Life Skills Programs
Hoshin runs several programs throughout the year which reinforce key life skills we believe students young and old need in order to move through life smoothly, with grace, dignity and respect for all around. The programs center on a moral foundation that enables them to be run as stand alone courses in Life Skills or run in conjuntion with Martial Arts / self defence programs
Every child and adult is capable of behaving respectfully, speaking courteously, using "please" and "thankyou" often, giving a helping hand without being asked, AND they are capable of taking responsibility for their actions with grace and humility.
Hoshin has taught children literally from the streets, in halfway houses and refuges, young people with severe learning disabilities, like ADD, ADHD, even Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Aspergers and more. Every single one, without exception, has learnt how to behave with all of the skills necessary to be a true Modern Warrior. They learnt these skills without humiliation, harsh words or blackmail.
Parents often give in to their children's demands rather than have a fight. This might be because we are single parents doing it alone, caring for other children too, didn't have good parenting examples ourselves, or working long hours to give all the things to our kids that we didn't have ourselves.
The problem is that we are NOT giving our children the one most valuable thing many of our parents passed on to us... Good manners!
Many of us would never have dreamed of ordering our parents to buy us things, or drop our clothes on the floor and expect our mother to pick them up like a servant. We have confused less rigid parenting skills for a total free-for-all of instant gratification with NO responsibility for actions. Even "time out" has become going to your room to play with your computer or watch your personal TV!It's ok to expect to be treated with respect, and if we demand it from our children we will enable them to demand it in their relationships with others. Programs offered by Hoshin seek to educate parents and their children to change the behaviours that create conflict and learn instead to live and communicate in harmony.
The main Life Skills programs offered each year:
Manners for the Modern Warrior is an 8 week course centering on basic manners as well as good sportsmanship, responsibility, kindness and helpfulness. This program is best for children 3 years old up to 14. This program culminates with "the medal of warrior honour" for students who successfully complete the course.
Bullying is covered with different courses for different age groups:
- "Good For You!" is a series of role plays centering on a victim and a bully. Each role play builds on the skills of the one before, until over an 8 - 12 week period children have developed the skills to deal with even the most serious verbal bullying situations.
- "Traffic Light" is for younger children. Using the idea that bullying is like a traffic light, the colours red, green and orange are used to help children identify the different stages of bullying and appropriate responses to different bullying attacks.
Modern Warriors Guide to Alcohol and Other Drugs is offered to preteens, young teenagers and their parents, with an up to date guide on drugs, their effects, dealing with peer pressure situations involving alcohol and other drugs and techniques for recognsing signs of abuse in friends and other peers
Modern Warriors Guide to Conflict Resolution and Effective Communication is a program teaching skills to teenagers and their parents to enable better lines of communication and less time fighting! Parents learn how to set boundaries and teenagers learn a little more about what their parents are feeling! Both sides come away with a clearer understanding of the other which it is hoped leads to a peaceful co-existence for both sides!
The Red Belt Challenge is a program for ALL students in adult classes and runs for 12 weeks every year. This program makes up part of the adult red belt syllabus and should aways be offered in conjunction with some form of regular, hard exercise program if not being offered with martial arts.
