School can be a strenuous time for children, especially given the demands of studying and the pressure to attain high marks.
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Yet, it’s a phase everyone goes through early on in life.
Marissa Katz has been a teacher and remedial therapist at Sunnyridge Primary School for 30 years.
To help learners cope with the daily pressures, she introduced martial arts to her classes to improve their grades and learning experiences.
The role of a remedial therapist is to assist learners in overcoming or coping with their learning difficulties.
It focuses on skills rather than content. Therapy focuses on various aspects of learning, depending on the grade level and needs of the learners.
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For the past few years, she has transformed young lives by incorporating taekwondo into the education system.
Katz started teaching at Sunnyridge Primary School in 1992 and, in 1996, was named the educator of the year by the school.
In 1998, she had her first child and, two years later, returned to work as a remedial therapist.
In 2009, she began doing taekwondo, just a few years after her children had started.
“When I began teaching taekwondo in 2017 as an extra-mural at the school, I had to monitor the progress of learners,” said Katz.
“I teach learners with learning disabilities.
“Academically, they are not as good as a normal child, hence it was interesting to see them come alive in martial arts and improve in their grades,” said Katz, a 4th Degree Black Belt title holder.
After school, Katz continues to be an educator because she teaches taekwondo at her club, Master It Taekwondo Academy.
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She has done so since 2019.
“I had 80 students before Covid-19, and I remained with five after Covid-19. Everything had to be online, and most students had no access to the internet.
“Looking at the bright side of last year, one of my students graded to black belt, and I had a few National Champs. We also had our prestigious prize-giving and final testing of the year.”
This year, Katz plans to start evening classes at Sunnyridge Primary School with instructor Faiyaz Khan.
“We are forming an evening club called Blackbelt Martial Arts – Taekwondo Academy. There will be three classes, tigers, kids, and adults,” said Katz.
“I will also run ladies, tiger and special needs kids’ classes from a studio in Bedfordview.
“We aim to build up enough numbers to open up a big club in the future in Bedfordview or the surrounding area,” explained Katz.
“This year, I achieved Presidential Colours, Khan achieved National Colours, and we represented South Africa at the ATA World Champs in Phoenix, Arizona in July.
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Khan achieved world champ status, and I received first place at the Family Festival event there.
“I also became national champ in October at our South African National Champs in Bloemfontein,” said Katz.
