Lev Vygotsky offers a way for us to understand the value of peer teaching, which appears in all good dojos around the world: the sempai-kouhai relationship.
Tag: Karate
How to look after your gi
They say the suit maketh the man, and while that’s a bit narrow, it is helpful to paraphrase it as the… Read more How to look after your gi
Courage in Karate: The Role of Vulnerability
“Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional. Our only… Read more Courage in Karate: The Role of Vulnerability
Shu-Ha-Ri – The Martial Recipe
In studying, practising and teaching karate, I have come across the concept of Shu Ha Ri a few times. Of… Read more Shu-Ha-Ri – The Martial Recipe
3 Fun Ideas for Teaching Kids Karate
In my journey as a deshi, I have been given some great opportunities to come up with clever ways to… Read more 3 Fun Ideas for Teaching Kids Karate
Returning to the Dojo
One missed class can easily become three. Three classes becomes a month. Then six. Then a year. And then there’s a day when you open your cupboard and there is your gi, hanging up and gathering dust. Waiting. (And silently judging you.)
Five Reasons Why Kids Need Karate
As a partner piece to my perennial classic Eight Reasons Why Women Should Do a Martial Art, read on to see all the benefits a martial art can bring your kids.
Dear Adult Beginners: It Gets Better
But as an adult beginner, the constant corrections are overwhelming, and sometimes humiliating. It’s hard not to feel like a failure, and to think that no one else has ever been this bad at karate, or aikido, or judo, or whatever you choose to do. But you know what? There isn’t a senior who wasn’t a junior, and who doesn’t learn every day from the junior students they teach. You’re not slowing anyone down by asking for help.
Black Belt and Imposter Syndrome
There are days when it feels like I stole my black belt, that it was given to me out of pity because I’ve been around so long and always help out, and not because I have any actual skill. I am pretty sure that pity gradings are a thing.
Martial Heart Series: The Concept of Giri
Whether it is the federation that supports its instructors with consistent training by bringing in instructors from around the world, the sempai that took the time to train you on a Sunday morning on a rugby field when the dojo was closed, the junior that asks the questions that you hadn’t considered, or the Sensei who works tirelessly to keep the dojo open so that you can train with others – no one becomes a martial artist alone.
Zojo Dojo 