Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Kids Class Capoeira

I don't know if you know this, but I play Capoeira. And, lovely enough, I like kids!

I have been practicing Capoeira for about 11-12 months by now; I started in Istanbul, moved on to Santa Ana, CA, and now I'm in Denver, CO. I'm hoping to continue my practice in Morocco when I move there in the next few weeks. If there is not already a group, maybe some young people will be intrigued enough to learn a few things.

To practice-- and prepare myself-- for the possibility of teaching others Capoeira solely in order to have somebody to play with, I took a Capoeira teacher training course. Also, I wanted to hang out with my friends some more and become an awesome-r Capoeirista (someone who plays Capoeira).

What I learned is, first and foremost, that I have a loooong way to go before I will feel comfortable calling myself a Capoeira teacher. I respect those who have been putting the sweat an' tears into practicing too much for that.

What I learned next is, I am TERRIFIED of being upside down. So, naturally, I spend the majority of my time with my head on the ground and feet leaning up against the wall.

Lately I have been helping out with the kids class (3-4 weeks), to see if I can get a better understanding for how to teach the little people. Monday, I "subbed" for my first kids class, and it went okay. My teacher-ness didn't shine through, and one of the kids kept peeking at my curriculum.

Today though... today I turned it around a little! After we did our basic warm-up, we learned a dodge called a "cocorinha", where you bring your feet together, squat down on your feet, and keep one hand above your head for protection. I think of it as the best dodge, or duck.

Speaking of ducks! I placed 7 yellow rubber duckies on the floor around the room (7 kids) and explained the game we would play. Just like musical chairs, the kids would run, skip, or walk around the room. When the music stops, the kids crouch down in cocorinha. The last one to find a duck and duck into cocorinha was out--and took the duck out, too.

Using a "fist of 5" strategy--5 fingers on a hand, 5 is the most positive, 1 is "I hated it"--the kids all gave it a 5. It definitely needs some subtle tweaking, but the kids had a lot of fun with it, and everyone could participate.

I like teaching kids! Today was a happy day.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing this value able information. You so deserve the recognition!
    Keep it up....


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