Gymnastics school for the young
By Jennylyn C. Suguitan, Special to The Manila Times

After a decade of teaching gymnastics, Napoleon Ching has made it his business to share his skills. He opened Tic Tac Tumble, a gymnastics school for children, six months ago. “It would be a nice legacy to leave behind, that’s why I put up a place.” Ching explains. “Tic tac is a move in gymnastics. Like ‘Tic-Tac-Toe,’ it sounds like fun for kids, [when put together].”

Ching reveals. Since then, Ching has been balancing his time between coaching and participating in stage plays.

Kids in Tic Tac Tumble are developing not just limber bodies but also learn values of discipline and foster friendship as well.

According to Ching, they hold classes in small groups to maintain a close interaction between the students and the teachers. “There is no age limit in learning, as early as 3 years old, you can start training,” Ching notes.

Tic Tac Tumble offers training programs such as Artistic Gymnastics and Rhythmic Gymnastic where children can learn the discipline of the sport while interacting with children their age, which helps in their social development.

Positive cost

According to psychologist Edna Miraflores, one of the positive effects of gymnastics to a child’s development is the discipline that it imposes. “Because they follow a certain regimen, they develop excellent discipline and physically, it tones the child’s body to become physically fit even at a very young age.”

Miraflores adds that gymnastics is an excellent hobby, especially for children to develop self-control as gymnastics need intensive training in order to perform the stunts well.

Lessons from a teacher

Even though he has been doing gymnastics for years, Ching never loses his inspiration—“The idea of doing something of value and seeing my students develop seen and unseen skills in and out of the gym.”

He confides that Gymnastics is his first love. “Every time I saw it on TV, I would have my eyes glued to it,” he recalls. Even today, Ching never tires of his work.

When he is not coaching gymnastics, Ching is busy with participating in stage plays. Even as he is active in both fields, Ching maintains to keep a healthy balance between the two. “It’s a matter of proper scheduling and constant communicating, to maintain balance,” he says.

For Ching, the best part of working as a coach is knowing he is contributing something for the development of his students. “The best reward is seeing our students doing the skills, seeing their parents proud of them and seeing them learn not just the skills but also discipline and patience,” Ching confesses.

As he continues to mold his students, Ching plans to continue to improve what they do best at Tic Tac Tumble—coach gymnastics and establishing the value of discipline among their students.

For details, visit Tic Tac Tumble at 17 Jose Abad Santos Street, Heroes Hill, Quezon City or call 379-7476.