Black Belt Learning Skills 101

Welcome to the May Teach/Learn Blogging Carnival, ‘Kids and Learning.’

The Teach/Learn Blogging Carnival hosted by Science@home is for anyone, because we are all teachers and learners. This month our bloggers have come up with some wonderful suggestions for fun things to do with your kids, ways to help them learn and thoughts on what learning is. Please read to the end to find links to other blogs, you might find a wonderful new blog to follow.

Entry form available at http://science-at-home.org/teach-learn/

Information on article submission

• Theme: Kids and Learning
• Due: 11th May
• Date: 18th May

Black Belt Learning Skills 101 by Colin Wee

Overview
This post is an article submission for the ‘Kids and Learning’ themed Science@home Teach/Learn Blogging Carnival, with working title ‘How to Study Like a Black Belt.’ The article explores issues of learning and recall during challenging situations. The objective is to help parents think about the processing of studying or learning and the need for clear recall. While it can be used to hone up test taking skills, good learning processes can be applied in all other areas of life. A follow up to this article is available at A Child’s Perspective on Support Needed for Sport.

The Challenge of My Life
In 1991, I found myself speeding down a long road on a mountain somewhere in the south of France and near the Italian border. The wind whipped at my face. I was alive with the rush. As the road was coming up fast ahead, I stayed focused on keeping control of the bike. Suddenly, something very wrong started occurring. The handlebars of my bicycle were taking on a life of their own, wobbling and vibrating. At that speed, I was hoping I was imagining it.

An Accident About to Happen
I was still going in a straight line, but it was clear that I couldn’t hold the handlebar steady. With increasing dread, I realised the front wheel must have blown. Pretty soon I’d lose control of the bike, and without having any protection on, I’d have nothing between my skin and at least 20 metres of road. Head injuries were a big possibility too, given I wasn’t issued any proper head protection.

Aside from massive abrasions, I might also sustain head injury …  It was bleak.

The decision not to go down with the bike and to take control of my own fall was made very quickly (see The Single Most Important Lesson in Martial Arts). With no time to lose I jammed the handlebars to the left, tucked into the most perfect forward roll of my life. The first two rolls were perfect, huge forward turns with pressure displaced all along my body. I started barreling on the third cycle. The last two were left in the hands of fate. On what was to be the sixth rotation, I found myself sitting on the bitumen upright.

Surviving and Walking Away Unscathed
In disbelief I stood up and patted myself down. My hands were numb from the cold and couldn’t feel much through the adrenaline, but there were no broken bones nor head injuries. I had some light abrasions on my left elbow, right shoulder and left hip. But I had done the unthinkable, I literally took my life in my own hands, jumped off abike travelling around 60kmh without protective equipment and walked away on my own two feet.

The amazing thing is that in that split second, I accessed skills that I had acquired in only about a month of practice during my early teen years, and had only rehearsed them infrequently since. Whilst I was then already a black belt, those skills were in no way a major part of our focus. Basically I pitted beginner level rolling skills against a life threatening situation and performed them perfectly.

How to Study Like a Black Belt
The black belt however, is not the end of a person’s martial arts journey. It is really only the beginning. The young black belt has a good overview of the basics and is ready to start looking at the martial arts in earnest. Black belts however, are equipped to think on their feet and to string together basic skills. In this way, the black belt becomes more than the sum of his individual training. This approach is what I am dissecting for those parents interested in further developing their child beyond what he gets at school and those who might want to improve on children asking you ‘how to study.’

… the black belt becomes more than the sum of his individual training.

Thinking Clearly on the Black Belt Path
When a black belt first graduates there are just too many techniques for any one to be an expert in all of them. To maximise those techniques that aren’t practiced extensively, we have to endow the black belt candidate with the mental skill of thinking clearly. The following video shows some of what we do in my martial arts club; it’s included purely for entertainment.

If I were to summarise it quickly for parents, black belt training is:

• Basics: Learning all basic theories or lessons correctly and clearly
• Variations: Applying those basics and vary them in order to build on understanding
• Perspective: Understanding or being aware of the teaching behind theoretical lessons

Aside from clear thinking, the black belt also needs to remain calm and apply themselves properly to challenges. The following are my top 5 tips on how to skip all the difficulties represented by martial arts training yet be able to recall past techniques (or knowledge) to save your life – just like a black belt:

Top Five Tips of How to Prepare for Challenges like a Black Belt

1. Focus only on a few things at a time. Black belts can’t retrieve lots of information at once. We simplify by making educated assumptions and choose easy solutions when possible. For students figuring out how to study, this translates to understanding the nature of the test faced, sticking with simple clear logic when dealing with each question, and to use chunking or mnemonics to help remember information. Parents can help their children see reasonable and logical ways of approaching testing challenges.
2. Train for the challenges you face. If you were to face a difficult opponent, there’s no point just practicing basics in the air. You need to replicate the challenge during practice or you would not be adequately ready. My advice for students studying to be ready for a specific test: if I had an exam in the morning, then the student should study and try to recall information in the morning. If they had to answer something in a specific time, then they should have their ability to retrieve speed tested in the morning. Parents should make sure that testing conditions are replicated whilst assessing how best to study and/or look for online tools to help with test preparations.
3. Get used to the unknown. The black belt facing a new opponent or a new challenge experiences fear and adrenaline just like normal folk! But this fear doesn’t lead to paralysis because the black belt is anticipating this and is used to it. Similarly, a student needs to be able to cope with elevated anxiety levels. As such, he should study and pressure test himself/herself in locations other than his/her room. Parents can bring the student out of his/her comfort zone and make sure the learning and retrieval process continues. Going on a picnic or similar outing? Bring along learning materials and get the student to access past knowledge in different emotional states.
4. Know the game rules. A 17yo black belt isn’t expected to deal with a crazed knife-wielding attacker. We know the rules of training, the objectives of the training, and what we’re expected to do. We rise up to progressive challenges naturally. Students should improve their test-taking skills by dissecting the structure of their tests, understanding how to time themselves on each section, and how best to approach specific questions. They should also prepare for questions they cannot answer. Parents can help in this process through discussing various learning/testing scenarios.
5. Go into competition rested. The black belt is tested often. On the journey to black belt there are gradings every 3-4 months, competitions and demonstrations. The prevailing wisdom is for black belts to go into each competition well rested. No point in driving yourself to the brink of exhaustion and test yourself while your body is recovering. The student similarly should never cram before his exam. If anything, the student should aim to cram and finish his studies at least one to two weeks before the exam. Leading up to the exam, the student should rest, ensure proper recall and retrieval of information, and have good sleeps. Parents should ensure that students know how to relax and unwind. You need your weekends, tv, and holidays. So do they!

While this post discusses a particular approach to learning and testing, I personally do not advocate comparative testing for children too early on nor do I promote parents pushing young children too hard academically (see NAPLAN Fraud Claim Today).

As testing and the stressors that accompany life will ultimately surface, good healthy learning and preparation should thus be developed incrementally. Parents can use Black Belt Learning Skills 101 to start thinking about playing an active role to help their children develop awareness of how best to rise to challenges.  Remember: stick to basics, introduce variations, and develop perspective.

Children will surely appreciate your efforts and involvement, and at the same time gain skills to dedicate themselves like a true black belt.

If you enjoyed this article, you might just enjoy reading Coaching Your Children Through Suzuki Violin.

Internal Links

• Primary School Mathematics
• Kids Sport, and Martial Arts as a High Level Sport
• Hear Music Play Music
• School Holidays – Art Over Maths

External Links

• Build a Tower, Build a Team

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Visit Science@home if you are interested in participating in next month’s Teach/Learn carnival. Please take the time to visit the other participants and see what they have to say:

• 5 Places to Teach the 5 Senses – Monique at Your Cheeky Monkey has some great suggestions for places to go and use all five senses when playing with your kids. (@Y_C_Monkey)
• Don’t look now, but… you’re being watched – Sarah from Untenured Teacher is asking about what we really want kids to learn in the classroom, and how are we unconsciously teaching them?
• Make Your Own Abacus – Staci at Teaching Money to Kids has an amazing activity to make your own abacus, which you can eat when you’ve finished.
• Teach/Learn Blogging Carnival – Kids and Learning – Marita from Stuff With Thing and her daughter have been travelling around the city in different ways and working out how to walk to Queensland. (@leechbabe)
• How to Study Like a Black Belt – The Original SuperParent can tell you how to study like a black belt, with great tips for focusing and getting the most out of your learning. (@superparents_au)
• Learning is a Journey – Deb at Science@home invites you think of learning in a different way and join your children on their journey. (@ScienceMum)
• Art for little kids – Katepickle at Picklebums encourages us to let go of our adult expectations and just enjoy the creative process with our small children. (@katepickle)
• Learning As We Walk – The Planning Queen walks to school with you and learns all sorts of things on the way. (@PlanningQueen)
• B-I-N-G-O is the name of the game – AmandaB from HomeAge shows her own learning in action – the maths game didn’t quite work, but she’s worked out how to modify it for next time.
• What’s In a Reflection – Miss Carly at Early Childhood Resources has a beautiful story about babies learning all the time, even when they are only a few months old. (@ECresources)
• Developing Brains: Laying the Pathways to Learning – Christie from Childhood 101 talks about the importance of sensory learning for early brain development and has lots of ideas for play that engages the five senses. (@Childhood101)
• The Magical Threshold Of School-Age – Mamapoekie at Authentic Parenting wonders why we have a point that we call school age and how children are not ready one day but ready the next. (@mamapoekie)
• Why you should help your child follow their passions – CatWay at Adventures with Kids helps her son learn about dinosaurs. (@adventureskids)

Thanks for joining us! We hope to see you next month.