PEACEFUL WARRIORS GOOD HABITS - SECTION#2 – Instructor’s Instructions

The goal of this block is to teach the value of having good habits. The theme of this block is “Good habits are hard to make, but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to make, but hard to live with.”

It takes a conscious, deliberate effort to develop good habits. It is hard to develop self-discipline. It is hard to stay focused and not get sidetracked. It takes courage to always be responsible for your actions. It takes effort to learn to be non-judgmental. But if you can develop these habits, life will be a whole lot easier, more fun and more rewarding.

On the other hand, it is easy to be lazy and sloppy and not try hard. In the long run, these bad habits will cost you a great life. In this cycle, you will be teaching your students some strategies that will help them develop good habits.

For the next four weeks, always start the lessons with these three questions:

What does it mean to have good habits?
Why is it important to have good habits?
Can you give me an example of having good habits?

Then follow the appropriate weeks Character Development & Training lesson.

Students, especially young students, learn more, faster and retain answers longer by listening to a short story or lesson, then answering a few well-placed questions, followed by role-playing (all taking five minutes or less). When ever you ask a question be sure to give the students time to answer.

Therefore, it is really important that you solicit answers and get feedback from your students. You might have to ask the question again in order to draw out the answer you want. Remember the important part it isn’t so much the lecture, as it is getting your students to reason through the problem presented until they draw the conclusion you want.

When a student gives you an incorrect or wrong answer, keep your response positive. You might say “good try” or “almost” or “you’re getting close”. If we make our students feel self-conscious or “dumb” they will stop participating and this teaching method becomes ineffective.

For the next four weeks, several times during each class, incorporate a success chant. At first you’ll have to say the whole chant. As the students learn it, you say the first half and have them repeat the last half. You can do the chant during stretching, or use it as a pattern interrupt (snap them to attention stance and then say the success chant.) The goal is to imprint the success chant in such a way that they can draw upon it for strength and direction outside of Martial Arts classes. The success chant for the next four weeks is:

“Good habits are hard to make, but easy to live with.

Bad habits are easy to make, but hard to live with.”