Wow, what can I say? AMA has done it again. I did not start Taekwondo to get a black belt. Like many parents, I started because my child was doing it and it seemed like a bit of fun. But before I knew it our family of three were in front of the Grand Master, performing our hearts out to pass that final test, hoping to walk out the door with a black belt around our wastes. Several years on, I didn't start the instructor course to become an instructor. Yet last night I helped with two classes where I looked after a whole range of kids. I even had to interact with a parent! 😁 And I found myself wanting to come back next week to see them all again. After that I joined in Black Belt Club where I enjoyed a masterclass from Mr Mark on both instructing AND taekwondo! Then I raced home to pick up the family for the 6:45 Sydenham class.... where I was invited by Mr Lincoln to lead the stretches! It was a big day, I was exhausted and sore afterwards, But I had two resounding thoughts going through my head: "I've done something good!" and "AMA is just amazing" So, I am utterly inspired to finish my homework and get that certificate! And I really look forward to continuing to connect with everyone in this group!

It’s been such an amazing 6 weeks together. We’d love to hear what you’ve enjoyed most about the program, your feedback means a lot to us. Can’t wait to see you all this evening for our last session...this one is all around Mat Chat delivery!

After reflecting on my week 4 teaching experience, I adjusted my warm-up to allow for clearer and more concise instructions. This led to a much clearer delivery of what the students had to do in the warm-up. I also paid more attention to the number of reps and what constituted a set. Again, it was a much bigger improvement, underscoring how important all the course material is when delivering a segment. It was much the same with the segment that I took on one-step sparring. Also, the lateral progression of techniques is crucial to student engagement, and once you know the syllabus, it actually makes it more structured and straightforward to teach. Thank you to the facilitators again for a great course. Looking forward to the next lesson and beyond! :)

I'm now up to the fourth or fifth training session. Grading time is a great time to be helping out as the grading material is pretty much set so you can experiment with energy levels and delivery. Encouraging the students during warm ups and little corrections have been really enjoyable and rewarding, seeing the reserved students come out of their shells with a bit of encouragement is a real blast. I'm still nervous, I don't want to get the lesson wrong for the students, but that's getting less with every class and with more experience. I highly recommend giving it a go if you haven't already!

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Your week 5 worksheet and slides for tonights training call is now available in the classroom tab. To access them: 1. Click classroom tab 2. Click on the Certification Course folder 3. Click on Week 5 4. Click on worksheet and download 5. Click on the slides and download