Teaching a Kids Class

[Sharla]

Hi,

I've been asked by a swimming coach to teach a class of kids some boxing. It's only meant to be a bit of fun cross training to inject something different into their swimming training.

Difficult part is that I'll be doing it at the pool I think. There's a reasonable amount of lawn area I can get them working on but not much else.

No bags, I might be able to borrow one set of pads but then they'd really need wraps and gloves for pad work anyway......

I haven't agreed to do it yet - I want to know I have something I can do with them that they'll enjoy.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to teach a boxing class with little equipment but enough variety to keep them happy - especially since they're swimmers not boxers so won't be very serious?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[donnydarkoIRL]

Hey Sharla
Did you volunteer or were you volunteered

With kids it's easy for them to lose interest, so you have to be an authoritarian, whilst still being friendly and approachable. It may be a good idea to get some of the parents involved to ensure that the calss doesn't get away from you.

I find the best way to keep kids under control is to have the class working in unison, so they have to concentrate and they don't get any popportunity to distract each other.

Maybe start with a warm up...
The class jogs in a circle together. Then they shuffle in a circle, then reverse the shuffle. Then raisning the legs to get the heels touvcing the plams behind your butt. Have them do it all together and keep moving. If they swim, they're likely to be pretty flexible, so keep them moving and motivated!

If there's one thing this calss could serve to teach is stretching. Get them to stretch and teach them the correct techniques. This may not result in them taking up boxing, but it will teach them stretches that may save them from injury in future. (I wish someone had taught me to stretch when I was young!)

Maybe then you can form two lines. Have them face each other 3 - 4ft apart. Teach them the step-jab pivot right technique and have them practise, the lines help them visualise a target and also provides a fun element.
Move the lines closer and have them learn to parry and block. Get them to practise various defences, but make sure they slow it down if you are going to do slips as things get messy.

The purpose of the line is to have structure in the class. In an organised manner kids are more likely to remain obedient and behave. They'll also learn more quickly.

I'd move on to some calisthenics then.
Of course this could disrupt the calss, as there will be several different kids on different levels, so perhaps you may prefer to have them perform star jumps etc.
Again form two lines, for shadowboxing. Elaborate on the punches they've already learned and teach them hooks.
Have them follow your lead as a boxercise class would. 1-2-hook, 1-2, 1-2-3 etc. etc.

Again partner them up. Have them rotate in circles. Teaching them to go right rather than left and change it up every so often.

I'd then do some sprints, which can be fun and exhausting. Finish up with a cold down and stretch again.

Very Important!!!!-Kill any southpaws in the group. They are an inconvieniance and a menace to boxers in future

Oh and sorry if I refered to the kids like little animals, with the terms obediant and behave...
It's just, boxing is controlled violence. In a class where there will be kids of various weights, ages and physical aptitudes accidents and bullying can happen. The only way to avoid that is to keep the kids 100% under your spell.

Good luck Sharla Dude and If you want anymore ideas, I'll come up with some, although I suspect you've got plenty!

[Andre]

How old are they?
You could have them move forwards basically and punch straight with each arm ,then all jump in the shallow end of the pool and do the same and slowly walk up to your shoulders doing the same thing.

Spread them out or some smart ass will clock his mate or a chick for sure.

[Sharla]

Thanks Hitmandonny and Andre!

Lots of ideas there Hitmandonny. I like all of the little gems of child psychology you have there to help me keep things from becoming too uncontrollable.

Great idea of getting them to do their moves in the pool too Andre! don't know why I didn't really think of using the pool!

I was dobbed in to do it since my mum swims with the coach of the squad and has talked about my boxing.

I was a bit hesitant about doing it because it's tricky enough finding time for my own training as it is sometimes but I think they're only looking for an occasional session and you've both given me plenty of ideas so no more excuses!

I don't know how old they are but I get the impression that they vary in age. I guess I'll call their swimming coach and get some more info and draw up a rough plan and post it here for any more feedback.

[Canvasback]

Hey Sharla
Did you volunteer or were you volunteered

With kids it's easy for them to lose interest, so you have to be an authoritarian, whilst still being friendly and approachable. It may be a good idea to get some of the parents involved to ensure that the calss doesn't get away from you.

I find the best way to keep kids under control is to have the class working in unison, so they have to concentrate and they don't get any popportunity to distract each other.

Maybe start with a warm up...
The class jogs in a circle together. Then they shuffle in a circle, then reverse the shuffle. Then raisning the legs to get the heels touvcing the plams behind your butt. Have them do it all together and keep moving. If they swim, they're likely to be pretty flexible, so keep them moving and motivated!

If there's one thing this calss could serve to teach is stretching. Get them to stretch and teach them the correct techniques. This may not result in them taking up boxing, but it will teach them stretches that may save them from injury in future. (I wish someone had taught me to stretch when I was young!)

Maybe then you can form two lines. Have them face each other 3 - 4ft apart. Teach them the step-jab pivot right technique and have them practise, the lines help them visualise a target and also provides a fun element.
Move the lines closer and have them learn to parry and block. Get them to practise various defences, but make sure they slow it down if you are going to do slips as things get messy.

The purpose of the line is to have structure in the class. In an organised manner kids are more likely to remain obedient and behave. They'll also learn more quickly.

I'd move on to some calisthenics then.
Of course this could disrupt the calss, as there will be several different kids on different levels, so perhaps you may prefer to have them perform star jumps etc.
Again form two lines, for shadowboxing. Elaborate on the punches they've already learned and teach them hooks.
Have them follow your lead as a boxercise class would. 1-2-hook, 1-2, 1-2-3 etc. etc.

Again partner them up. Have them rotate in circles. Teaching them to go right rather than left and change it up every so often.

I'd then do some sprints, which can be fun and exhausting. Finish up with a cold down and stretch again.

Very Important!!!!-Kill any southpaws in the group. They are an inconvieniance and a menace to boxers in future

Oh and sorry if I refered to the kids like little animals, with the terms obediant and behave...
It's just, boxing is controlled violence. In a class where there will be kids of various weights, ages and physical aptitudes accidents and bullying can happen. The only way to avoid that is to keep the kids 100% under your spell.

Good luck Sharla Dude and If you want anymore ideas, I'll come up with some, although I suspect you've got plenty!

This is some good advice. A number of years ago I got roped into teaching a Saturday morning kids karate class. Most kids have short spans of attention and get bored easily. You have got to keep things fun and interesting with no downtime. As soon as you reach a point where you don't have a plan on what to do next in the class you can lose control of the kids very easily. Other than that, it's kind of a fun experience. Best of luck.

[Sharla]

All good thanks Canvas back - i think I'll laminate (to waterproof them) some cards so if I'm ever stuck for an activity I'll just grab one rather than relying on my brain and risking drawing a blank.

[Scrap]

Dont train them in water Sharla to risky for the young. Can damage the upper vertabrae.

[Sharla]

Oh yeah I remember you saying something about it only being safe with water up to a certain height. Thanks for reminding me Scrap I'll keep that in mind!

[Andre]

Dont train them in water Sharla to risky for the young. Can damage the upper vertabrae.

Still wont let me rep you for a while!

Good pick up for the young, thanks.

How old are they by the way, Sharla?

[Chris Nagel]

Hi Sharla et al, it's been a while hasn't it.

How many kids do you have under wing now? If it's a decent sized group you can try out the mass boxing approach like the army guys would do. In the beginning it'd have the feel of an aerobics class, but you can't go wrong with the structure of it and where it leads to.

For starters you could run them through the stance/posture and on guard position. Make sure you emphasise and demonstrate the position of their hands, elbows, feet, hips and head. Good posture is so fundamental that when balance and movement is taken care of, finess and magic can grow from it.

Once they stand well enough to look like boxers, have them go to the next step by making them move like boxers. The simple idea to make them realize is that moving forward is accomplished by pushing off of their back foot, and not a step and drag motion that would put them off balance. Once they understand the "why" everything else will make sense no matter if they are stepping left/right, forward or backwards.

Just be on the look out for mistakes, and spend plenty of time to work on the mechanics of movement. There are a lot of good posts on this board that you can refer back to in order to give you a better idea.


P.S. Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to try to swim while wearing boxing gloves?

[Sharla]

Hi Chris

I think it is possible to swim wearing boxing gloves just not very well and not if you love your gloves!

Thanks for the input Chris. To be honest I haven't started training these kids yet because I've been too flat out with uni work!

Hopefully things will ease up for me at uni soon and I can get started.

I don't think it will be happening too often since it's just cross training from their usual swimming so I doubt I'll be able to train them as thoroughly as I might kids who are training to learn to box but I will try to make it fun.

I will be coming back to this thread probably next week to draw up a plan and get started with them then.

[nutrick]

hey there sharla, how's this going? i'd hella join your kid's class if i could =P

[Sharla]

Hi nutrick,

I've been to busy to commit to anything just yet!

I really want to help them out and I do have teaching a kids class down on my 'bucket list' (things I want to do before I kick the bucket) but I think it's just not going to happen for a while unfortunately!

I'm going to keep all the suggestions I've got here in mind though so I can offer to help out later when things are not so hectic though!