Sputtering to Life
My hopes of ramping up my private lesson teaching schedule from 0 to 60mph ran into reality last week. In a way, this mirrors the North American and European economies. Both are sputtering back to life after a year of COVID-related lockdowns. Rebooting economies isn’t…
It’s On Like Donkey Kong!
Ontario announced today that they would start re-opening the economy on Friday, June 11th. Based on my reading of the provincial guidelines, I can teach private lessons. IT’S ON LIKE DONKEY KONG! LET’S GO! Because the province is beginning to distribute 2nd doses, last fall’s…
The Light At the End Of The Tunnel?
Just a few days after I ranted about the absurd ban on outdoor recreational activity, Ontario announced its re-opening plan. First, the ban on outdoor recreational activities was lifted effective Saturday, May 22nd. Yay! Is this the light at the end of the tunnel? Public…
The Video Game Generation
I’ve known over the years that nearly all of my younger students play video games. Minecraft is one popular game among the video game generation. Among popular games with my younger students (ranging from 8 to 15 years of age) are Super Mario, Fortnite, Street…
What Now?
What now? 2020 has been quite the year. Ontario went on a months-long lockdown from March through the end of August. At that time, the province started to relax COVID-19 restrictions in various regions, based on case numbers. Unfortunately and this was foreseeable, cases started…
Changes in Private Lessons
As previously mentioned, I have transitioned from teaching group classes to private lessons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last few months, the tenor and format of the private lessons have changed quite a bit compared to the pre-pandemic private lessons. Before the pandemic,…
Old School Garage Testing
As readers of this blog know, I have switched from group classes to private lessons during these unprecedented times. One consequence of this move concerns testing my students for rank. In the past, I have tested my students in a group setting. However, in these…
The Joy of Learning
Over the years, I have observed that those who love learning are often the most enjoyable folks to teach in private lessons. Like many, I have been captivated by Nandi Bushell, a phenomenally talented 10-year-old drummer in the U.K. whose videos have gone viral due…
COVID-19 Transition
I know that it’s been a while since I posted. I don’t have much in the way of excuses. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have transitioned from group classes to private lessons in the past couple of months. As we all know, we are…
Solo Training
Many of us cannot train with our martial arts classmates and friends during these extraordinary times. Since I have confined myself at home, I have done a fair bit of solo training, including, but not limited to, bodyweight and martial exercises, solo stick exercises, Shotokan…