Teaching at The Thoreau Club

1/18/92

Mark J. Norton


Lou received a phone call from the staff of a health club in Concord MA. The Thoreau Club is expanding its program to include training in the Martial Arts. They solicited and interviewed several instructors from the area and selected a teacher of Tai Kwan Do. As the course time came closer, they found out that this instructor intended to hold his regular class at the club and include his regular students. This did not agree with the clubs desire for private instruction to its members. As such, they dismissed him.

Lou asked me if I was interested in pursuing this. I called a woman named Clair which lead to an interview with Renee Rakowsky, the activities manager. I presented my view of Aikido and how differs from other martial arts and she indicated that it was more appropriate for her members, especially the children. The first class is a group of nine boys aged 5 to 9.

I arrived at the facility on Saturday the 18th with my daughter Cassie, who will be assisting me in the class. After the aerobics class ended at 11am, Cassie and I laid out many personal exercise mats. These mats (3' x 5') are thick enough, but tend to scatter when rolled on. I am not allowed to tape them down as that ruins the finish of the dance floor. The class went well and the boys seemed have fun. I am creating a simplified series of exercises suited to this young age group.


Teaching at The Thoreau Club

1/25/92

Mark J. NortonK


The second class went as well as the first. The structured approach to classes is working quite well. By planning what will be taught in the class, I can prepare for it by bringing the appropriate props, rehearsing the moves with Cassie, etc. It also frees me from having to improvise on the fly during class. I know whats coming up and can turn my attention to managing the class. Times are not set in concrete. If its clear that one segment is not going well, it can be abbreviated and move on to the next. In Class 2, we got started late due to distribution of uniforms and money collection. The technique taught was avoiding punches. This started getting out of hand, so I cut it a little short (which balanced the earlier delay).

Course content is going to require more thought and experimentation on my part. As soon as I started teaching punch avoidance in the last class, I knew it was inappropriate for this age group. They really wanted to punch Karate-style and were more interested in the hitting than the defense. This agrees with some opinions that I've heard that strikes are more advanced than grabs in Aikido. Perhaps teaching defenses against being pushed would be better.

Some attacks to consider for children:

Further negotiations with The Thoreau Club has yielded an agreement which we will sign. It contracts for a 14 week session every Saturday. There are no provisions for my resigning, missing or canceling a class. The club insisted that I provide a substitute for absences. The agreement provides for use of the facilities by myself and my assistant (I had to push for this). Cost to the student is $112 for the 14 week course. Of this, I get half, one quarter in advance, one quarter after completion. This comes to $448 for the course.

I have some apprehension about tying up all my weekends this way. Three and half months is a lot of time. Naturally, this would be easier to bear if the income were higher. After the completion of this course, I will attempt to negotiate a better agreement. First is the time. Earlier on Saturday would be OK. A weekday night would be better. Three class could be schedule on a weekday night: 6 - 6:45 (young), 7 - 8 (teenage), 8:15 - 9:15 (adult). Second thing to consider is a gap between sessions. A month off would allow me to get some practice in at NE Aikikai or do a vacation. The third point would be facilities. Mat space is going to limit us to about 12 students per class. Better mats and wider coverage is desparately needed. These negotiations should be started before the first course ends.