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Old 03-28-2006, 04:22 PM   #4
James Davis
 
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Dojo: Ft. Myers School of Aikido
Location: Ft. Myers, FL.
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 716
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Re: Best Methods for Teaching Forward Rolls!

When a student has problems with forward rolls at our dojo, we get a couple of really thick and cushy mates and stack them on top of the normal mat we use. We'll then have the student just squat down with their feet apart and put their head and hands down on the cushy mat. We then explain that they can't push themselves over slowly; they have to kick hard. We don't look for rolls or breakfalls right away, we just have them pretty much "flop" over into a sitting position. Once they've done this a few times, they usually lose their fear of rolling in a pretty short period of time.

I suppose it just upside-down-aphobia that kept them from rolling in the first place.

We also do something we call "rocking chair rolls". We have the student sit down on the floor with one leg under the other (sort of like the rolling position). We'll then have them roll back onto their shoulders and tuck their chin to their chest, keeping their hands in front of them. This teaches them the importance of tucking their chin and of using their legs to propel themselves forward and back.

There's not really any one way to teach everyone. Vary your analogies and methods for each student.

In my opinion, the most important thing to convey to the student is patience. Set aside a corner of the mat to work one on one with them so that they don't feel they're holding up the rest of the class.

Something I like to say to new students is:

"If you figured out this stuff in a couple minutes, it would really piss me off. It took me a long time to get it right!"

"The only difference between Congress and drunken sailors is that drunken sailors spend their own money." -Tom Feeney, representative from Florida
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