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Kyokushin Karate & The Development of Self-Esteem in Children
By Shihan Don Corrigal
The great Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu wrote in his thesis “The Art of War” that “…Those who win every battle are not really skillful - those who render others' helpless without fighting are the best of all." It is my belief that this refers to the well-developed use of the mind to create an environment that so completely overwhelms the opponent as to leave them helpless. This encompasses the functions of the brain that are used in a balanced and coordinated way. These functions include:
Sensory perception; taste, smell, sight, hearing, touch;
Cognitive faculties; independent thought, observation, analysis, problem solving;
Emotional facilitation; discerning emotional states, re-directing emotional energy to support cognitive faculties, overcoming fear & anxiety.
A sufficiently disciplined mind can utilize the natural architecture of the human brain to create a psychological environment that so completely overwhelms the opponent as to leave them helpless. Where does this begin? It is my contention that this must start with children and that the foundation of a powerful and disciplined mind is built upon high self-esteem. High self-esteem allows the individual the freedom to apply the inherent power of the mind as it was designed.
The fundamental purpose of teaching children in Kyokushin Karate is to develop high self-esteem, using kyokushin karate to facilitate and strengthen this development. In order to teach kyokushin karate in a way that enhances and promotes high self-esteem, the instructor must understand what are the techniques of good teaching, which cause a child’s self-esteem to develop optimally.
There are 5 fundamental ways that an instructor can enhance self-esteem:
Verbal recognition & encouragement;
Visual recognition & encouragement;
Positive physical contact & encouragement;
Active listening;
Cognitive and intellectual contemplative approbation - an act of approving formally or officially, goal setting & implementation;
1. Verbal recognition & encouragement is exactly that, the use of age appropriate, respectful verbal communication to provide positive feedback to the child, and more importantly to formally recognize the fundamental human existence of the child. It is a need of the human species to be acknowledged as a person worthy of the basic respect and courtesy that is the right of each human being. The techniques of positive feedback & communication is articulated in the article - “Teach Your Children Well…Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - The Use of Children’s Classes in Kyokushin Karate as a Tool to Enhance The Physical, Social, Intellectual and Emotional Development of Children”
2. Visual recognition & encouragement essentially have two characteristics; eye contact and a smile. It is important that the instructor makes eye contact with and smiles at the student. It is also important that the child make eye contact with the instructor. Eye contact and smiling achieves a connection directly to the mid brain of the student, which controls emotional responses of humans. Eye contact also reaffirms sub-consciously that the child exists. The smile in itself is a power weapon, which can be used to build self-esteem or destroy it. The very act of smiling a genuine smile while making eye contact fulfills a number of the 7 fundamental needs of the mid brain; does this person like me?, does this person intend to hurt me?, am I in danger?, and the sub-conscious brain picks up on this signal. The brain then acts to defend itself or to open itself up for assimilation of environmental data & stimuli. The eyes are often referred to the eyes as the window to the soul. The eyes, at a sub-conscious level, transmit large amounts of information, and this information will be picked up at a sub-conscious level. The child will invariably interpret the information at a personal level, either positively or negatively.
3. Physical contact & encouragement is a difficult discussion, as it can very easily be misinterpreted in a negative way and creates significant, unintended problems for the teacher. It needs to be recognized however, that appropriate physical contact is necessary for the physical health of a human being. This a fundamental need throughout life and is reflected in the children’s song – “…Four hugs a day, that’s the minimum…” Having said that, the contact must meet certain prescribed standards of appropriateness:
This is always done with the complete knowledge and consent of the parent, and in the presence preferably of the parent or other trustworthy adults;
Appropriate locations – hand shake, encouraging touch of the arm, or shoulder;
If there is any indication that the child or parents are uncomfortable at any level, the encouragement is to stopped and apologies offered;
Intimate contact or the allusion to intimate contact of any kind at any level is absolutely inappropriate and is forbidden. This is a hard and fast rule for any student of any age that can not be compromised;
Any contact with a student should always respect their personal space. This space can be described as the area within the radius of the arms length of the student;
All interactions need to be accompanied by the appropriate and consistent verbal & visual re-enforcements;
Contact with the face & head is particularly dangerous. The face is generally the “face” of ourselves, who we see ourselves as at the deepest level. Positive and negative physical contact with the face of an individual will have powerful responses. Any perceived negative contact with the face will strike destructively at the very heart of a student’s self-image and self-esteem. Contact intended as positive re-enforcement will likely be interpreted as “intimate” contact and intimate contact with students is to be avoided at all costs, as the instructor/student relationship is inherently unbalanced in favour of the instructor. The use and guardianship of that power must be ethically and morally above reproach. Any breach of this trust will bring the instructor, the dojo & the organization into disrepute.
This method of encouragement is a difficult skill to develop and the instructor must be cautious in its application, and only after the necessary relationship building has taken place with the student and the student’s family.
4. Active listening on the part of the instructor is an essential skill. This requires a concentrated mindful redirection of the instructor’s mind focus to the exclusion of all else. The instructor can then utilize the two-fold perception of hearing and understanding. Many time what is said carries many levels of communication. Communication consists of 5% what is said in the words, 80% how the message is said or delivered and 15% of the emotional content of the message. This requires the instructor to focus completely on the student. The two-fold hearing of listening & understanding and the two-fold vision of gaze and perception must be used to achieve active listening.
5. Cognitive and intellectual contemplative approbation – the deliberate act of approving formally or officially, goal setting & implementation is the action by which the instructor spends time thinking about the student, defining & planning goals based on the needs of the particular student, then implementing those strategies that will have to best possible outcome for the student. While at the same time the instructor needs to articulate those goals & strategies with appropriate expectations for behaviour and outcomes. Part of this requires the acknowledgment by the instructor that the child can in fact achieve the goals set for them.
I believe that self-esteem is the greatest force, power and personal resource that the individual can exercise on their own behalf. The kyokushin karate instructor exercises great power in the development of the self-esteem of their students. It is critical to understand and exercise this power with discretion and wisdom. The ultimate result will be students who are successful in their lives, are leaders in their communities, have the two-fold thought – knowledge and wisdom, and can render others' helpless without fighting.
