Photo by Panther Taekwondo Black Belt Academy.

In Panther Taekwondo Black Belt Academy, we’ve believe in our students. We’ve learned how to build up confidence over years of experience, and so we know what really works.

Here’s how we do it.

• • Positive reinforcement. That means we’re not super-critical and we don’t focus on faults or mistakes. We praise the behaviour that we DO want to see. 
  • Marking achievement. For us that means belt ceremony awards. These are formal – it’s great for young people to be respected and for their achievements to be marked in an official way. When students advance in rank, they will become more confident by achieving their goal.
  • Strong, sold techniques: students begin with the basics. They just lay solid foundations and they can’t continue until they have done so. Good techniques build confidence. As they advance, the techniques become more difficult but they have already achieved success and know they can master more. They gain confidence from their accomplishments.
  • Classroom motivation: that’s our job as teachers. We watch and we encourage.
  • Weekly quote: confidence is taught and explained in every class. Our weekly quote also teaches students about life skills. We are open and frank about our own journeys and give them helpful examples and concrete advice.

Sometimes people tell me that we’re too positive – that punishment is important and instils discipline. I’m not sure it does. Someone who’s afraid to be punished will certainly obey… but we want confident, positive thinkers who can learn from their mistakes. If you’re afraid to make a mistake, you’ll never make anything. That way – you’ll never learn.

I encourage children just to feel great about themselves. I’ll give you an example. There’s one young chap in a class who said to me, “sir, you were nine times British champion. Wow! Can I be nine times British champion?”

I said, “You could be ten times British champion.”

A light went on in his head. I saw it happen.

Children need – and we all need – a sense of possibility and a sense of personal power.  And I’ve learned to help our children develop this. It’s important to remember that children are present-focussed.