5 Games / Drills

5.1 Guide the Kata

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Kata, focus, discipline, leadership

Ideal during class for Kata agenda; Good for any agenda

Line the students up in Shugo formation – with extra room for kata movements.

Tell the students that “we” are going to go through some katas and if they do a

great job, they’ll be able to take a turn leading. The instructor stands in front and

guides the students through a kata. Now, pick a student that gave a great

performance and ask them if they’d like to lead the kata. The instructor and the

student trade places. Have the student perform all the formalities i.e: announce

the kata, rei, yoi, count the steps. After they complete the kata, pick another

student and continue doing so for the amount of time appropriate.

After going through a couple repetitions, ask the students if they’d like to do it

without counting.

 Going through a kata repetitiously presents many challenges to children.

Notes

Page

23

5.2 Help me find my <technique>

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Basic techniques, discipline, participation

Ideal during class when focusing on basic techniques, Good for any agenda

Split class in half – lined up side by side on opposite sides of the dojo facing each

other. This is the standard formation for practicing basic techniques across the

floor.

Instead of telling the students to perform a technique like a chest block, act like

you misplaced your chest block and ask if anyone has seen it. If someone raises

their hand, ask them to show it to you – they should step forward and demonstrate

the technique. Compliment anything good about their demonstration and if there

is room for improvement, point out the difference – for example: “That definitely

is a great looking chest block. It had a lot of power and you stopped right in front of

your shoulder. No doubt a great looking chest block but I don’t think it was mine

because my fist always touches my shoulder first. Does anyone else know where

my chest block might be?”. Pick another person and then if it’s acceptable thank

everyone that helped you find it and have the class practice it across the room. This

drill can be repeated with different techniques. Give all the children a chance to

help you find your techniques a couple times.

 Useful when you will be running through basic technique drills – instead of

Notes

Page

24

5.3 The Circle of Doom

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Techniques to defend against attacks

Ideal towards the end of class when the instructor has been teaching specific

attack / defense techniques.

Get all kids into a circle with everyone spread out with both arms stretched out

between them, far enough apart to not touch the kid next to them. Everybody

settles into a horse stance with hands at hips, fists closed.

The instructor stands in the center of the circle and slowly turns looking at each

kid. When ready the instructor performs an attack against one of the kids so that

they can do the block or counter that they were taught during class.

As soon as their technique is finished, move towards another kid in the circle and

throw the same or a different attack for them to practice against. Don’t choose

the victims in any order, just turn randomly and pick one out to approach.

When first teaching this, start your attacks slowly and tell them at the start of the

game which attacks you will throw. Start with only 2-3 different attacks, as the

kids become more comfortable with this game you can increase the number of

attacks, the speed and the intensity of the contact you give and receive.

 This game can be used as a reward at the end of class.

Notes

5.4 Horse and Snake Relay

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Lower body strength, agility, behavior, stances

Great as warm up for class focusing on legs, kicks; Good at end of class as reward.

Split the students into teams of 4 or 5 students per team. Have them create lines on

one side of the class. All students on a given team should be standing in a straight

line with an arm’s length between them. They should all stand in deep horse stance.

The Instructor yells “hajime” and the students at the back of each line drops to the

floor and crawls like a snake through the others legs until they are at the front of the

line, they stand up in a deep horse stance and yell “Horse” which signals the

student at the end of the line to drop and crawl through. Students continue crawling

up the line until the whole team has passed a finish line on the other side of the

floor.

The first team over wins.

Make sure the students do not go past one arm length when taking the lead

position.

Notes

Page

25

5.5 Dodge Ball

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Eye hand coordination, team work

Great end of class reward for any agenda

Split the students into two groups; put half on one side of the dojo and the other half

on the other side. Identify a line in the middle they cannot cross. The students face

each other; the instructor throws two or three paper balls in the middle of the dojo

and the game starts. The students race to get a ball and throw it at students from the

other side of the dojo. If a student crosses the line or is hit, they are out and must go

sit down. If a student catches a thrown ball, the thrower is out. Play until only

members of one side are left.

 You will need a couple helpers to announce who’s out.

Notes

Page

26

5.6 Dodge Ball Stationary – Sensei Throws

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Coordination, balance, focus, defense

Great end of class focusing on balance or coordination; Good at end of class as

reward for any agenda.

Get a few throwers – either helpers from adult class or parents. Have the students

form a very large square (half the dojo). Students should be standing on a painted

line on the deck to help ensure they don’t move their feet during this activity.

Place the throwers in the center of the circle with a bag of paper balls. Instruct the

Students: “they can duck, bend, dodge etc. but can’t move their feet. The throwers

throw underhanded tosses at random students. If a student is hit or moves their feet

they are out and have to go sit down. The last student in the game wins a prize prior

to going home.

The students love trying to gather the most balls for clean-up.

 You’ll need a large bag of paper balls (100 or more).

Notes

5.7 Simon Says

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

All basic techniques, focus, behavior, karate vocabulary

Great end of class game to play after a training session focused on general

techniques

Line up students with standard “Shugo” formation. Instructor stands in front of

class and basically plays Simon says but uses techniques. For instance, “Simon

says chudan uke”. To make it interesting, the instructor announces one technique

but performs a different technique. When students get it wrong, they must sit down.

The last student standing wins. You may want to offer a prize after class.

 Instruct students to stand very still or they will be out if they move around –

Notes

Page

27

5.8 Technique Relay Race

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Fitness, techniques, team spirit

Good warm-up for any class

Split class evenly into three or four groups. Make lines on one side of the dojo.

Give first person in each line a pad. Students run across dojo and do 10

techniques or exercises (see below list) and run back. They hand the pad to the

next student in line and they sit in the back of the line. They go through the line

until all have run. The team that completes first wins.

For example, they run across the room, drop the pad and do 10 pushups then get

up grab the pad, run back, “hand” the pad to the next person and get in the back

of the line.

Run multiple races and mix in the following in groups of 10:

 Pushups

Notes

5.9 Dojo sprints

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Fitness

Good warm-up for any class

Split class into even quarters and number each group from 1 to 4. Have students stand

on outer deck perimeter line - one group per side - facing the center of the dojo. When

you call out a number (1, 2, 3 or 4), the respective side will race to a deck-line in the

center of the dojo and return to their spot. Make sure they know to touch the line.

Repeat this drill enough times to ensure the students are warmed up.

Notes





Turn it into a competition by pitting the sides against each other.

Make it hard for the students to predict which side will be next.

Page

28

5.10 Baseball

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Kicking technique, team spirit

Great end of class reward after a kicking training session

Split students in half; One team is up first and the other takes the field. The batters

get in line and the instructor pitches. Prior to playing, identify first, second and

third base. Pitch paper balls underhanded to individual batters. The batter uses

their foot for a bat. You might require them to all use a specific kick – typically a

roundhouse kick. Three outs and the teams switch places. The batter can have

endless fouls and there are no walks. Three strikes is an out. Catching a kicked

ball is an out; tagging the base or the player with the ball is an out but students

cannot throw the ball at the runner. Runners cannot lead off or steal bases.

Runners can move one base per kick i.e. only singles are allowed. Runners get a

home run only if they hit a certain point in the dojo for instance if they hit the wall

on the opposite side of the dojo. Play until you run out of time.

 15 minutes will typically provide time for everyone to have at-bat multiple

Notes

5.11 Don’t Tag the Bag

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Offensive techniques, kumite control

Great during class focusing on offensive techniques or kumite skills. Great when included

in general bag drills.

Notes

Setup three bags in a line. Separate them by 5 feet or more. Split students into three

lines – tell them to get in line in front of a bag. Have one helper stand behind each

bag. Each student will step up to the bag and throw a punch or a kick. The strike

should come very close to the bag (1 inch or so) and should be executed with

speed. Students break a rule when they throw to slow, soft or far away. When they

break a rule, they have to do 5 push-ups and go to the end of a line.

 Instructors should use kumite referee hand gestures to indicate:

Page

29

5.12 Add Ons

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Focus, technique, Japanese terminology, memorization skills

Good during class for any agenda

Have students line up for forms – “Shugo” formation and then add space to

make room for kata.

The first student performs a technique i.e. “chest punch”. The instructor should

ask for clarity if needed for instance “do we step and punch or stand still?” – the

instructor reaffirms the technique i.e. “Ok, we’re going to step with our left foot

and perform a chudan zuki with our left hand. The instructor makes sure

everyone understands the instruction – if no questions… then the instructor

leads the class in the technique and all do it together.

The next student in line “adds on” a technique. For instance a lower block. While

standing in the position from the last technique, the student performs a lower

block with their left hand. Again the instructor asks for clarity and then leads the

class in both techniques. Continue this drill until all of the class has gone or the

kata becomes unreasonably long i.e. over 20 moves.

Notes









Can be done with a few students or a large class.

Instructor can provide Japanese term for each technique.

Can be helpful to switch gears during class if it seems students are

getting bored with repetitious drills.

Instructor can ask students for Japanese term for their techniques.

5.13 Sensei May I

Reinforces Technique, discipline

ClassGreat end of class for any agenda

Agenda

Line all students against one wall – side by side. Instruct an individual to do aSteps

Page

30

5.14 Balance Beams with Blockers/Pads

Reinforces Balance, attack / defense, confidence, kumite

Great during class focused on offense/defense techniques or kumiteClass

Agenda

Treat it like one-point-kumite. Setup two or more balance beams. Students get theSteps

5.15 Race to the Blockers/Pads

Reinforces Attack / defense, confidence, kumite

Great during class focused on offense/defense techniques or kumiteClass

Agenda

Treat it like one-point-kumite; Use the classroom split into halves. Each half is aSteps

Page

31

5.16 Balance Beam Kicks

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Balance, form, posture, technique

Great during class focusing on kicking techniques

Notes

Set up balance beams extending across the entire class. Line up students in front of

beginning beam. Have first student mount the beam and step across while

performing a kick. Students should continue to the end and then go to the back of

the line.

 You can start out by selecting a specific kick e.g. have them all do front

5.17 Build your own combo

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Combinations, offense / defense techniques, confidence

Great during class focused on techniques, bag drills, kumite

Notes

Have students assemble in Shugo formation. Take volunteers to come up-front and

demonstrate a three piece combo. The combination can include any technique i.e.

left punch, right punch then kick. The student needs to describe the combination as

if they are speaking to a blind person. They need to account for whether to step

forward or backward with the technique. Instructor should ask for clarification

where needed and then possibly say it back to the student i.e.: “So you’re saying

punch with right hand, step and…”. When it’s clear, student demonstrates with

back to the class. If it’s clear to everyone, then instructor says, “ok let’s all do it”.

Student should lead class in 5 or 10 reps – depending on class size.

 All techniques need to make sense to instructor prior to moving forward;

Page

32

5.18 Obstacle Course

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Agility, coordination, strength conditioning

Great after class focused on conditioning ; Good for any agenda

Notes

Create an obstacle course in the dojo by arranging blockers, punching bags,

makewara, cones, balance beams and other safe items for the students to jump

over, run around and crawl under. Next, have the students form a single file line

behind the starting obstacle. Demonstrate how you want them to go through the

course prior to letting them go. Make sure only one student is going through the

course at a time to keep it safe and under control. Stress the importance of

technique over speed.

An example course:





Place the balance beams at the beginning.

Place blockers at the end of the balance beams. The blockers should be

perpendicular to the beam and approximately one foot apart from each

other so the students can step off the beam and begin hopping over each

blocker.

Place a makawara at the end of the blockers for the students to crawl

under.

Place the cones a couple feet apart after the makawara. The students will

zigzag in between the cones.

Place a couple punching bags at the end of the cones. Have the students

punch one bag and kick the other

After the punching bag, have the students do 10 push-ups to finish.









5.19 Bag Drills – 4 bag Obstacle course

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Attack techniques, timing, coordination

Great during class focused on fighting techniques, bag drills, kumite

Notes

Set up punching bags in zig zag formation with a few feet of space between each

bag. Line up students in single file line a few feet in front of the first bag. Have the

students move from bag to bag while executing a single striking technique on each

bag. Don’t let the next student begin until the previous student gets to the third

bag. Students should go to the end of line after they hit the last bag.

 Illustrate the drill prior to beginning

Page

33

5.20 Bag Drills – 4 bags – Timed Drills

Reinforces

Class

Agenda

Steps

Attack techniques, conditioning

Great during class focused on fighting techniques, bag drills, kumite

Setup 2 or 3 standing heavy bags and 1 hanging bag in separate sections of the

dojo. Identify the attack technique to use for each bag i.e. one bag can be punching

only, one can be kicking only and one can be punching and kicking.

Divide the students into even groups and assign each group to a bag. Have the

groups stand by their respective bag. Only one student will attack each bag at a

time and the drill will be executed in 30 second cycles. Repeat the drill until each

student in each group has had a chance to strike their bag. Then have the groups

rotate to the next bag and start again.

 Illustrate the technique for each bag prior to beginning

Notes

Page

34