Blue Belt: Level Four

*** Before signing up for this class, all students must complete the White, Yellow, Orange, and Green belt programs, and Blue Belt Level One, Two and Three.***

Hello, karateka (the Japanese word for "karate student")! Congratulations on making to the Blue Belt Level Three program! This is the last course of the Blue Belt program before your next belt (blue-advanced belt). This session will build upon skills that you learned in the previous courses and introduce new techniques and concepts, as well as rest of your kata, Heian Godan ("Peaceful Mind Level Five"), which is the last "Heian" kata! As with previous courses, the final class will be Grading Day, where you will demonstrate everything you've learned, and how hard you've practiced, since the beginning of the course. 

[My teaching style: I will demonstrate each technique slowly first, explaining a couple of key points. I'll count the students through 10 or 20 of each technique slowly, making corrections along the way, and then we'll do another 10 or 20 at about 50% speed, and then the final 10 will be at 100% speed and power, so the students can work up a sweat and show themselves, and me, how hard and fast they can do their moves. Also, in karate, typically when the teacher counts the 10th technique, all the students verbally show their energy and spirit by shouting "Kiai!"  I refer to this as the 20-20-10 counting approach. I like to use lots of positive reinforcement, and to "say a lot with a little" when it comes to explaining the techniques, so we can spend as much time as possible actually training, rather than lecturing.   *** I strive to perform the majority of the techniques with the students, so they can follow along with me, but there will also be times when I will give them a couple of minutes of independent practice time, so that I can give individual feedback.]

Wearing a karate uniform will not be required, but it is encouraged that a white uniform and belt be purchased, available online for very reasonable prices (e.g., approximately $25 for the uniform set, or $6-9 for just the belt), or at a local martial arts supply store. 

Course Outline: (Please note that this is just a basic and malleable outline of each class, and the amount of material covered in each class will depend on how everyone progresses.)

All classes will have the same structure: introductions & expectations; warm-up; basics; main lesson; fun finishing drill; sign-off.