Assistant Instructors

[Kamauser5]

i think the rule of thumb is to ask the sensei/GrandMaster if you are unsure about something...it always works for us!

[backfist]

If your head instructor is watching the class on a monitor, then he likely sees what's being taught by the assistant. While instructors don't see everything, it sounds like he tends to watch from a distance more and more.

Sifu's are people too. And if your sifu is the type to take offense to a student making a suggestion, maybe you could approach him by asking something like "sifu, I'm not sure if I'm doing [this technique] correctly; could you clarify?" This way, it looks like the mistake is all yours, and he doesn't have to defend himself or his assistant.

Or your sifu is totally humble, and won't have a problem with you saying that the assistant taught something that was inconsistent.

[Chuilli, Kyo Sah Nim]

Wow thats actually kind of funny because that happens all the time. we have about 8 full time instructors and i happen to be one of them. we have four different schools with the master teaching at our headquarters studio. so everything at headquarters has been the same FOREVER. but at other studios some new instructors like to make up new variations and just different things some times. and we deal with seeing it at lower rank tests because they are not usually too far off but still annoying nonetheless. but we do want to tweak it when they get to red belt, so we have red belt and black belt classes once a week, every wednesday night and our two masters teach it mostly everytime. so thats how we solve that. good luck though, i truly understand your frusteration.

in tang soo,

k.chuilli

[lordtariel]

You also have to understand that assistant instructors have to start learning to run a class some time. There's been a few times where my sensei's told me to run a beginner class though some basics without any notice. Sometimes he will come out and take over the class half way through, but there's been times where I've run the class from start to finish. It's a little intimidating the first few times you're up in front of a class, but it's a good way to learn.

[bushido_man96]

It is important for assistant instructors and head instructors to be on the same page as far as technique performance goes; i.e., everything should look pretty much the same, and not radically different. Everyone is different, so there will be some minor differences. However, the overall look and feel of the school should be consistent.

Now, I do think that it is important for assistant instructors to have their own styles and ideas for classes. Give them a framework to go with, but allow them to be free enough to put their own twist on the class. That is the beauty of teaching. If you have certain things that you want them to teach at certain times, that is fine. But, let them do it their way from time to time. This is how we can all learn and grow.