Introduction
Our Junior Warrior Classes are for our Children of the age group of 7 years to 12 years, In this programme we look to give the children a stable base in Martial arts and key development in Leadership and Life skills values.
The junior Warrior Programme is based on 50% of the programmes on developing these life skills as listed below and 50% of the Programme working through the physical elements of Martial Arts, For children we believe in Education in Martial Arts and no to focus on a child’s ability to Kick and Punch another child or Adult, Martial Arts is far more than just punching and kicking and at this age there Wing Chun Training must be about instilling great Values in There behaviour.
The Junior Warrior Class Curriculum
Phase 1 for a beginner Junior child is about there foundation in Martial Arts, Although we are a Wing Chun Kung Fu Organisation it is Very difficult to ask a child to learn Wing Chun Self Defence from day one, we deal with this by making the initial classes fun and energetic for the children and look to educate them on being in a Martial Arts class and giving them Martial Arts material that will be easy for them (Wing Chun Is not easy for a 7 year old)
White Sash Training
When a new child begins there journey with Wing Chun Kung Fu and at the start of there White Sash training they will be introduced to the Basics of Martial Arts, How to Welcome each other, How to get ready for there class (Leave the Parent) How to Stand and act in a class, How to join in with the curriculum that is being taught to the other children, How to work through some basic hand and leg movements, once they have achieved this they will be introduced to the first Physical programme of:
Basic Striking
Basic Striking and Movements are introduced in one of the child’s 8 week programmes, in fact these movements are normal for a child but we introduce pad exercises and sequences for them to start with to work on there co-ordination and other Key life skills that as a parent you will be looking to develop.
Basic Kicking
Flight training is the term that we use to develop your children’s ability to work through certain leg routines, these movements are normal for the children and in a structured manor help increase there Balance and Co-Ordination, Front Kick, Side Kicks and other fantastic movements that Children love are in this 8 week programme and makes learning a lot more enjoyable for them.
Self Defence
One of the core elements of Phase one is the Self Defence Programme, once your Children have the basics of the class structure, using there hands and legs in a controlled manor and working with the other children in the class we then introduce them to some basic self Defence movement preparing them for the start of the Journey in Phase Two and learning the Complete Wing Chun System.
Partner Training
It is very important in a Martial Arts school the children of any age can work with other children in a controlled and respected way, our Partner Training Programmes works through the basics of how children should interact with each other to gain the maximum benefit in the Wing Chun Kung Fu Classes.
Phase 2
The Second phase of the children cover grades, White/green Sash through to Blue Sash for the little dragons and Green Sash through to Brown/Blue Sash for the junior warriors and is all learning the beginner material of the adult Wing Chun System and about putting the skills that they have developed from Phase 1 into the classroom, They start to understand distance awareness and physical contact and how to work together with the material that they are now learning.
Wing Chun Kung Fu is predominantly a self defence system, a martial art to improve and develop us as people/Individuals, Unlike our Adult Programme which starts straight away with the Physical elements of a confrontation this is not our belief with our Children.
Within phase Two of the Children’s classes we still very much focus on there life skills rather than the Physical Elements however the children do now start to drill in greater detail the Physical elements of Martial Arts whilst continuing to develop as young individuals who will succeed in life, At home, At school and of course into there young adult life.
Self Defence (The Understanding of being Bullied and dealing with it) Character education (Being a great individual in life) Peer to Peer development(Working as part of a Team and helping others) These traits and many more are what we believe our children should be developing through there Martial Arts Training, not just how to punch and kick a pad or in a sense how to hit someone unnecessarily.
Phase 3
The Third phase of the children section cover grades, White sash/Blue stripe through to White/Black Stripe for the little dragons and Brown Sash through to Black Sash for the junior warriors and is all about preparation work towards achieving the first major goal on the children’s journey of the Black sash, the children learning how to develop the material that they have been taught and start to put together there understanding of Wing Chun Kung Fu Self defence.
In Phase three the focus Within the Children’s classes are maintained on the appropriate life skills although the Physical Elements become more apparent, Until the student moves into the adult section this will always be our focus so to look after the children and maintain there progression, now that they have developed with there peers even more we would now be able to increase the efficiency of there movements within the classroom environment and introduce sparring elements into the class.
Self Defence (The Understanding of being Bullied and dealing with it) Character education (Being a great individual in life) Peer to Peer development(Working as part of a Team and helping others) These traits and many more are what we believe our children should be developing through there Martial Arts Training, not just how to punch and kick a pad or in a sense how to hit someone unnecessarily.
Rewards Systems
Wing Chun Kung Fu has a collective set of reward systems, these are used to motivate and inspire the children to do there best and to strive for the next goal, our reward systems are as follows:
Junior Warrior Sashes
The Junior Warriors progress from White Sash through to Black Sash
The Junior Warrior Sash System is a vitally important part of the Junior students journey, Martial Arts is dedicated to the growth and development of each and every individual that is training and setting these short term goals dramatically helps them stay on track in there Wing Chun path.
All students of Martial Arts whether a Little dragon, Junior Warrior or Adults have these milestone of achievement set and measured.
The Sash System forms part of the overall rewards scheme that we implement and should be viewed in this way and not one as an single item of Reward.
Reward Clips
These Reward clips are used to reward the children in class that are performing at there best, these are a great tool to take the focus away from the children who may be misbehaving as they are looking for attention or simply because they are being children, when the children see the others being rewarded for there great behaviour in class they soon follow suit.
Ten rewards clips earned and kept on the kung fu suit can be exchanged for Grand Master Badges.
Grand Master Badges
Grand Master badges are a reward system to show consistent achievement over a long period of time, these badges get placed onto the Kung Fu suit.
White Grand Master Badges, Children earn ten reward clips and are then allowed to exchange them for one White Grand Master badge.
Red Grand Master badges, five white grand master badges show a period of time of constant reward and improvement, therefore are awarded the red grand Master badge.
Yellow Grand Master Badges, Five Red Grand Master badges again show that a significant time period of achievement has been passed, when five red grand master badges have been achieved the children are rewarded with the ultimate Yellow Grand Master Badge.
TIP Striping
Training Incentive Programme is a key method used to help the children measure there attendance and achievements during a grading cycle, Junior warriors set the goal to achieve the next Sash every eight weeks, in order to help keep them on track and to shown that they are not just given the next sash they are taught to earn a TIP stripe that allows them to be put forward to Graduate at the next Children’s Graduation party and be awarded there next Sash at the end of the grading cycle. The student will have demonstrated the importance of a key life skill within the first and second month at week three of the period and then again in grading week, these three strips are awarded and taped to the current sash that is worn and demonstrate that the child has passed the TIP test and qualified to graduate to the next sash level.
Junior warriors earn 3 TIP Stripes per grading rotation and The Little Dragons earn 1 TIP per week making 8 TIP Stripes achieved within the grading Cycle.
The TIP Stripes are as follows and the children must demonstrate an understanding of these key life skills:
Speed (White)
Focus (Green)
Accuracy (Black)
Power (Blue)
Intensity (Red)
Black Belt Excellence (Yellow)
Stars Badges
Red Star Badge
The red star badge is awarded once a month when the student returns his or her Kung Fu homework sheet, Home work sheets are based on the Key life skills that they are learned in class and are handed out once for the month, these star badges go on the front of the Kung Fu suit.
Blue Star Badge
The Blue star badge is awarded for the children’s attendance at the Kung Fu school, if they maintain a certain amount of classes with in the monthly period they are awarded the Blue star badge again awarded once a month, these badges go on the Right Arm of the Kung Fu suit.
Silver Star Badge
The Silver star badge is awarded for excellence at the children institutional school, when they are rewarded at school by a teacher they can bring that into there Kung Fu class to show the other children and earn a silver star badge, there is no set time when these are handed out but the instructor would motivate the student to do well at school, these badges go on the Left arm of the Kung Fu Suit.
Yellow Star Badge
The Yellow star badge is awarded to the children when they bring a friend or family member along to the Kung Fu school and who then decides to join, This badge is a thank you as represents the students efforts in helping to grow the Kung Fu school, these badges go on the back of the students Kung Fu suit.
The Student Sash
The student sash is the most important reward that the children can earn and all other rewards are focused on the child achieving the Sash, for both the Junior and Little Dragons there are 12 Sashes to be rewarded with and aimed at focusing there attention on gaining there Black Sash/Belt before moving on to the next level.
The Weapon System for our Children
Nunchuck
Escrima Stick
Long Pole
Wing Chun Knives