Yama-Tani
Hombu Instructors Manual
To
Learn + To Teach = To Know
To truly know anything, one must learn it and then teach it.
Quote
By: Dr. Michael Steward Sr.
Martial arts training has much to offer the practitioner. There are many
resources and opportunities readily available, but a major component of these is
their primary source; the instructor. The instructor is an essential part of the
class, since it is through the instructor that the techniques and other aspects
of one’s chosen style are learned. Because the instructor is a veteran of that
particular style, his/her experience may prove beneficial to the students.
There is more to being an instructor than the mere act of wearing a black
belt/sash. The instructor is not only a teacher of the style, but provides a
strong influence on the students. Thus, it is imperative that the instructor
serves as a good example for the students to follow. It is through the
instructor’s example that the style is presented to the students. When
presented in a competent and insightful manner, the style will continue to
flourish in its dignified state.
If any aspect of teaching can discriminate between an instructor and
someone who only wears a black belt, then professionalism is that aspect. The
instructor must behave in a professional manner at all times. Professionalism
affects all other aspects of instruction, thus making the cornerstone of
effective teaching. Discipline is one of the major virtues learned through
martial arts training. Self-discipline is an important part of the
instructor’s character, as an instructor cannot keep class discipline without
it. The instructor must be humble before the students to set a good example. It
is obvious that the instructor is still a student of the style, and is learning
by means of teaching. To be seen as a professional, an instructor must act like
one. This in turn will give the instructor the necessary credibility with the
students and parents. As a result, the style will become more credible, thanks
to the efforts of a single dedicated individual.
It is a misnomer to refer to an instructor as being a “black belt”.
The belt is a dark piece of cloth, one or two inches in width, and eighty or
more inches in length. It is a non-living entity, but a highly symbolic one. The
darkness of the belt represents the knowledge, experience and general seasoning
of the person wearing it. Therefore, the belt and the person blend together to
serve as a living demonstration of hard work and perseverance within the style.
There
are many intricate processes in the art and science of instruction.
Though these can ensure the instructor’s credibility and effectiveness, the
greatest single factor of instructing excellence is the instructor. Theories and
principles are good in their own way, but they take people to make them work.
When the instructor works towards teaching proficiency, a better quality of
student results, keeping the style intact for many years to come.
The following text is a result of many years of training with some of the
best master instructors in the world, and some of my own insight as a result of
years of teaching students, and being taught myself by those same students. To
be a good instructor, one must always be a good student.
1.
The nature of a good instructor is to have a deep
understanding of self.
2.
All people take in information in three ways;
a.
Through hearing (auditory)
b.
Through seeing (visual)
c.
Through performing (physical)
It
is the instructor’s responsibility to foster the student’s ability to learn.
The instructor must first help the students by providing instruction to
accommodate the three modes of information reception.
3.
Teach new information by example, then by performing with
the student, and then by
4.
Teach confidence through practice.
5.
Teach in small bites, and then perfect these small bites
before serving another portion.
6.
I greatly accelerated my learning through the act of
teaching.
7.
There is no substitute for practice.
8.
One of the biggest lessons our training can teach us is
patience, and a sense of humor towards ourselves.
9.
Everyone’s enthusiasm must be engaged for learning to be
fun, exciting, and worthy of effort.
10.
The attitude of the instructor has much to do with the
setting of the atmosphere in a class.
11.
Body language is seventy-five percent of the message, the
tone of the voice, another twenty percent. The actual words convey only five
percent of what we are trying to get across.
12.
It is a good feeling to know that you can make a difference
in so many lives. Only by sharing ourselves with one another can we dispel much
of our separate darkness and discover in the light of our martial arts
fellowship, the fulfillment of many of our needs.
13.
Correct and substantive training takes a lifetime of
self-application.
14.
Always walk around the room remaining highly visible. It
helps to see all the students. It also assists in making corrections when they
are needed.
15.
Never lean against the wall. It shows either that lesson is
boring or unimpressive. Remember that walls are self-supporting.
16.
Build a trust relationship with the students.
17.
Have reasonable expectations or goals when planning the
activity.
18.
Explain the purpose of the activity, and share your
expectations.
19.
Make the activity enjoyable and fun.
20.
Explain the dojo rules.
21.
Be consistent about enforcing the rules.
22.
Provide lots of encouragement and praise efforts often. When
giving one constructive criticism, always give three positive encouragements.
23.
Try to ensure that everyone experiences some level of
success.
24.
Keep your appearance neat and clean.
25.
A child’s ability to concentrate can also be dramatically
affected by visual displays, facial expressions, and too many instructions.
(Over detailed)
26.
Often a child who is “disrupting” class can be an
important key to how you might change your teaching focus. Your instruction may
be too complicated or too repetitive.
27.
Many martial arts moves are complex motions that you may
need to break down into simpler elements. You can build on those elements to
reach the level appropriate for your class.
28.
Children need to be told what you expect. Ask them to be
what you want them to be. Show them how to be what you want them to be.
29.
Never lose your patience. If you feel it happening, leave
the dojo floor and regain your composure.
30.
Be careful what you say when you do lose your cool. A slip
of the tongue has caused many a problem.
31.
Always remember; patience, and more patience, and when you
lose that, more patience. Karate is not learned in a day.
32.
A teacher has to be totally involved in the class. You must
know the names of each student, and students need to know each other’s names.
33.
Provide structure and routine to each class, so the children
can become secure in knowing what is expected of them.
34.
A key to teaching children is to truly enjoy being with
them. They need guidance and sensitivity from their teachers.
35.
When you teach children, you have the privilege of being a
part of their life’s foundation. You may greatly affect a child’s view of
the world. I believe that is especially true in a martial arts class, because
you are dealing with life’s lesson in each class.
36.
The Instructor has a tremendous responsibility for the
environment of the dojo, including training the senior students to carry on the
example and to understand their responsibility to help new students.
37.
It is very important to make every student feel that there
are no stupid questions.
38.
Teaching is an important training stage in the evolution of
the martial arts student.
39.
New instructors are eager to impress their classes. Seasoned
instructors differ only in that they are eager to teach their classes.
40.
Never be embarrassed to say, “I don’t know”. Ask the
head instructor and get back to the student with the answer to show that you are
willing to find the truth and not give faulty knowledge or technique.
41.
Never stand with your arms folded. It looks as if you are
inspecting the troops, instead of training them.
42.
Every one of us is both a student and a teacher.
43.
Never lower your standards; always demand perfection.
However, don’t demand perfection, if you cannot exhibit it yourself.
44.
Practice technique, technique, technique and more technique.
45.
Always remember; actions speak louder than words. How you
teach will influence the way they teach.
46.
Be confident, it not only inspires you, but it also inspires
your students.
47.
Never embarrass or humiliate a student. Each student comes
to the martial arts for many personal reasons. Help them to achieve it in a
positive manner.
48.
Practice to perfect the techniques of good teaching.
Teaching is an art form also.
49.
Always present yourself as the role model. Be the one that
the students look up to.
50.
Make constructive corrections in a warm assuring voice.
51.
Smile!!! It doesn’t hurt anyone. It has been responsible
for many a person to sign-up, and for students to excel.
52.
Always remember when you are on the floor teaching, you are
in command. Respect that power and position and never abuse it.
53.
Always remember; a sensei’s influence not only affects the
class, but also eternity.
54.
Each individual is unique and needs to receive instruction,
which fits his/her personal needs and personality.
55.
Remember in the dojo, there is only one thing that is
important, and that is the class you are teaching at that moment.
56.
During any given day assistant instructors must take one
class as a student, and then they can teach as many classes as they want.
57.
Each instructor must take it upon himself or herself to also
instruct the parents in the lobby. Well-informed parents are an asset to the
dojo and the students in the dojo.
58.
Meet newcomers at the door with a warm positive attitude.
Your attitude may be responsible for someone joining the school.
59.
Remember, even an assistant instructor can make a
difference.
60.
You should be a leader. Your students will follow you.
61.
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Those mistakes help
you improve, and you will become a better teacher for them.
62.
Don’t be afraid to repeat something already taught. If
everyone learned it the first time, then there wouldn’t be a need for martial
arts lessons.
63.
Remember that you are a competent teacher. You wouldn’t be
teaching if the head instructor didn’t have confidence in you.
64.
Work out with the students. Actions speak louder than words.
65.
Always remember people may doubt what you say, but they will
always believe in what you do.
66.
Remember that he/she, who is effective, affects lives and
he/she who affects lives, achieves excellence.
67.
Remember, patience, patience, and more patience, and when
that fails, more patience. The teacher’s creed.
68.
Always remember that it is the teacher that makes the
difference in the dojo. The students come to you for knowledge.
69.
Recognize that rewards flow not so much from your personal
performance, but from your impact on the class.
70.
Some teachers of martial arts forget that it is their
students who define them. It’s quite simple, “no students, no teacher”.
Practicing martial arts is not the same as teaching.
71.
Martial arts is not meant to develop physical skills, but
more importantly, to develop the body, the mind, and the spirit.
72.
Pacing is the art of balancing the rate of practice with the
student’s abilities. Teaching too fast causes student burnout; teaching too
slow causes boredom. Pacing time, knowledge, and lessons is the most difficult
technique for a new teacher to master. Because it involves acutely observing how
people learn and evolve within structured programs.
73.
The dojo is a place where both teacher and student look in
the mirror at what drives and enhances their relationships.
74.
Your students are a direct reflection of your teachings.
75.
When teachers can place the mark of expert on another in
their care, they join in invisible association of persons who have distinguished
themselves by successfully passing the martial gift to their students.
76.
It is not important how much time you have on earth, but it
is more important what you do with that time.
Our lives are long journeys. They have a definite beginning, and they have a definite end. Along the way we tend to break up our lives into distinct segments, and we mark the segments by some event or result that ends each one. So, for example, we might remember our adolescence, which finished when we graduated from high school, or our single life, which finished when we got married.
Our martial arts training is a long journey as well. The Japanese word
for result is “kekka”. Too often, students focus on the kekka, measured for
example, by getting a rank belt within a certain period of time. Some cleaver
students can be precise and calculate to themselves, “Let’s see, it seems to
take about four months to get such and such belt, so if I take one two hour
class a week, that’s sixteen classes, and I’m there”. This is a seriously
wrong attitude! This type of misguided focus on the kekka is quite common in
every dojo.
When you study martial arts, there are no guarantees, and nothing is a
sure thing. The important thing is always the journey, or we can call it the
process (dotei). The effort you put into overcoming physical, mental and
spiritual limitations is a journey or process (dotei). Testaments to a certain
knowledge or prowess, such as certificates, trophies, or colored belts, should
not be important to you. The process of training-steady, persistent and
dedicated effort to gradually overcome barriers-is more important than the
product of training. This type of sincere dedication to training is an
expression of our big “kokoro”. Our larger spirit.
This attitude can be applied to other parts of our lives as well, such as
our families, our jobs, and our communities. Don’t focus in on, and become
obsessed with, results. Always give your best, persistent and undivided effort
to whatever you do. Also, do not set unrealistic goals for yourself. If you do,
you will be constantly unhappy and frustrated. Give yourself realistic goals,
give yourself time to achieve them, and enjoy the journey towards their
achievement. There will be setbacks, minor failures, diversions and
disappointments-that’s for sure. Keep moving forward no matter how slowly, and
keep pounding away at the barriers and you’ll overcome each problem in turn
and in time.
Always keep within yourself the beginners mind and spirit. In the
beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind, there
are very few. Part of our basic attitude when we train should be always to keep
a “beginner’s mind and spirit”. We should always be willing to learn and
eager to learn. Now that you are on the mountaintop, don’t stay on the top.
Make yourself like water, and because gravity you will find your way down off of
the mountain and back to the sea.
I hope that you find this manual useful, and that your journey is made
easier by using it.
Chief
Instructor Yama-Tani Hombu