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Prince Loeffler
03-27-2008, 12:20 AM
I thought this was a great idea that finally being out in motion. What are your thoughts. Good / bad ?

Trumansburg offers karate class for credit
Updated: 03/26/2008 05:15 PM
By: Allison Lazarz

TRUMANSBURG, N.Y. -- Yelling and breaking things. That may not sound like classroom behavior, but for Trumansburg High School's karate class it's perfectly acceptable.

"This is a full-year, credit-bearing elective. We're teaching kids about life-long activities that hopefully when they leave high school they're going to pick up on something that they're going to continue with," said Robin McColley, the Dean of Students at Trumansburg High School. McColley is also the karate class instructor.

She has been studying seido karate for 15 years. She said she hopes her students will benefit from karate like she has.

"I developed a lot of things and learned a lot of things about myself prior to starting it and I wanted students to have the opportunity to be exposed to karate as well," said McColley.

The class is an elective taught in addition to the required physical education. class. Instead of team sports, this class focuses on individual strength.

"Self-defense just in case something happens and, well, to have fun while I work because I've never really been good with that," said freshman Josiah Boggs.
Karate for credit
You won't find students sitting behind a desk in one Trumansburg High School class. The school offers a seido karate class that students can take for credit. Even though it's held in the gymnasium, as our Allison Lazarz reports, the class is not a physical-education class.


"Gym is so much more, like you just go out there and play games, whatever, and this is like your really have to focus and try and learn things and listen to Japanese," said freshman Arlene Boruchowitz.

And for students who don't know a word of Japanese before the class starts?

"Well, since it's so repetitive of what she says you eventually get used to it," said Boruchowitz.

In May the karate class will travel to New York City to meet Robin McColley's instructor, and they'll also have the chance to learn about a traditional martial arts school.

McColley said that if students take the class all four years, and attend the summer classes she offers, they can usually earn their black belt by the time they graduate.

Nii
03-27-2008, 05:18 AM
I think its a great idea. If my school had any type of martial art, I would've done it in an instant. Admittedly, we did have Zendokai in year 9, but that was more of a quick crash course than an overarching course for several years like this one...

TonyU
03-27-2008, 06:09 AM
I did it for a year at my local high school. It was an extracurricular activity. The administrator went looking for a local teacher and coincidently found our school and since I was a graduate even better. Don't know if they continued it or not but after few years later the school closed anyway.

ichibyoshi
03-27-2008, 06:14 AM
Thanks for the info Prince. I'm curious to hear about high school MA courses. I had an idea that karate and judo would be relatively common but maybe not so.

I teach kendo in a similar setting, as a classroom subject, fully-assessed elective separate to P.E. In my case it is a semester-long subject, not a full year. However we do have an after school club for those who get serious. For some interesting student reflections on their experiences, have a look here (http://www.brunswick.vic.edu.au/index.php/Opportunities-for-Students/Student-Reflections.html).

So of course I think it's a great idea. Not without pitfalls (especially with kendo, which many kids don't understand is a martial art but isn't self-defence) as you establish the culture of the particular martial art within the school's culture. AFAIK, only my school and Summerlin Academy (http://www.theledger.com/article/20071016/NEWS/710160391/1134) in the US teach kendo as a subject in school hours.

I'd be interested to know how long Robin McColley has been teaching her karate elective and what problems she's seen along the way. I have been teaching this program for three years and am just now beginning to see it embedding itself into the life of the school. Any sceptical parents (and there really are almost none) I direct to this literature review (http://userpages.itis.com/wrassoc/articles/psychsoc.htm) of studies into the correlation between traditional MA training and decreases in anti-social behaviour in adolescents.

b

Chris McLean
03-27-2008, 07:38 AM
I have been teaching Karate-do full time in a High School for 10 years through the Kick Start foundation. I have seen many miracles come out of the work and I am an example of what Karate-do can provide if you let it. For information about the foundation go here. http://www.kick-start.org/

ichibyoshi
03-27-2008, 05:04 PM
That looks like a great program Chris. How does it work, teaching wise? Do you teach in the one school, or several different schools? Is is taught as a school subject, during school hours, or is it an after-school program?

And are all the things they say about Chuck really true? ;)

b

Chris McLean
03-27-2008, 09:41 PM
I have been teaching karate-do for PE credit towards graduation for 10 years. Full time means Full time. I currently teach 6 classes a day plus I coach the afterschool program twice a week which is made of the more motivated students who really want to get the full value from the program.

Nii
03-28-2008, 07:47 AM
How many of these afterschool students are there? Do you see many motivated people? This is a pretty awesome idea =)

Chris McLean
03-28-2008, 09:44 AM
We are not a afterschool program.

Mitch Saret
03-29-2008, 12:56 PM
There is a guy in Florida, Tampa areaI believe, who recieved government approval and funding fort a martial arts based charter school. All of the faculty are MA students or yudansha and in addition to traditional HS curricula, the arts are part of it. His Name is Diego Perez.

BudoTiger
03-29-2008, 01:32 PM
i think if they would have had something like this when i was in school i would have started MA sooner and not played football probably...or been doing both.


the Kick Start foundation Chris is talking about isn't an after school program. it is actually the programs like they showed on several episodes of walker, texas ranger where the kids take martial arts classes instead of regular pe classes. it is an awesome idea and i think they should institute it nation wide personally.