Instructors

More than just Martial Artists

There are plenty of martial artists in the world practicing different styles of martial arts.  From kickboxing, kenpo, tae kwon do, goju to wushu, tai chi, arnis and kali there is absolutely no shortage of karate content.  Equally important to the quality of style is the quality of instruction.  Below are a few points that highlight great martial arts teachers:

  1. Understanding of motivation: It really doesn’t matter how great we think the martial arts or any subject is for that matter if the target audience is not excited.  This is not to say that people are necessarily doing back flips and setting off fireworks with enthusiasm, but at the bare minimum they should have an interest in what is going on.  As a teacher, do you have the ability to say the right things to create a positive emotional effect?  Though your demeanor, performance do your students feel inspired?  Do you understand hot buttons and personality styles to the degree that you can lesson plan to maximize your students experience?
  2. There is an intelligence:  There is a deeper message than just kicking and punching.  The top martial arts instructors use their particular styles as a way to to communicate life skills such as confidence, focus, self-discipline, commitment and leadership.
  3. Growth and Evolution:  Growth is the constant commitment to help students grow.  Evolution is the process of taking something good and recreating it into something great.  Without the growth and evolution mentality in mind,  an instructor is simply flat and stale.