In a not so recent cell phone commercial a wife lets her husband know that his butt just called her. The commercial itself is great testimony to unwelcome forms of communication, even when the communication is coming from the one you love and/or respect. As martial arts instructors we should be careful not to let our “buts” create negative communication experiences with new or seasoned students. I have seen so many well meaning instructors ask a class question that they know full well no one probably knows the answer. Or even worse yet, no matter what the answer it will always be wrong because the instructor will want to show everyone who's the smartest in the room. Of course this begs the question, just how smart is he or she? If as an instructor they consistently assert their ego and tear down their students confidence.
As (well meaning) instructors we can be so zero focused on creating the perfect student that does the perfect block, the perfect punch or the perfect form that we lose site of the end goal, which is the journey. The wobbling before we roll over, the scooting before we crawl, the crawling before we soldier crawl, the pulling up on things before we attempt to walk. The instillation of guided, principled instruction over time that allows students to explore and discover their current limits and potential to bring out the greatness that is already inside. By default every person that walks in the door (particularly adults) are aware that they don’t know the subject matter and are willing to humble themselves to receive instruction from another human being to add to their existence and in doing so they add to their instructor’s existence. Let’s continue to appreciate and marvel at this exchange because it is what the arts are truly about. Not kicking and punching…
As (well meaning) instructors we can be so zero focused on creating the perfect student that does the perfect block, the perfect punch or the perfect form that we lose site of the end goal, which is the journey. The wobbling before we roll over, the scooting before we crawl, the crawling before we soldier crawl, the pulling up on things before we attempt to walk. The instillation of guided, principled instruction over time that allows students to explore and discover their current limits and potential to bring out the greatness that is already inside. By default every person that walks in the door (particularly adults) are aware that they don’t know the subject matter and are willing to humble themselves to receive instruction from another human being to add to their existence and in doing so they add to their instructor’s existence. Let’s continue to appreciate and marvel at this exchange because it is what the arts are truly about. Not kicking and punching…
