As well as working for Wendy at Type IT! I also work for ex-British and Commonwealth karate champion, Paul Abel, who runs a karate club in the Molesey and Esher area.
Although in theory Touch Typing and karate are both very different disciplines, there are some similarities between the two!
Touch typing and karate both have strict rules and patterns of movement.
When doing a karate class, you learn sequences of movement and need to be coordinated in order to move precisely.
To type fast, you again learn to be coordinated with each finger having its own assigned keys.
Touch typing relies on muscle memory which is great for children who may struggle with learning in a parrot-like fashion.
What is muscle memory? When we learn to touch type, we are teaching our hands and brains to coordinate with one another so that we can press the right keys in the right sequence to form correct words every time.
With our Type IT! course, we provide trigger words and videos and lots of practice to make sure students learn the right fingers to use from the start and don’t develop bad habits. Students are encouraged to take their time and type slowly until they have really remembered which fingers to use.
Similarly, with karate, it is all about practicing slowly and repeatedly to learn movements.
Touch typing and karate are physical activities.
Both touch typing and karate require a bit of a warm-up of the muscles. You can shake your hands and wriggle your fingers to warm up your hands first and make sure your hands aren’t cold! With karate, things are a little more energetic as you do need to warm up too!
Touch typing and karate are great for children with disabilities
Touch typing can help children with disabilities who may struggle with handwriting. As well as working faster, Touch typing can help with spelling too through the process of muscle memory mentioned above. Type IT! courses are suitable for children with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia and are tailored to suit the individual child.
Karate is also great for children with a variety of disabilities and Sensei Paul is delighted to run a SEN class on Monday evenings. He also has a student training for the Paralympic games! Karate is great for fitness, focus and long term coordination and stamina.
You need to practice
To become a good typist or karate student, you need to do regular practice in order to achieve that skill. It can take a few years to become a black belt in karate. With Touch Type IT! we can give you a really good basis in just 10 to 12 weeks.
A word from Wendy Petersen, founder of Type IT!
“Like learning anything new, whether that’s learning a new sport, musical instrument or touch typing, it takes regular practice and a ‘can do’ positive attitude. But learning on your own isn’t easy so having a trained practitioner, on hand, to show you how it’s done properly is the ‘key’ to success!”
A word from Sensei Paul Abel, owner of Abel Karate
“Karate is suitable for different ages and abilities and is great for fitness, focus, coordination and team building. I have been running Abel Karate for over 10 years now and take pride in seeing my students succeed with hard work”.
For more information about Type IT! or Abel Karate, see
www.touchtypeit.co.uk
www.abelkarate.com
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