Just asked the kids at the end of one of the Karate classes, in Basingstoke, if they had any questions and was asked “what did we learn today cause I just had fun.” We discussed it as a group and this is what they learnt.

Our drills warm up was team oriented and included a class discussion on how we deal well with winning and losing.

In padwork we talked about the importance of being a good partner, training safely and working hard not just for our own sake but also for our partner. We looked at maintaining good distance from their partner and speed drills. We talked about not compromising quality technique for quantity.

We practised our forms, looking at the applications for the moves we were doing.

We finished with groundwork, practising rolling someone onto their back and doing a good hold. Always with good etiquette, attitude and manners towards partners.

We also had a conversation about introducing yourself to someone new and making friends.

All of the things we did helped the children improve their life skills including physical fitness, valuable self-defence skills, emotional control, social skills and respect for themselves and others. The fact that they see it as having fun is the best feedback I could ask for.