anything from 15 minutes to one hour to spend running through basic kihon and movement, I find that this gives them a sense of being part of the club even on their first visit, and helps them to realise that you are indeed human and you do put the Shorinji philosophy to practical use. I have seen many Karate and Kung Fu teachers not even talk to junior grades because they consider it beneath them or some other silly reason (please note I said many not all, as I know Karate and Kung Fu teachers who regularly teach beginners also).


I hope this is of help to your questions.

Tripitaka of AA
21st August 2002, 06:57
Steve Sensei, if I was a beginner, I'd be happy to come to your class :D.

It can get a bit tricky when "beginners" can arrive with such diverse backgrounds. I recall a yellow belt that was very highly ranked in Jiu-jitsu in the same class as a Green belt kenshi who had still got problems co-ordinating the most basic footwork. I think the basic principles of "start at the beginning" are still valid even in those extreme situations, but it does highlight the need for the Instructors to ask a few questions first, just for the sake of Safety.

I was surprised to find no other responses to this thread. Yes, I am going through all the old threads ;)

Steve Williams
21st August 2002, 19:41
Oh no.... not another old thread ressurected by David Noble....... :eek:


Well those rambling were made almost 2 years ago.....


Now I have attained enlightenment...... everyone who comes through the door now gets absolutely hammered.... I have found the "dark side" of Shorinji...... it is more powerful..... it will get you too......






Must stop drinking now.... :D :D :D :D :D :D :p :p

Steve Williams
21st August 2002, 19:44
BTW David....

It is not Steve Sensei..... just Steve.


Now if you come to my branch it can be Steve Sensei, but as you started (and attained dan grade) before me then, in a Japanese way of thinking you are my sempai, even though I now have a higher grade than you.....


Now if that is not confusing enough?????




Maybe I will start drinking again :D ;) :p ;)

Tripitaka of AA
22nd August 2002, 16:57
Originally posted by Steve Williams
Oh no.... not another old thread ressurected by David Noble....... :eek:




You'd better watch out Steve S... S... S... Sensei (I tried, I really tried)!

As I was saying, you'd better watch out, as I was planning a reply to the longest thread of all, the one about Randori in Taikai! (:eek: Run for the Hills!!!!!) ... but I need another few days to finish reading it ;)

Hope I'm not boring anyone with my one-man assault on the archives, but it is a very stimulating site.

Steve Williams
22nd August 2002, 23:41
Originally posted by Tripitaka of AA

Hope I'm not boring anyone with my one-man assault on the archives, but it is a very stimulating site.

No not boring at all..... (well ok just a little.. ;) )

It is actually quite refreshing to re-read some old threads, although it is quite frightening to re-read what you wrote a year or two ago :eek:


It must be giving you some itchy feet to come back to train (either that or you now realise it was a great move to get away from these nutters.... :D :p )

tony leith
5th September 2002, 11:38
Going back to the original theme of the thread, I've spent most of my kempo 'career' in university dojos. the main advantage of university dojos (apart from free training facilities!) is that there is pretty much a guaranteed influx of new members every year. This also is the main disadvantage, as the numbers of beginners can be overwhelming. It fluctuates considerably from year to year, but you can have situations where the beginners are more numerous than the existing members.

Over the years we've experimented with various solutions to this - trying split classes for the more senior grades, for example. What seems to work best - apart from the 'all hand s to the pumps' stage in the first week or so when beginners obviously benefit from a fair amount of individual attention - is integrating them into normal practice as soon as possible. Generally, it seems that the more you push people, the faster they'll learn (though of course university students aren't necessarily representative of the population at large).

This also seems to be better for the overall training atmosphere as it reinforces group cohesion. At times we've probably gone too far in sacrificing more advanced technical training for the benefit of beginners, but in the last few years I think there's been more effort made to ensure that graded members can keep progressing through their syllabus. Nevertheless, the benefits of training with beginners are reciprocal - most members of the Glasgow dojo are probably better off in terms of their syllabus knowledge and recall of techniques than in most clubs, because they've been involved in teaching since their second year of practice..

Tony Leith

Gary Dolce
5th September 2002, 16:00
Gassho,

A very belated thank you to Steve for his insights in his original reply (better late than never, but 2 years is stretching it a bit! - my apologies). And thanks to David for resurrecting it, and to Tony for adding new thoughts.

The approach Steve described is virtually identical to the approach used when I first started Shorinji Kempo at a university Branch. After I started my own Branch (not university affiliated), I started experimenting with some different strategies for handling newcomers. I do ask some screening questions when people contact me, which allows me to encourage the occasional wacko to try something else instead.

I have had less success with some of the other changes. For the past couple of years, I have been asking newcomers to watch a class first. But I think that our old approach of encouraging them to try it the first time they show up worked better. I think people just get bored watching a class.

I have also tried specifying that beginners could only start at certain times (e.g., first week of the month). This has advantages of allowing us to teach a group of newcomers at once and making beginners feel a little less isolated. But in the end, our influx of new people is so sporadic that I don't think this has helped much.

So, in general I am moving back to the way we have always done it. It gives me new respect for the value of tradition.

BTW - it would be interesting to compare the differences between university clubs and "public" clubs. I miss the enthusiasm and energy of practicing and socializing with a bunch of 18-22 year olds with lots of time on their hands. I don't miss dealing with the social tensions as they paired off and then broke up. I miss the steady influx of new blood every fall, but I don't miss the regular departure of students just as they are starting to get experienced. I miss the free facilities, but don't miss fighting with the university bureaucracy every year for space.

Gary