Drill 1: Dragon clean up

The instructor will have two teams compete to see who can clean the room the fastest.

Goal: This drill will help Dragons create organization as a team. The drill is also appealing to the parents because it makes cleaning fun.

Set up:

Step 1:  Split the class up into two even teams.

Step 2: Have team 1 grab all of your targets, pads, boards, and anything else you can use and throw them all over the room.

Step 3:  Team 2 is timed to see how fast they can clean up the mess. Neatness counts so encourage pride in the appearance of their school when they are putting the objects away.

Step 4:  Reverse roles and acknowledge whoever was the fastest. In most cases the team that was slower is usually the neater group, acknowledge their pride and neatness as well.

Instructor Tips: In this drill enforce the importance of working together while being neat. An example would be for one person to stack the pads, one to put the boards back on the shelf, and two to gather everything.

Drill 2: Bubbles in the middle

Two Dragons work together as they use their martial art techniques to pop the bubbles.

Goal: In this drill each Dragon learns to make room for help and work together to accomplish their goal.

Set up:

Step 1:  Pair up all of the Dragons and have then come up one pair at a time to the middle of a circle.

Step 2:  Have a parent volunteer if you would like, or the instructor can be the one to blow bubbles in the middle.

Step 3:  The two Dragons must execute the techniques required for their rank to pop the bubbles as fast as they can. They are done when more than three bubbles touch the floor.

Step 4:  Have all of the pairs of Dragons take turns until everyone has a chance.

This drill seems to be very popular so you may want to give everyone more than one opportunity to be in the middle.

Instructor Tips: It is very rare that you will see one Dragon not trying. Let’s face it: everyone loves to pop bubbles. Point out how proud you are that everyone tried really hard to help his or her teammate out.

Drill 3: Dragon Navigator

Each Dragon will have a chance to hide a sticker around the school deck. He/ She must direct their partner towards the hidden sticker by giving the commands “hot” and “cold”.

Goal: This partner drill will help both Dragons with their social skills and also help them learn how to give directions and follow directions.

Set up:

Step 1:  Pair up all of the Dragons in the class. For each pair, designate one as the “navigator” and one as the “locator”.

Step 2:  Give all of the navigators a different sticker. Make sure that their partner (locator) knows what the sticker looks like.

Step 3:  Have all of the locators’ close their eyes while all of the navigators hide their sticker in an easy to find spot.

Step 4:  The locators open their eyes and try to find their navigators’ sticker. The navigators must guide their locator around the deck by giving the command “hot” when they are close to finding the sticker and “cold” when they are far away. The first pair to locate to the sticker wins. 

Step 5:  Switch roles.

Instructor Tips: This drill should go by quick. Encourage the “navigator” to help their partner find the sticker as fast as possible. If ran correctly, each pair should have several chances to navigate and locate.

Drill 4: Dragon Relay

The class will be split into two teams who will compete against each other in a variety of drills.

Goal: This is a team exercise used to challenge each Dragon and build teamwork amongst their group.

Set up:

Step 1:  Divide the class into two teams. Allow each team to come up with a team name and a team cheer.

Step 2:  Set up a relay line for both teams to line up behind. Across the floor, set up another line where you will use two assistants to each hold a target.

Step 3:  The Dragons on both teams must race to the targets and strike the target with the technique of your choice depending on rank and style.

Step 4:  They must then run back to the starting line and tag their next teammate in line then sit down at the back of the line.

The team that wins gets to do their cheer.

*Ex. Tigers wins, they all growl like Tigers.

Instructor tips: Encourage the Dragons to cheer for their teammates.  Make sure each Dragon strikes the target with proper technique, if not, have them strike it again. Challenge them by adding reps to the strikes.

Drill 5: Dragon partner drills

Each Dragon will have a partner who will hold targets for various techniques. The techniques and reps will vary according to rank and style.

Goal: These drills will help your Dragons interact with each other.

Set up:

Step 1:  Pair up each Dragon. One Dragon is told to hold the target and the other will strike.

Step 3:  The Dragon must strike the target with the technique of the instructor’s choice and amount of reps the instructor request.

Step 2:  The Dragon holding the target will count out loud the number of reps their partner strikes on the target.

Step 3:  Switch roles.

Step 4:  Add more techniques if desired.

Instructor tips: Make sure you walk around and monitor your Dragons closely. Some Dragons may not execute proper technique; those are the Dragons you must spend time with to correct. Some Dragons may not work well together so you need to encourage the concept of teamwork.

Keep in mind that you must constantly encourage cooperation between your Dragons. Encourage them, but do not discourage them. Allow them to express themselves then, support the benefits of the agreement. Support from you and each other creates a positive environment. The better the environment to work and train in, the better talent you can create.

At the end of this class, you should reward each Dragon with a blue stripe showing that they have passed their teamwork requirement for that belt. At testing time, you can select one or more of these drills to demonstrate in front of the judges.

Each drill is designed to accommodate all ranks and styles. The higher rank the student, the more difficult techniques you should use in each drill; and the higher standards you should set for their performance.