“We need to break things down and be more intentional for the students, and in doing so we are more intentional with our own techniques and we actually think about what we are doing.”
I was at work the other day, and I had the opportunity to teach a newer coworker of mine how a certain vehicle system worked. This gave me another perspective for something that I already thought I knew. This helped get my coworker in the right direction while I also got to improve my leadership skills as well. Although this was an altruistic action on my part, I did it because I wanted to be helpful. I can still bring it up in my performance reviews.
Let’s look at this in terms of martial arts now. In order to progress, different styles sometimes require their members to become instructors or show leadership in some manner. This is two fold like in my engineering example above.
First, we are required to be a good leader, and we are required to influence others. It is one thing to be a boss and simply give out different commands, but it is a completely higher level to be able to nurture someone and guide them on the right path. How far our students progress is a metric for us when measuring our ability to lead.
Early in my teaching career, I was a bossy instructor. I was 18 when I started teaching at my own club so this was easily due to a lack of maturity. Teaching was all about me. 5 years later, however, I have matured and I no longer care what my students think about me, I care about what they think of themselves! I push them but never intimidate them.
The second point is that teaching will give you a different perspective. Sometimes we demonstrate techniques too matter of factly and rush them in front of the students. Since we have been doing them for a very long time, we take them for granted.
We need to break things down and be more intentional for the students, and in doing so we are more intentional with our own techniques and we actually think about what we are doing. We consider the “Why’s” more.
I encourage you no matter where you are in your martial arts journey, to take the opportunity to nurture the junior ranks. It will help you down the line if you are gracious and empathetic of them.
