Dear Parents,
One of the things we hear most often when people are signing their kids up with us is that they want them to be more active. As a Father of three, I know the struggles of seeing our kids be sedentary. Obviously, our focus at Burbank Krav Maga is Self Defense. However, when it comes to our Juniors Program, there's so much more.
Discipline, Integrity, Perseverance, and Fitness are things we talk about and try to instill in all of our students. While many of these lessons are things we can talk about in class and parents can reiterate at home, I recognize that Fitness is an area in which many of us don't know where to start. I also know that as much as we’d all love for our kids to be self-motivated little fitness beasts, most kids just won’t get there by themselves.
A few weeks ago I was talking with a couple of parents about creating a program that takes all of the guess-work out of what our kids can do if they want to workout at home. After talking with Ms. Natalie and Mr. Daniel, I believe we have a program that will both motivate our kids and take all of the guess-work out of a daily activity.
We have set up a Google Classroom, where the kids can choose to participate in Daily Workout Challenges. Starting tomorrow, Monday, December 9, the kids will have access to Daily Assignments that lay out a quick and accessible workout, which will only be up for that day. We’re hoping that this will encourage consistency, which is a vital component of growth. We're going to encourage the kids to do the workout and log the results (sometimes those "results" would just be marking "complete" on the assignment). At the end of the month we're going to check the Classroom and see who has participated. Anyone who has completed 80% of the workouts (17-18 in December) will receive a Bronze Achievement Certificate. 90% (19-22 in December) will receive a Silver, and anyone who completes 100% of the Challenges will receive a Gold Certificate. We hope that this recognition of their effort will be an additional incentive for the kids to participate.
Most of us are very familiar with Google Classroom. The link to join the class is here: https://classroom.google.com/c/NzMyMzUyMzc1MTM4?cjc=hlkj2zv. If you or your kids already have Google Classroom set up, you can add our class by using the code hlkj2zv.
Speaking as a Dad, I understand the frustration a lot of us feel with the sedentary lifestyle so many of our kids now have. There was a time when being told you weren't allowed to go outside and play was punishment. I, for one, feel the pushback when I try to get my kids to go for a bike ride, or even just a walk outside. We can try to be examples, but at the end of the day we’re "just" Mom and Dad. I hope that this new program can be a tool for you all, and a little extra motivation for the kids.
I'd like to share a book and a documentary that have been a driving force in my thought process. The first is a book called "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain" by Dr. John Ratey. Dr. Ratey breaks down different studies and programs on how exercise for kids and adults affects everything from school work and learning to managing stress and hormonal balance. I have a copy on Audible and have listened to sections of it with my kids. One of my Twins, who has ADHD, was fascinated by some of the data in the book, and it helped inspire her to become my workout buddy every Tuesday. You can find this book on Amazon at www.burkm.com/spark.
The documentary that inspired me to update BKM's approach to fitness with our Juniors is called "The Motivation Factor," and was released in 2017. It's a retrospective of a PE program that was developed in the 1960s at La Sierra High School in Northern California, and "portrays the role of physical education in developing smart, productive and mentally strong people." You can watch the trailer for it at www.burkm.com/motivation. You can rent or buy it streaming on Amazon Prime at www.burkm.com/motivation-doc.
Finally, I’d like to say Thank You to all of our families. I am continually humbled and grateful for the trust you put in me, my Instructors, and our school. It takes a village to raise a child, and we are honored to be part of your village. I hope that we can continue to work together to encourage the habits that will lead our kids to leading healthy, happy, and successful lives.
Chris Crouch
Owner/Chief Instructor
Burbank Krav Maga
December 8, 2024