“It’s real and it’s spectacular” is, of a course, a slight riff of a famous line in the 1990s comedy series “Seinfeld.”

In this post, I discuss a recent remark by a martial artist about me teaching a children’s Modern Arnis class that involved some questionable logic. Essentially, he implied “you don’t teach a real martial art because you teach kids.”

Secondly, according to him, “therefore, the art you practice is also not a real martial art.” Ahem. I assure you what I teach is real and it’s spectacular.

Let’s tackle the first statement: “You don’t teach a real martial art because you teach children.”

Talk about a logical fallacy. A martial art is not real because I teach kids? If you believe this, every martial art is likely not to “be real.” Beyond that, this statement denigrates martial artists who teach children and questions whether they have any real skill. I have seen a good number of martial artists who are incredible teachers of children.

Perhaps this person’s opinion was further informed by a video of my children’s class which currently has more girls than boys.

If you are not able to view this video, click here.

I do not know for certain but I cannot rule out that his opinion was influenced by this. The ratio will surely change as some lose interest and new students join. In any case, this poster commented that this looked “real dangerous training kids with 2 oz sticks.” Okaaaaay.

In any case, I did not set out to teach children when I first started teaching in 2008. Around 2009, I was contacted by a woman who asked me if I could teach her 4-year-old daughter.

Starting with this young girl and a couple of others, I started my children’s class. Straight up, I did not know what the hell I was doing most of the time. As I did not do any marketing for this, growth was essentially non-existent for the first year. That was fine by me as I was trying to figure this out!

Soon parents of 5 to 7-year-olds started contacting me about my kids’ classes. To reiterate, I had absolutely no plans to teach kids in this age range. Often when parents contact me, I am upfront and tell them that I teach stick material through Modern Arnis. Further, I tell them that the sticks translate to empty hands. The vast majority are okay with the idea of kids training with sticks. Surprisingly, only a couple of parents declined to enroll their kids due to safety concerns.

Over time, through trial and error, I have gotten much better at teaching children and found myself immensely enjoying the experience of teaching children. I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. 

I teach the kids sticks from day one.

Angles of attack and sinawali drills are taught from day one. Basic block, check, counter, and the slap off/pull off drills are also taught. I focus on physical literacy and teaching basic self-defense. Most importantly, I give them confidence when they “get it.” Their faces really light up when they “get it,” a most enjoyable moment!

Regarding this statement: “this looks real dangerous training kids with 2 oz sticks”: I prefer to train each child briefly in class one on one to ensure that they have the technique before they pair off with their friends. It’s all about good technique and safety! 

So going back to the first statement “You don’t teach a real martial art because you teach kids.” Am I teaching the same basics of Modern Arnis? Yes! Am I teaching the 6 and 7-year-olds advanced material as I do the adults? Not by any stretch of the imagination! But it’s the same martial art, executed by different age groups, nothing more. I’m focusing on basic skills and physical literacy with this particular age group. As they get older and their physical literacy increases, they will learn more about this awesome martial art of Modern Arnis. Folks, this stuff is real and spectacular. 

I can only conclude that the aforementioned statement likely comes from a warped perspective.

On to the second statement: “And therefore, the art you practice is also not a real martial art.”

Huh? Really? Try telling that to the Gracie family who has had a long tradition of introducing their children to the family version of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu through games and an emphasis on fun. Oh yes, the founder of Modern Arnis, the late Professor Remy A. Presas, started at age 5. Many of the all-time greats started at a young age. Most assuredly, their martial art styles were real. Again, this is a warped perspective, that because I teach 6 and 7-year-old kids, Modern Arnis is not a real martial art? Maybe the sight of them playing with “2 oz sticks” (as this guy put it) looks funny. Maybe someday they’ll look like this:

Or like this:

I would describe the martial art of Modern Arnis as real and spectacular — and it’s not any less real just because I teach kids!

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