Contact and Respect

Today for kid’s class, we worked a simple 3 strike combination.  First – a double armed hard block against an incoming roundhouse punch.  Second, a pivoting elbow strike and third, an instep kick to the shin.

After learning the combination one move at a time, then practicing it against a partner (with no contact except the initial block), the students all got to hit things with each move.

For the double hard block, I put on a forearm pad and let them blast my roundhouse punch with their arms.  For the elbow smash, there was the thick air shield so they could throw as hard as they liked and finally for the instep kick, I put on a shin guard and let them kick me in the shin.

When is okay to kick your teacher in the shins?  In the dojo, when they strap on a shin pad and tell you to do it.  When is it not okay?  Pretty much any other time… and that’s why training martial arts is fun, because where else does one get the chance to be respectful, following directions and kick their teacher in the shins?