Welcome to the new Confidence Martial Arts ATA Tigers Program in Wilmington, NC, brought to you from the ATA! There are many new changes that we have made here at Confidence Martial Arts to our Tiger Program. This is the martial arts program that we offer for Pre School age children (3 – 6 year olds) that helps them develop a good, positive mental attitude while growing up. This article may be used as a reference from the ATA, for different material and information for the students and parents involved in our ATA Tigers Program.
WHY THE CHANGE?
As time passes, we become more advanced in understanding the many ways children learn and develop. Engagement is a key component of building a lasting connection with pre-school and kindergarten aged children. The current Tiny Tiger program, while effective, required a new component that would allow Tiger students to feel more engaged with the program and provide strong visual cues to help them align with their achievements and goals. The use of the new Tiger characters provides a relational point that pre school aged students can identify with and gives a new platform on which to teach the traditional Songahm curriculum.
This also creates a distinctive program specifically for the pre school Tiger age group, so their move to Karate for Kids feels like a strong transition to the next level program. In addition to incorporating animated characters, the program name has changed from Tiny Tigers to ATA Tigers. This change was made to address the aspirational mindset of young children by not defining them as “tiny” and focus on the empowerment of being a “tiger.”
OATH
I Promise:
To Be a Good Person,
With Knowledge in My Mind,
Honesty in My Heart,
Strength in My Body (x3),
To Make Good Friends,
To Become a Black Belt Leader Sir!
ATA TIGER CHARACTER OVERVIEW – (CLICK HERE for more detailed information)
Being able to relate to the Tiger students is extremely important to make sure that the Tigers actually apply the life skill knowledge and training to their everyday lives. These different animal characters and their corresponding stuffed animals are a great way to accomplish this goal. Throughout the Tigers’ training, they will learn about the different personalities of all the ATA Tiger characters.
ARA – Turtle – Means of the sea: Shy, sweet, innocent.
BAEOH – Tiger – Means the flying tiger: fun, outgoing, a good friend to have.
CHEERI – Cheetah – Means to defend: smart, strict, very hard on herself.
RAON – Lion – Means active, lion: athletic, strong, competitive.
SURI – Eagle – Means eagle: self conscience about his size, works very hard, wants to please.
CHOA – Phoenix – Means light the world: pretty, outgoing, stronger than she gives herself credit for.
MIR – Dragon – Means Dragon: Intelligent, a little nerdy, loyal.
NARSHA – Cobra – Means flying high: Strong will, self confident, determined.
BARON – Panther – Means right: Born leader, physical and mentally fit, might lean towards too serious sometimes.
NEW BELT PROGRESSION
T-9R – Plain White Belt & Uniform (earn Ara patch after first few classes), Ara animal, book, & T-Shirt
T-9D – Ara (Turtle) White Belt and Headband
T-8R – Plain Orange stripe belt & Baeoh patch, animal, book, & T-Shirt
T-8D – Baeoh (Tiger) stripe belt & Headband
T-7R – Plain Yellow stripe belt & Cheeri patch, animal, book, & T-Shirt
T-7D – Cheeri (Cheetah) stripe belt & Headband
T-6R – Plain Camo stripe belt & Raon patch, animal, book, & T-Shirt
T-6D – Raon (Lion) stripe belt & Headband
T-5R – Plain Green stripe belt & Suri patch, animal, book, & T-Shirt
T-5D – Suri (Eagle) stripe belt & Headband
T-4R – Plain Purple stripe belt & Choa patch, animal, book, & T-Shirt
T-4D – Choa (Phoenix) stripe belt & Headband
T-3R – Plain Blue stripe belt & Mir patch, animal, book, & T-Shirt
T-3D – Mir (Dragon) stripe belt & Headband T-2R – Plain Brown stripe belt & Narsha patch, animal, book, & T-Shirt
T-2D – Narsha (Snake) stripe belt & Headband
T-1R – Plain Red stripe belt & Baron patch, animal, book, & T-Shirt
T-1D – Baron (Panther) stripe belt & Headband
*Upon completion of the ATA Tiger Program through T-1D or when the instructor determines that the student is ready, the student will move to the Karate for Kids Program at the rank of 6D (Camo Belt) as the default rank. The chief instructor has the right to change this default entry rank if necessary and will be determined on an individual basis.
BAG TAGS
The “Star Tag” is an update to the Victory Patch star reward system. Instead of adding an additional step of work for parents to sew on stars, the new Star Tag can be attached to the Tigers’ equipment ATA Tiger Bags. Then the rewarded stars can be put on the Star Tag and no longer will need to be sewn on the uniform. The star system will be used exactly the same as it is currently and upgraded Tags will be earned as follows:
White: Earn by bringing a friend: 0-25 stars
Blue: 26-50 stars, Certificate will be awarded
Red: 51-75 stars, Certificate will be awarded
Black: 76-100 stars, Certificate will be awarded
Gold: 100+ stars, Certificate will be awarded
ATA TIGER LIFE SKILL BOOK SERIES
The ATA Tigers Program includes a nine book series by award winning writers and illustrators. Each book is carefully crafted to showcase life skills and teachable moments. Parents should use these stories to help reinforce at home the life skill teachings that the Tigers get in class. This helps to make sure that the student knows and applies life skills such as confidence, respect, perseverance, and humility.