New Students: Your First Month
Your goal for your first month is to string together 4 weeks of early arrivals and perfect attendance. If you do need to miss a class, schedule a make-up session within one week of the missed class. If you are debating if you can get the class in – you may be busy, tired, a lot of work or homework – dig down and come to class. In this first month, we must make regular attendance our habit.
“We are what we repeatedly do.
. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
In the latter weeks of the first month you will be gaining confidence with your new kicks and blocks. You should also be finding your “Kiyah”. Your kiyah is the yell that you do when you are executing your kicks, punches or blocks. A loud and forceful kiyah helps direct your focus and energy into the technique. A good kiyah also shows your progress as a martial artist toward letting go of your inhibitions and being “in the moment”.
Tips:
- Shoot for perfect attendance, build the habit of excellence!
- Learn to Kiyah loudly and with enthusiasm. Be “in the moment”.
- As you learn your form, practice it at home daily. Even 5 minutes each day, compounded over a month will make a huge impact on your training!
Your First Tapes
In the 3rd week of the session you should be approaching your first tapes. Tapes are placed on the student’s belt when they have demonstrated proficiency in each segment of their testing requirements.
Take the time to read about the Rank System, Promotion Qualification and Testing Procedures in this guide and discuss with your family.
Tigers & Dragons will eventually need 3 tapes to promote to the next level. This first tape is your first step! Sometime around the 3rd week the instructors will run class with an eye on “testing” the knowledge and ability of each student. Students who are able to perform the required techniques are awarded their first tape! Students who attend regularly have nothing to worry about: our instructors are experts at keeping an eye out in the preceding weeks and make sure everyone will succeed.
For Taekwondo students 7 & up, you will eventually need 6 tapes to test for your yellow belt in a couple of months. Typically the first tape awarded will be for learning and successfully demonstrating the first 6 moves of your poomse, Tae Guek Basic. The second tape will typically be for learning your required kicks. You will learn the required moves in class over the first several weeks. When the time comes for tape testing, the instructors will have each student demonstrate the technique and award the tapes in class. If you are able to get that first tapes by the 3rd week, then you are right on track for your Yellow Belt!
Continue reading about Your Second Month . . .