It’s a question we hear often: why do you have student teachers?
 
The answer is actually quite simple: teaching martial arts techniques is part of becoming a black belt, because you can’t be an expert at anything if you haven’t taught it. It forces you to draw on all your knowledge, and when you are asked questions you’ve never thought of before, it makes you branch out and apply what you know in new ways.
 
Student teaching is an important part of your training journey, and an important step in making you a stronger, faster, and more adept martial artist when it comes to efficiency of motion and technique. Masters say that teaching is better for learning than when you are actually trying to learn as a student.
 
In teaching, you usually put 100% effort into showing it, and doing it yourself, and thinking about the finer points slowly, always critiquing your own technique – and even after all of that, you are often put on the spot to answer questions. Even if your performance is flawless, you have to know the answer when you are asked, “Why do you do it this way?” and be able to express it in words. As soon as you can explain the answer, it makes much more sense to you as well, and you have improved not only someone else’s knowledge, but your own. These are important steps toward becoming the best you can be!
 
After you teach something, it is nearly impossible for you yourself to forget. For example, when you give small feedback such us, “Move your knee this way to make the movement more fluid”, and your student can tell the difference, you’ll be more likely remember that moment and that advice for yourself down the road when you do the same movements. Thus student teaching can be very mutually beneficial.
 
In addition, having student teachers in our classes keeps costs down for the studio as a whole, and varying the instructors helps each student become well-rounded and responsive to different styles. Since different teachers emphasize different concepts, and have varying approaches to their lessons, there is more likely to be something useful that sticks with every student by doing it this way.
 
Overall, teaching and training others is the fastest way for students to progress along their final path to a black belt – you are usually only allowed to begin training others after you have achieved brown belt (which is 2-6 years depending on the person).  It is a tremendous emotional boost to know that you’re contributing to the studio and to others, and since the skills we teach aren’t meant to be used out in the field, it’s nice to feel you have a purpose when you are using it to train others in the studio. One of the people you teach may have to use the skills they’ve learned one day in order to save their life, even if you never have to!
 
A student teacher here once said that student teaching makes you immortal, because your personal spin on the subject you teach can end up being passed on for decades, or maybe even hundreds of years. Your personal fingerprint could be left on the art for a very long time, passed on to the next generation of learners; you can see this in students who learned from specific black belts and carry the knowledge with them like a torch. You can spot it in how someone holds their knee, or their stance, in the slight weight shifts from one teacher’s style to another.  It is a way of passing down your own self-expression.
 
Student teaching has another big effect: it increases your appreciation for teachers from then on.  You will know it isn’t easy, and will notice other teacher’s techniques and mannerisms. You’ll like how they physically show some things, and just speak about others, and you’ll question in your mind why they chose to do it that way – leading you to think more deeply about what you’re learning, and causing you to take something from that for your practice and for your own teachings in the future.  You will also appreciate being a student even more after you’ve taught, gaining a sense of satisfaction from the experience. You may even start to feel like you’ve “made it”…as long as you remember that there is always more to learn!
 
And lastly? You can also learn things from your students that you may have never thought of… while you’re teaching them. Since even our teachers are students, we encourage everyone to always keep learning and improving!

One of the biggest questions that people ask – to themselves, to others, to nobody in particular – is this: what is the meaning of life? Why am I here? Maybe they are looking for an easy answer, or maybe they are wondering if the things they are doing are “worth it”. But the actual truth is both very simple, and quite complex.


Life can be viewed as pointless, unless you create your own meaning within it – and this is dependent on your own philosophy and your own approach to it. Many people get up, go to work, and punch in and out mindlessly, always looking forward to their next days off so they can drink or do nothing or binge on TV and junk food. And all the while, the clock is ticking, their health is declining, and they are getting older and older. The imbalance between working too much, a bad diet, bad habits, and stress takes a terrible toll on our health, and over time, all the small decisions we make can add up to big problems. Drinking, smoking, lack of sleep, frustration…other people will see it in us and subconsciously pick up those negative emotions.


Recognizing these traits is the first step to fixing them, but we must also do something about them in order to overcome them. This is why we encourage our students to set goals for themselves – an endpoint, a place that they can work towards, so they know they are progressing and making good choices for themselves.


Think about a goal like acquiring a black belt, or an orange belt. This requires lots of mental and physical training – though it is nothing impossible, if done in a series of very small steps over a long period of time. The discipline needed to achieve these goals often reverberates back into your regular life, and the strong habits developed here in the kung fu studio can translate into achieving more in your everyday life.


For example, think about the last time you went out to drink with your friends – chances are the bill can get very high, very quickly. Imagine all the money you have ever spent, accumulated over dozens of weekends out at the bar or on 6-packs every Saturday night at home, added up over years. And at the end of it all, what have you achieved? What you have gotten out of it? We can safely say, nothing as healthy or as useful as the discipline you would get from setting proper goals and working toward them in all aspects of your life.


If you chose today to redirect all that money toward getting healthy with kung fu training, you would not only keep more of it in the long run, but you would steer clear of many bad situations, gain improved health and fitness (which can add years to your life, instead of shortening it), and have a series of goals to constantly work toward. It would give you a reason to not drink – when was the last time you saw a black belt get drunk and lose control?


It’s always sad to see some people leave school after grade 12 and simply stop learning, and lose the motivation to strive for more. Years down the road, you won’t feel proud of drinking every weekend, and wasting your potential, but if you work hard towards the goals you’ve set for yourself and systematically achieve them, there will be no stopping you. The best things in life take dedication, commitment and sacrifice – but that’s what makes them worth the journey, because the people who can reach those goals are rare!


For you, it may not be about the money. Plenty of people have high-paying jobs that they will never leave, but they go home completely unfulfilled and feeling lost and unhappy – financially they are successful, but by every other measurement, they are miserable. Taking up proper hobbies and walking the longer, more winding path to your goals is one of the best ways to remedy this. We have many people just like this who come in to our studio, searching for fulfillment and meaning, and when they set their goals and reach them, the difference in their mood and attitude is incredible. They feel they have purpose, they feel they are advancing, and they are moving forward, both physically and mentally. There is something new to look forward to and they are no longer stuck in the same mindless loop.


We have an introductory program for people like this to give kung fu a try, and you’ll know very quickly if our teachings help give you direction. You’ll meet positive people, you’ll get a new outlook, and when you see how much this affects your life, you’re going to love it! We even have a limited-time sale on this right now, so there’s never been a better time to give martial arts a try. You can come take the plunge with something new… or go back to a job you dislike, and Netflix on the couch every night, watching your life slide by and thinking of all the things you could have done someday. The choice is yours to make!


Call Kung Fu for Life today and experience all the positive benefits, both direct and indirect, that our training can offer. From the improvements in your muscles to your mind, in your breathing to your body, in your health to your happiness, you’ll be very glad that you did!

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As short as it may seem when we look back, childhood is one of the most influential periods of our entire lives: it’s where we develop the habits, hobbies, and discipline that we will carry with us through the years. We learn social skills, how to deal with adversity, and how to focus our skills and energy into meaningful outlets. So what makes kung fu such a great kids’ activity?​

Let’s start with one of the biggest benefits of studying martial arts – helping build focus, mindfulness, discipline, self-control, and routine. All of these traits are incredibly important as we grow up, and any child that develops them fully has a much better chance of setting and achieving their goals later in life. Some even suggest that the increased focus and mental training can help with ADD.  

Beyond that, kids’ kung fu classes bring together many different types of children in one place, allowing them a safe place to develop these skills together. This leads to increased socialization and confidence in groups as well. Of course, some kids may feel too self-conscious to learn in a group as they start out, or are just more suited to individual instruction, and that’s why we are now one of the few martial arts studios in Calgary to offer private lessons for those children.

Another reason why kung fu is great for kids’ recreation is the physical aspect. Studying a martial art works on your body as well as your brain! Your child will gain increased flexibility, coordination, reflexes, and timing, as well as improved overall health. Kung fu is an excellent way to stay fit, no matter your age.

Some people might worry that kung fu classes for kids would encourage them to be violent, or to resort to violence at school or with their friends. The truth is, our goal is the exact opposite – we teach self-control, meditation, and restraint, so that your child will walk confidently and strongly, but uses their skills strictly for self-defense in a bad situation. As the old saying goes, Speak softly and carry a big stick: we teach that fighting is a last resort, only to be used when absolutely necessary. But if it ever comes down to it – if your child is surrounded by bullies, if they’ve gotten stuck in a dangerous situation, if they need to make a split-second decision – we know you’d agree that having experience with and confidence in such activities would beat the alternative, every time.

And speaking of good and bad influences – we have overwhelmingly heard that the kids we’ve taught in Calgary have enjoyed having healthy mentors and role models in their lives. This, combined with the long-lasting positive influence of our teachers, can make all the difference to a child that needs structure and guidance, especially if the parents are working a lot to help ensure a good life for their family.

Along those lines, many parents would love to improve their kids’ recreation in this way, and are wondering if they can afford it – or if it really is worth the price. In our experience, as long as your ability to live isn’t greatly impacted, it’s absolutely worth every penny! The benefits are lifelong, and the memories and training can stick with your kid long after they walk out our doors. They will meet new friends, gain new skills and confidence, and look back fondly on the days when they got to learn all the coolest “ninja moves” from our teachers.

Having your kid in an organized sport like martial arts is also one of the best ways to ensure they avoid potentially negative activities after school, and beyond. They’ll have the confidence, willpower, and self-awareness to think critically about how their decisions affect themselves and others, leading to smarter outcomes with drugs, drinking, and reckless behaviour as they get older. And they’ll not only treat themselves with more respect, but everyone else they encounter, as well. The only way to build up this kind of personality is to be familiar with it and incorporate it from a young age – so the more exposure your child gets from a positive role model, the better!

We could write a thousand more words about why kung fu is a good sport for kids, but the best way to know is to simply see for yourself. Drop in for a class with your son or daughter and let them find out on their own how much fun it can be to learn crucial skills, while getting a workout at the same time. Our non-competitive environment is the perfect place to hone the art, and who knows? They might stick with it, and become a kung fu teacher themselves after they achieve brown belt status – continuing the circle of knowledge, and sending a message to the younger generation that they can achieve their goals, too.

Call us or use our contact form to enroll your child in one of the best kids’ activities in Calgary, or come by and visit our studio space at 345 39 Ave SE – just down the street from the 39 St C-Train station – and find out why more people than ever are getting into kung fu for life!