We train on soft mats. Few dojos (places where we train) are not permanently matted, so putting the mats out is usually part of the warm-up. After everyone is on the mat, we use the traditional Eurasian way of greeting, bow. Then the warm-up begins. Five to nine-year olds are in, what most people consider, "the golden age". They are emotionally stable, yet they are not at the age where they want complete independence from adults. This makes the teacher-student relationship stronger than ever. The problem we discovered is they still lack core skills, and although they are highly proficient in their vocabulary and problem-solving skills, they struggle to keep up with pre-teens and teens in many areas, especially physically. And this is where the Little Ninjas of Chum Kune Do comes in to play.
