What makes a good instructor?

[sensei8]

Does the instructor have to meet all of your expectations to be considered a good instructor??

[The Pred]

Good question.

Because i seen 15 year old brown belt kids that teach better than 50-70 year old "head" instructors that are "regional" technical directors of huge global organizations.

As sad as that is, it's true! ::sighs::

While that may be said, on the plus side, since those kids are teaching better now. With more experience and practice, they should(hopefully) because excellent instructors once they reach an adult age.

[Maybetrue]

What makes a good instructor?

THE STUDENTS!

for kids:

I have seen horrible technical Head instructors(good people) put out numerous Ivy league students,business owners and overall great citizens to the community. On the other hand i seen GREAT martial arts practitioners produce a lot of criminals or even teach how to "Unarm Law enforcement" classes.

I rather have a kid that is average but successful in other aspects of life applying what they learned(hopefully) from martial arts than a world champion ending up a criminal . PS: yes i seen this happen

[sensei8]

What makes a good instructor?

THE STUDENTS!

for kids:

I have seen horrible technical Head instructors(good people) put out numerous Ivy league students,business owners and overall great citizens to the community. On the other hand i seen GREAT martial arts practitioners produce a lot of criminals or even teach how to "Unarm Law enforcement" classes.

I rather have a kid that is average but successful in other aspects of life applying what they learned(hopefully) from martial arts than a world champion ending up a criminal . PS: yes i seen this happen

YES!!

Without students, the floor is a lonely place, and of no purpose other than having a nice place to train by oneself!!

[The Pred]

What makes a good instructor?

THE STUDENTS!

for kids:

I have seen horrible technical Head instructors(good people) put out numerous Ivy league students,business owners and overall great citizens to the community. On the other hand i seen GREAT martial arts practitioners produce a lot of criminals or even teach how to "Unarm Law enforcement" classes.

I rather have a kid that is average but successful in other aspects of life applying what they learned(hopefully) from martial arts than a world champion ending up a criminal . PS: yes i seen this happen

Yes ! agreed 100 percent.

[JR 137]

Does the instructor have to meet all of your expectations to be considered a good instructor??

Avoid instructor will be proficient in most of them. A great instructor will be proficient in all of them, and excell in many of them.

Keep in mind the student-teacher relationship as well. Some students won't gel with some teachers, no matter how good either or both are. Everyone's got their own unique personalities.

[bushido_man96]

Does the instructor have to meet all of your expectations to be considered a good instructor??

No, I don't think so. His or her expectations wouldn't necessarily match up with mine. He could be a former tournament champ, and I could have no interest in competition. But, that doesn't mean I still can't find value in his teaching style. I also think it is important to expose yourself as a student to teachers with varying expectations; it helps us learn who we are and who we want to be.

[sensei8]

Does the instructor have to meet all of your expectations to be considered a good instructor??

No, I don't think so. His or her expectations wouldn't necessarily match up with mine. He could be a former tournament champ, and I could have no interest in competition. But, that doesn't mean I still can't find value in his teaching style. I also think it is important to expose yourself as a student to teachers with varying expectations; it helps us learn who we are and who we want to be.

Solid post!!

[Luther unleashed]

Someway or somewhere I'm sure I am repeating myself. Last night I was teaching and I had a situation come up but I made a split decision. I added a new class a few months back, it was for 4 & 5 year olds. Originally intended to never teach this age as I enjoy the older kids or adults better because they can retain much of what I'd like to teach. One thing led to another and the recreation center really wanted me to try this class and I figured it would help me grow as a school so I gave it a shot.

I had a situation come up in this class that I did not handle correctly, on the way home I looked to my wife and said "why did I not just do this, instead of that". She asked what I meant and I explained to her why I should have done something else. Long story short I think it is so very important to be open as a person in life in order to learn, & I think the same is true to be a great instructor. I never think myself great, I think to myself I always have room to grow and get better and better and even better. In my mind if I chase perfection it is much more likely that I will one day reach greatness.

PS it is also worth noting that it could be very difficult to find a great instructor in every age group. I am a better instructor with adults and older kids, the younger they get the more I work hard because I know it is someone of a short coming for me, not that I don't enjoy it butts I find it more difficult to integrate fun with karate disciplined sometimes, with the older children and adults of course it's easier because they can retain so much more information. Only on very rare occasion do you find an instructor who is just great at all of it. As in my signature here, hustle and hard work are a substitute for talent. Some people will have it come to them more naturally but that does not mean that others can't outwork them. To all you students who hope to become instructors, have faith in yourself and go for it.

[sensei8]

Someway or somewhere I'm sure I am repeating myself. Last night I was teaching and I had a situation come up but I made a split decision. I added a new class a few months back, it was for 4 & 5 year olds. Originally intended to never teach this age as I enjoy the older kids or adults better because they can retain much of what I'd like to teach. One thing led to another and the recreation center really wanted me to try this class and I figured it would help me grow as a school so I gave it a shot.

I had a situation come up in this class that I did not handle correctly, on the way home I looked to my wife and said "why did I not just do this, instead of that". She asked what I meant and I explained to her why I should have done something else. Long story short I think it is so very important to be open as a person in life in order to learn, & I think the same is true to be a great instructor. I never think myself great, I think to myself I always have room to grow and get better and better and even better. In my mind if I chase perfection it is much more likely that I will one day reach greatness.

PS it is also worth noting that it could be very difficult to find a great instructor in every age group. I am a better instructor with adults and older kids, the younger they get the more I work hard because I know it is someone of a short coming for me, not that I don't enjoy it butts I find it more difficult to integrate fun with karate disciplined sometimes, with the older children and adults of course it's easier because they can retain so much more information. Only on very rare occasion do you find an instructor who is just great at all of it. As in my signature here, hustle and hard work are a substitute for talent. Some people will have it come to them more naturally but that does not mean that others can't outwork them. To all you students who hope to become instructors, have faith in yourself and go for it.

Solid post!! Not every instructor can teach 4-5 year olds; it takes a special instructor to do so successfully. And you're right, it is "playing" because that's how they learn, and how they retain, even if it's a miniscule of information...patience is greatly needed to teach that age group.

Everyone knows that when it comes to that age group, I'm nothing more than a big kid. That age group responds to that silly instructor who they can play with.

If I may ask...

What happened that made you make that statement to your wife??