BALANCE Balance is the ability to maintain a position or control one’s centre of gravity. It is an important skill in all sports, especially in martial arts, because poor balance can lead to poor skill development. Balance doe not work alone, but has close ties with coordination and agility.
Walk across the room and concentrate on the balance used as you lift 1 foot, putting all your weight on the other foot and then shift that weight as you set the first foot down. This is not something most of us think about any more, but look at a toddle as he or she is just beginning to walk, and you can see the concentration as the child sways to change balance.
Here are some fun drills and exercises to be used in class or practiced at home to improve a student’s balance. Always remember that each child’s balance will differ as he or she develops.
BALANCE DRILL 1 Objective: The student will work on balance skills
Equipment: stopwatch, sheet of paper with each child’s name on it, adult per group Program: The child will hold positions and time them for a personal best. Also hop on one leg then switch legs to hop.
ASK
• Is everybody ready for fun?. Who is good at standing?. Who can stand on 1 foot? SAY
• “Were going to have fun today and see how long you can stand on 1 foot. Were going to do it 3 times and see which time is your personal best. Personal best means you’re competing against yourself and not each other”. • Separate the students into small groups. Each group leader will have the students sit down, with one student standing. The group leader will tell the student when to start, and time how long the student can stand on one foot. Write down the time and L(eft) or R(ight) next to each students name. Then time the other leg. Have the student sit down and have another stand. Continue until each child has had 3 turns. • Have all of the students gather together again and line up, but leave room between the rows. • “You have done such a wonderful job of balancing, now we are going to try hopping on one leg. We will hop forward on one foot 3 times and then back again. Lets go now” • “Ok, that was easy, now lets try it but with the other foot” • “you have done a fantastic job today, remember to tell your family about your personal best”
BALANCE DRILL 2 Objective: The student will demonstrate balancing on an object
Equipment: 1 hand target or sheet of paper per student
Program: The children will pretend to be chased and have to escape using the hand targets or sheets of paper as stepping-stones. Have the students gather in a circle and have an assistant lay hand targets out in a path about 12 inchs apart towards the other side of the room.
SAY
• “How many of you would like to go on an adventure? We’re going to pretend there is a huge volcano in the middle of the room. And guess what? Its erupting and lava is going everywhere. Its coming closer to us and we need to get away from the lava. But look!, There are stepping stones for us to escape to the other side of the room”. • How many of you think we can get away by using the stepping stones? Lets line up and use the stones to get away, but be careful. If you step off into the lava, you will have to hop the rest of the way on 1 foot!, Lets give it a try • Wow we made it. Oh no! The lava is going the other way, we need to get back to where we were. Lets go back over the stepping stones. • That was close. Im glad that we made it.
BALANCE DRILL 3 Objective: The student will demonstrate opposite foot balance.
Equipment: Blown up balloons, kick shield and hand targets.
Program: The children will practice front kicks and kick balloons to practice balancing on 1 foot
SAY •
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How many of you are ready to show me how well you can kick, well today we are going to have a ,ot of fun with our front kicks. First we are going to get into 2 groups , 1 group on the hand targets for high kicks and 1 group on the kick shields for power kicks and then we will swap in a few minutes. Have the student practice good form by balancing on one foot and kicking with the other. The other group will kick and hand targets held at different heights. Switch after the students have had a couple of turns. Have enough balloons for each student ready to go. You did a great job, now we are going to practice some more kicking, but in a different way. Im going to give each of you a balloon, I want you to kick it with 1 foot, but be careful not to kick a friend. Then, I want you to go after it and kick it with the other foot. Use good form, chamber your leg in a raised position and then kick. Remember the safety rules spreed out and look for others. That was a lot of fun, it made me feel so good to see how well you did, and because you did such a great job im going to let you take the balloon home so you can practice, but you must as your parents permission before you practice at home. Promise that you will ask your parents?
BALANCE DRILL 4 Objective: The student will demonstrate balancing on 1 leg and proper posture
Equipment: Hand targets 1-2 for each group and 1 wet cloth for each group
Program: The students will balance a hand target on their upraised knee for the a count, walk a short distance with 1 on their head and play animal freeze tag.
SAY
• Remember when we timed how long you could stand on 1 leg. Well today we are going to do something like that, except you’re going to hold you leg a little differently. I want you to bring your knee up in front of you like this, so that you can balance a hand target on your thigh. That’s a lot harder but I think you can do it. I want you to count out loud to see how long you hold it. If you can count that high the instructors will help you. After you do both legs, put the target on your head and walk to where the assistant tells you to, then turn around and walk back, with out using your hands to hold it, Want to Try? • Divide the class into small groups, so that each group has an instructor and 1 or 2 hand targets, the assistant can demonstrate how to balance the target on the thigh and count. Have the students walk about 10m with the hand target on their head. Make sure the hand target is wiped off after each students turn. • You did a great job, Now, I want each of you to think of an animal at the zoo. Does everybody know which animal they are going to be? Ok, we are going to plan animal freeze tag. I want you to walk around like your zoo animal, but when I say “Freeze” you have to freeze in that position, Are you ready, Lets play.
BALANCE OBSTACLE COURSE Objective: The student will demonstrate various balancing techniques
Equipment: 5 blockers, 5 hand targets and 5 assistants
Program: Have 5 stations for the obstacle course. (1) 5 blockers on the floor, each about 6 feet apart (2) Up and down (3) 5 hand targets on the floor about 6 feet apart (4) Jump and twist (5) The balance beam, can be a piece of paper 3 inchs wide and 6ft long, taped to the floor or a stripe of bubble wrap that they have to walk on softly so that don’t pop any bubbles.
SAY
• We have lots of fun planned, so put on your listening ears. Today we’re going to through an obstacle course. An obstacle course is a group of activities for you to try. There are different things to do at each station, so watch me while I explain to you the different stations. • (1) will be the hurdle hop, you will walk up to the hurdle and hop over the hurdle or blockers landing on both feet • (2) will be up and down or lie on your stomach. When the assistant says go, you will jump up as fast as you can onto both feet and then you will go back down onto your stomach. You will do this 5 times. • (3)will be walk up to the hurdle / hand target. And step over it, that’s sounds easy , but as you step over it you have to hold you leg in the air and count to 5, make sure you do this at each hurdle. • (4) is jump and twist, you will jump and twist in the air landing facing the opposite way and then repeat 5 times. • (5) walk along the balance beam Are you ready to have fun, lets g