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Introducing the Internationally Acclaimed Early SKILLZ Program for 3 & 4yr olds!

Three to four year old’s love physical activity and anything involving play. They have a rich imagination and strong desire to be less dependent on their usual caregivers. The problem we discovered is that many children this age have a hard time with structure in a group environment like what is commonly found in most Martial Arts schools. The solution we found is to provide them with their own program that targets their stage of development in a manner that keeps them entertained while at the same time building skills that set them up for success. With that said, a structured program introducing early skill-based training in Martial Arts has proven to be very successful.

By understanding the stages of development of 3 & 4 year old’s, we were able to select 8 age-appropriate skills that make up the Early SKILLZ Program:

KICKING PUNCHING BLOCKING CRAWLING HOPPING ROLLING RUNNING CATCHING

We cover one of the above skills per class (in order). During each class we run a warm-up; deliver a mat chat about the skill; run two or three skill-building drills; and then we have them demonstrate the skill to earn their skill-stripe. They must earn all 8 skill-stripes in order to graduate to the next belt level. Once they earn their next belt they will continue to run through all 8 skills earning their skill-stripes with more challenging curriculum as they advance to each rank. They graduate to the Basic SKILLZ program after they have successfully completed all 9 belt ranks of the Early SKILLZ program.

Here is an example of what a white belt must demonstrate for each of the 8 skills above in order to earn their next belt:

1. KICKING: Front kicking in the air, alternating legs. They must be able to execute ten kicks in a row alternating legs in order to pass.
2. PUNCHING: Straight punching in the air, alternating arms. They must be able to execute ten punches in a row alter-nating arms in order to pass.
3. BLOCKING: High blocking in the air, alternating arms. They must be able to execute ten high blocks in a row alternating arms in order to pass.
4. CRAWLING: Bear crawling across the mat. They must be able to bear crawl up and down the floor without their knees or elbows touching the mat in order to pass.
5. HOPPING: Hopping down the floor with both feet. They must be able to hop down the mat with both feet together, and without falling, five times in a row in order to pass.
6. ROLLING: Rolling a ball down the floor. They must be able to roll a ball down the floor while alternating hands, and keeping at least one hand on the ball at all times, in order to pass.
7. RUNNING: Running down the floor. They must be able to run down the floor as fast as possible without falling in order to pass.
8. CATCHING: Catching a ball thrown underhand from one step away. They must be able to catch a ball five times in a row in order to pass.

As you can see we take Martial Arts training to a whole new level! We use early elements of traditional Martial Arts curriculum’s to build skills that are appropriate for 3 and 4 year old’s. This means that your child will learn and grow at a pace that is not too easy, nor too challenging. The best part is the Early SKILLZ program will equip your child with skills that they will utilize in every area of their life!