How do I train my children at home?
Great question! But before you can help train your children, you as a parent should understand what are they doing in the class. Karate mainly divides into two parts of training, Kata and Kumite. Basically, Kata is a series of action and motion to mimic the situation of a fighting scene; whereas Kumite is sparring with a partner. Your children should revise and repeat the Kata they have learnt in the lesson. You may find it the kata list over HERE.
As for Kumite, you are suggested not to do the sparring at home, rather, training the simple technique and correct form are more than enough.
Ok. He's been training at home, but he doesn't do the right thing at the right time during kumite.
As cliche as it sounds, practice makes perfect. You should encourage your children to engage in more sparring practice during the class. Encourage him to take more fights than all the other kids. The more he is experienced, the better he performs. At the end of the day, one sparring is a better lesson than just a punch to a stationary object. You may come to take videos of him fighting during the class, I’m sure the coaches are more than happy to let you do so 😉 .