Health & Fitness
Little Ninjas is a BIG Kick
Martial Arts program for pre-schoolers. A fast-paced, age appropriate karate class geared towards positive reinforcement, quick feedback, and important life skills.
As a school just starting out we really want to listen to what people are asking for and plan our programs accordingly. We had already planned to offer karate classes to ages 3 and up, but not until now did we quickly figure out which program would be the big winner. Well, its our Little Ninjas!
Little Ninjas is a pre-school program designed specifically for the busy-body 3-6 year olds who aren't quite ready for a full-blown karate class. Even though the students learn basic techniques like to punch, kick and block, the class is more geared towards having fun and moving at a quick pace. Three to six year olds tend to flit from idea to idea very quickly and can be easily distracted; just standing still for a few seconds can be asking a lot. We know this and that's why, as an observer, you will notice we don't spend too much time on any one thing.
It's not just that the kids get to burn off extra energy in these fast-paced half an hour classes, its also the valuable lessons they get to take home. Every week we work on one skill. Senpai Erin (Little Ninja Instructor) plays one game that incorporates the skill, then she sits down with them to talk about the skill on their level. If the lesson is discipline, for example, she explains the word in a way they can understand and then gives examples of how they can demonstrate the skill. About every week the kids earn a stripe that correlates to the skill (discipline=orange). This way the kids are constantly being rewarded for their new skill. Senpai Erin will then revisit the skills in class to try and keep them fresh. Once all eight skills are taught, the Little Ninjas have a couple weeks of review and then promote to the next belt color. The process is repeated with a gradual increase in difficulty with all eight skills.
Little Ninjas does not over complicate karate for these little ones. Essentially the Little Ninjas program is a prequel to a traditional karate system. We are sparking the interest and laying the ground work so that when the little ones are old enough they will be able to enter the regular program equipped with important, basic life skills.
