Do you remember Superman? Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful... you know rest. (I used to watch these old re-runs as a kid and I always loved it when the bad guy unloaded his revolver at the Man of Steel - with Superman standing around bored as the bullets bounced harmlessly off of his torso, only to have the ne'er-do-well heave the emptied gun at him in frustration , causing Superman to quickly duck out of the way - as if he's thinking 'Hey buddy, bullets are one thing, but tossing that gun could put an eye out!')
Where was I? Oh yes, have ever seen an young instructor act as if he is like the Man of Steel? Invincible to attack, impervious to heat, cold, an expert with guns, with knives...listen to the Colonel:
How many young black belts are being trained to act as if they have all of the answers and training promised by a school's advertisements?
Usually these young instructors are put through a superficial Instructors Training Program, or a Leadership Program in which they are taught Personality Traits:
- How to shake hands
- 100 ways to say good job
- 'Everyone is a winner'
- 'Hi 5's'
Why? Because the owner wants to expand and he's bought into the fact that it is easy to build instructors like McDonald's build a fry cooks.
Too many instructors are put through contrived programs created by someone else. The school owner, who is either unwilling or unable to create a meaningful instructor's program buys a training program from the MAIA convention, and then figures that a three ring binder and a couple of months of role playing is enough training to start teaching.
The young instructor models himself after the older black belt and slowly stops demonstrating, and little by little stops sharing his skills, and starts telling others what to do versus sharing with others on what he loves to do, causing a wall of separation between the students and himself.
Owners, we are to blame. We are comfortable teaching the 'what', but not so hot teaching the 'why', and the 'how'. The passion that inspired us to dedicate our lives to building a dream business is lost because we fail to continue doing the difficult task of building a quality instructor, of setting high expectations, and holding people accountable. We have often settled for less because we would rather have an inferior employee out on the floor rather than have to work ourselves.
So when the quality drops we scratch our heads. Karate schools are not health clubs. A health club is by it's nature superficial and trendy. A karate school is just an empty room with a black belt waiting to lead.
Character over Personality
What makes a great instructor? Well, what is the definition of the term, 'sensei'? It translates into 'one who was born before.' It isn't intended to mean chronological age, but experience. A great instructor is one who has been there before, actually been out in the ring, one who has put it all on the line versus reading it in a manual and giving the answer rehearsed in their I.T. classes. (that's 'instructor training', not 'information technology')
Two thine own self be true.
(Hey, not bad! We went from Superman to Rambo to Hamlet's Polonius in one caffeine induced blog entry!)
If you desire to be an instructor please understand that there are no shortcuts to the knowledge that comes from experience.
Understand that as a new instructor the thing that counts most is integrity and your ability to develop relationships based on trust. If you are not good at something, then admit it...
"Hey folks, this is a difficult move, heck, I'm still struggling with it, let's work on it together and see how we do!"
I don't know about you but when someone is honest with me it goes a long way to building a solid relationship.
New Instructors, please remember that your biggest asset is your enthusiasm for the martial arts, and you will be successful when you approach class as a fellow student who is leading the class rather than playing the part of the all-knowing, all powerful black belt who has misplaced his cape.
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