Quickie hint for folks running judo classes for kids younger than about 9 or 10. I've started doing this in the last couple of months and it works GREAT as a sanity saver.
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When you have really young kids in your class, they don't know their left from their right, so it is impossible for them to follow directions without you pointing or touching the correct leg and saying, "move this leg..." Even as late as 8-10 years of age, kids are often tentative about left and right.
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So, lately, I've started using a sharpie to draw an X on the top of every right foot in the class and an O on the top of every left foot. That way, I can give directions like...
- put your X-foot beside their X-foot...
- grab their X-foot with your O-foot...
works like a charm!
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Patrick Parker
