Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 23 | Issue 3

INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE
The Value of Mat Chats
by Grandmaster Tim McCarthy
What is a Mat Chat?
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it’s a wrap-up of the
lessons at the end of class. Some schools, especially in children’s
classes, call everyone together in a huddle (in a circle on one knee)
on the MAT, while the instructor summarizes what they learned today
in a short CHAT. Other schools have the students sit or lie down
in meditation while the instructor summarizes what they learned today.
It’s a simple way to use the old formula for education: Tell them
what you are going to say, say it, then tell them what you said.
I recommend that you use this formula in your martial arts classes
by first choosing a principle or theme of your class. Then, explain
to your students the principle or theme during warm-up. During the
action part of class, most of the drills should revolve around that
principle or theme, and then at the end, in a Mat Chat or meditation,
review not only the principle or theme, but explain how they can
use it in their daily lives outside the martial arts classroom.
If your school is designed so that the parents can hear
what you are saying, not only will it convince them
of the continuing value you are providing to their
children, it may also convince them they could start
taking classes, too.
Practical Example
Let’s say I decide my principle or theme of the
day is self-control. During warm-up, I would introduce
the theme of today’s class as self-control. Then,
I might illustrate the theme of self-control during
stretching by asking the students to notice
the pain they feel as they stretch their
muscles. I would point out that if they
want to kick higher, they need to
stretch, and although it hurts, if they
can control their fear of pain, they
can stretch a little farther or a little
longer, and practice self-control.
During the action part of class
we can practice self-control
during partner exercises. For
striking arts, we can practice
punching or kicking at our partner, learning to focus our technique
close to, but not touching his body. Students can first punch or kick
six inches away from their partner’s body, then five inches, etc, until
they can control their technique to land with full power and focus
one inch away from his body. I would direct them to practice different
strikes or kicks in the same way.
For grappling arts, I might teach a technique that includes a joint
lock, and have the
students practice very
slowly, feeling the joint
lock as they apply it to
their partner, noticing
how it feels just before
he taps out. Then, they
would incrementally
increase the speed
and power of their
application up to the point of pain, stopping before they hurt their
partner. They would be learning self-control in the proper application
of the technique, as well as self-control not to hurt their partner.
I could choose several similar joint locks to practice the same way.
At the end, whether it’s a mat chat or meditation, I would review
the self-control we practiced during stretching and point out that
learning to sacrifice a little today can bring big rewards in the future.
Just like the pain of stretching leads to more flexibility and higher
kicks, studying tonight leads to better grades on your test tomorrow,
and better chances to become a doctor, teacher, or whatever
you want to be when you grow up. I might even ask different children
what they want to be when they grow up, and then ask them
what they can do today and tomorrow to achieve that goal. If there
are adults present in a family class, I will throw in one sentence like:
And for adults, that might mean working a little longer or harder
to earn a promotion, or not arguing over everything to preserve a
relationship.
If you need inspiration for themes, check out the AMSnews in
the MA Biz Academy, which is available as part of the complete
ATLAS martial arts software package. Each month has a theme with
a motivational poster, and they offer weekly supporting philosophical
themes to spark your creativity.
GRANDMASTER TIM MCCARTHY is a 9th degree black belt and is a martial arts educator
with a master’s degree in education. He has been instrumental in developing two industry-changing
programs, plus has directed and been featured in hundreds of martial arts videos and webinars.
92 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 3