Are you ready to teach? Follow-up and 'Top-Five'

I had a bunch of great comments on my post entitled Are you ready to teach?

I’ve spent some time digesting the material and have come up with the following ‘Top-Five’ things to remember if you're considering becoming a teacher:

1.       It’s not about you

2.       Do it for the right reasons

3.       Kick ego to the door

4.       Everyone has doubts

5.       Never stop training

1.  It’s not about you

You’d think this would be obvious, but it’s easy to lose sight of.  It’s about the students, without exception.  If you put the student’s needs first, you’ll rarely go wrong.  A good teacher cares about the development of their students.  You can’t let your focus shift towards your performance in that role.  Work at it, yes, practice, improve your teaching skills, but don’t let the focus of your attention shift off the students and onto your performance, at least not during class.  Students know when a teacher is truly invested in helping them learn and improve.  These are the teachers who breed loyalty and respect.

2. Do it for the right reasons

This isn’t a discussion on whether or not it’s ok to make money while teaching martial arts.  Money may be one of the considerations when deciding to teach, but it cannot be the primary motivator.  You must have a passion for your art and a genuine desire to pass down your knowledge, improve others and perpetuate your chosen art, or a variation thereof.  If you only care about making yourself money, your students will know this.  It’s not about you -see point #1.

3. Kick ego to the door

Ego has no place in a martial arts school, for student and teacher alike.  Easy to say, harder to do.  One of the comments left on the first post made me really think.  You don’t have to be the toughest person in the room.  Yes, you need considerable skill, but you don’t necessarily have to be the most talented martial artist in the place to be a good teacher.  There are incredible martial artists who are terrible teachers and there are decent martial artists who are incredible teachers.  Pure skill does not a good teacher make.  It’s a teacher’s ability to inspire and improve their student’s abilities that counts.  Again, it’s not about you.  (I see a pattern forming)

4. Everyone has doubts

Well, maybe not everyone, but it appears there isn’t an “ah-ha” moment when you are magically ready to teach.  Most people have doubts about being ready to take on that ‘official’ role of teacher.  This is ok.  It might even be preferred.  Perhaps it’s a touch of humility or perhaps it’s born from not wishing to waste anyone’s time if you’re not that good at it.  The thing is, your students will thrive if you’ve got the right stuff.  You may not be sure but they will let you know, through progress, comment and action.  We’re not always the best judge of ourselves and we can be our own worst critics.  Try to focus on the students.  If they’re doing well, progressing and having a good time, then you’re doing well.  And it’s about them, not you, right?

5. Never stop training

Just because you’re in the teaching role doesn’t mean that you’re not still a student as well.  Always try to improve your skills, learn new things and get better at what you do.  Show a life-long commitment to the martial arts.  It will not only inspire your students to follow suit, but it keeps your teaching alive, constantly evolving and improving.  You can always improve and in doing so, you’ll be able to bring back new techniques or concepts to your students.  Stagnation is a bad thing in the martial arts.  So go to seminars, train with other martial artists, train as a student of a Sensei or instructor, and most importantly, keep an open mind.  By always striving to improve yourself, you can keep an beginner’s mindset, stave off ego and be a better teacher to your own students.  And in the end, isn’t it about them..?

Those are my top 5 things to think about when contemplating the role of martial arts teacher.  I’m sure there’s lots more.  Please feel free to share.

Worthwhile reading

Readers of this blog will know the importance I put on training for the most likely type of attacks from the most likely type of attackers.

Sue posted an article entitled I'm a woman, not a small man.  I strongly recommend you read both the post and the comments.

It's an interesting commentary on what's going on in the male (traditionally) dominated world of the martial arts.

It also hits on many important parts regarding how people train, the application and modification of techniques from a variety of situations, and it also illustrates the importance of attacking realistically.  

It also touches upon an issue I think is a big problem, and that is an increasing gap between the 'art' and the 'self defense' portion of what's being taught in many martial arts schools.  

This food for thought is fueling my thoughts on my last post about teaching.  

Enjoy the post.

Are you ready to teach?

For a long while, I've been pondering when the right time is to start teaching.

There is a simple answer of course, which is not until your Sensei or teacher gives you permission.  So let's assume you have that, or are no longer under the tutelage of any one teacher.

So, when are you ready?  When should you start teaching?

In many ways, I think you never really feel ready if you are a true student of Budo.  We are all learners, all students on the path, regardless of our position in any club, dojo or organization.

Who are the best teachers?  

Obviously you must have a significant skill set in order to teach.  You can't teach what you don't know.  There's a bit more to it though.

Some of the best fighters in the world train under coaches who have never fought professionally or have never been champions themselves.  So what qualifies them to teach?

What qualities do they have that set them apart from the rest?  

I think it's their ability to allow others to discover their own skills and abilities. They have to ability to train people, sometimes even to a level that surpasses their own.  

Let's face it, not everyone is meant to teach.  A high level of skill alone does not a teacher make.

So how do you know when you are ready?  

Should you be confident that you are always better than any of your students?

Should you teach when enough people ask you to?

Is there a time when you know, for certain, that you are ready?  Is 'knowing' you are ready a sign that you have too much ego?

It's one thing to train with people and to share information, it quite another to be a Sensei or teacher.  Training requires a certain degree of structure to be valuable. Without this, people just kind or work on 'whatever' and often there is no chance to perfect the techniques or identify your own shortcomings under the watchful eye of another.

I don't have the answers.  

I have been asked to teach by some people and I am in a position where I deliver some training in my professional endeavors.  

Even though I am actually teaching some self defense techniques (at work), the thought of officially teaching outside of work seems a strange thing to me.  While I am confident in my abilities, I am not satisfied with my own skill level.  I never will be, of course, being a life long student of the martial arts.

Again, I don't know what the right time is to officially start teaching.  I would love some feedback from all you teaching out there or from those of you contemplating it.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Where tradition meets reality

This post is inspired by a few things.  One is my recent introduction to a qualified instructor in traditional martial arts, Jiu Jitsu, Karate, sword and weapons. Another is my last post about understanding the traditional arts and another is from the comments left on that post.

Sue's comment on getting back to the 'roots' of Karate and Michele's comment on concepts of movement and Brett's on the intent of technique all got my brain working.

Now, all martial arts are based on traditional martial arts, in one way or another. It's your definition of what 'traditional' means that can have such as effect on whether or not you think traditional systems are superior to reality based systems or even mixed martial arts.

My definition of what traditional means is that they are based on true combat. The techniques were forged on the battlefield.  They were tried and true.  If they worked, they were passed on.  If they didn't, well, they weren't.  And you weren't there to do so.

They were also flexible and adaptable.  Although there is usually a syllabus to follow in a traditional martial arts school, the arts themselves were never stagnant.  They changed as the world changed around them.  They were, in essence, reality based systems as well.  

So traditional martial arts are (were?) reality based systems and reality based systems were (are?) based on traditional systems.  Hmmm...

Having these discussions can sometimes turn into a bit of a loop.  And that's good. Style to style, system to system, art to art, there's really not as much of a divide as some might think.

In many ways, we're all studying the same thing.

The human body only moves in certain ways.  There are not real 'new' kicks under the sun, no secret joint is as yet undiscovered that can be exploited.  The body is the body.  It's how you approach combat, self defense and fighting that separates us.

The issues and subsequent debates over one style or system being superior to another come not from the arts themselves, but from the people passing them down and their understanding of the 'roots' or core concepts of the art.  It is also very much in the intent of the student and the teacher.  No one can become proficient and be able to apply their art in a real violent encounter if they haven't prepared themselves mentally for the challenge.  

Rules, while good for competition and safety, can get in the way of being able to protect yourself during a real attack if you've never turned your head to fighting without them.  

You fight as you train.  And much of your training occurs inside yourself, not on the mats.

The title of my blog includes the line:

"The study of Japanese Jiu Jitsu as a reality based martial art"

This means more to me every day.

Thanks for reading.

Traditional Martial Arts

Not long ago, I received some impressive training at a seminar that my Sensei and I attended.  I’ve reflected a lot on what I saw and did that day.  It was like watching my Sensei for the first time, all those years ago.  I was blown away. 

The Sensei putting on the seminar is an expert in several traditional Japanese systems, including weapons.

The observations I made are fodder for many posts.  Below I’ll list some of the main points I took away.  Then, in this and future posts, I’ll delve into them a little deeper.

So, here goes:

1.  Traditional systems are nasty.  Most were designed to  cripple or kill  armed attackers. 

2.  Traditional systems often employ the same movements or concepts to armed and open hand techniques.

3.  Traditional systems tend to have far more committed attack/defense movements than many modern-day, or sport based systems.

I’ve made mention of this before, but traditional systems were bred and tested on the battlefield.  Many times in life or death battles.  Often against armed or armoured opponents.  At its simplest, if it didn’t work, you were dead.  

Techniques that were passed down worked, period.  Battle tested is something far more difficult to accomplish nowadays.

If you’re pursuing a traditional art, it’s important to find someone that understands the original technique fully.  This is key.  We adapt deadly techniques so they’re safe enough to practice, which is absolutely necessary, of course.  Once you’ve learned how to do them (or before), you need to understand what modifications have been made.  You need to know how they’ve been ‘watered down’.

One of the statements that struck a chord with me was when the instructor was talking about how throws aren’t really throws.  

Huh?

It means that the throws we practice in the dojo are done as a method of allowing your partner to exit a technique safely and in one piece.  Most traditional techniques don’t allow the opponent an ‘out’.  This isn’t to suggest someone isn’t going to be accelerated into the ground, but it does mean, at its core, that you have made a choice to allow your training partner to avoid injury.  Done traditionally, there’s no thought to ‘releasing’ your opponent. 

It is this ‘watering down’ effect that can have long term ramifications in the quality and effectiveness of the martial arts.  This is why it’s crucial to find someone that understands the original art.  As techniques get passed down from person to person, the original intent and technique is often lost, leaving only the ‘safer’ version.

This also isn’t to suggest that these safe versions can’t be effective for self-defense.  They can still work.  The concern lies in the scenario when you truly have to fight for your life and you may only get one chance.  Allowing a person to roll out could then be a fatal error.

Traditional systems are also good at identifying tried and true targets on the body.  The areas that are targeted are vulnerable, even in armour.  There’s not many, “this might work” stuff thrown in.  Joints, eyes, groin (in some cases), throat are all targets.  They can’t defend themselves.  And they take very little muscle to injure.

Traditional techniques are by their nature, far more committed.  Not a lot of ‘feeling out’ occurred in feudal times.  Your attacker was committed and so were you.  This is in stark contrast to the MMA sport competition style. 

Many contain deeper stances for power generation at the time of the attack.  I’m back and forth on mobility vs. power generation, but when you look at sword or traditional weapons training, the attacks are fully committed, powerful techniques.

Speaking of weapons, traditional systems often have what I’ll call ‘cross-over’ techniques.  Meaning that most techniques can be performed armed or empty handed.  I’m a big believer in this.  Train a concept or pattern of movement, not separate systems within a system for armed and unarmed work.  There are some exceptions of course.

Any modern day system is built upon a traditional system.  Martial arts need to continue to evolve and adapt to the realities of the environment around us.  We are not in feudal times, so many self defense techniques are, and should, be altered to fit the world around us.  This is a good thing, and essential to responsibly use force and react to some forms of lower level violence. 

When you lose sight or understanding of the original technique, however, you reduce your available options in a real violent encounter.  If in practice, you don’t really understand the underlying, or original technique, and you just sort of go with it with your partner, that’s all you’ll have available when you need to defend yourself.  

Understanding the original, traditional, or core techniques allows you to ramp up your response, if needed.  Understanding the origins can give you an edge in combat.

Train well.

Shoshin - "Beginner's Mind"

Hello all,

I apologize for the lack of posts.  I ended up taking an unexpected hiatus from the blog for a variety of reasons.  I hope to be posting more regularly once again.  I’ve often been frustrated when I’ve enjoyed someone else's blogs and the posts stopped without any real explanation.  Suffice to say, an awful lot has been going on in my life of late, and some things slipped for a bit.  So I thank you for being patient and for continuing to read or check my blog or make comments.

I’ve managed to get some interesting training, albeit in drips and drabs.

One of the tags on my blog is “What to look for in a Sensei”

A while ago, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar taught by an extremely talented martial artist.  He teaches classical weapons, Karate and Jiu Jitsu.  This guy impresses my Sensei and he impresses me.  The seminar was great (more on that in upcoming posts). 

I attended the seminar with my Sensei and we worked together, both to bring back material for the rest of the dojo and to mitigate the issues of a few nagging injuries (both of us).  That’s not the point, however.

While I’ve been at a variety of seminars, my Sensei is usually one of the instructors.  While he always watches the other instructors, he usually assists them, or the students to get the techniques.  Rarely have I seen him as ‘just’ a student. 

“shoshin“ – zen concept of having a ‘beginner’s mind’.  We should always train with this type of mindset. 

This can be tough for many people, especially instructors.  Many instructors don’t take part in training events with other styles, students and Sensei.  Why?  Because every time you, I, or any ‘master’ is learning new or different stuff, they will make mistakes and they will have to work at things to get it right.  Many have egos too big to allow anyone to see them do anything other than ‘perfect’ technique.  They fear it would lower them in the eyes of their, or other, students.  They can’t be seen to be struggling with a move. 

The truth is, of course, if you don’t train with beginner’s mind, you will cease to improve.  Many martial arts teachers no longer feel a need to, but the enlightened ones tend to continue to seek out new ideas, techniques and people.

So there I was, messing up this and that, as usual.  And so was my Sensei.  In my mind, if anything, it increased my respect for him.  So we blundered away (mostly me) until we got the material down pat.  Then we took it back to our dojo and shared the ideas, concepts and techniques with the other students.   

It also demonstrated that we each learn a bit differently, and at different rates.

I don’t know how many of you out there have had an opportunity to train alongside your martial arts teacher as equals (ie both just being students).  It felt strange to me to do so, but I liked it.  It was weird for me to correct him when he was struggling with a piece of the new puzzle.  It didn’t seem weird to him though, he just wanted to learn it.  Not a hint of embarrassment.

I think out of all the things I learned that day, the idea of ‘shoshin’ and seeing how my Sensei trained with an open mind and without any ego may have been the most valuable one.

A lesson within a lesson.

Food for thought.

Happy Holidays

Hey, I guess the world's a more dangerous place for everyone...

My best wishes to all over the holiday season and into the new year.  I look forward to sharing my journey with you in 2013.

Stay safe,

Journeyman.