Article: The Road to Mastery, and the Duty of the Master Instructor. 5th Dan Testing Essay (unabridged)

[bushido_man96]

This is full version of the essay I started writing for my 5th dan testing requirement.  It got kind of long, as I wasn't sure how I wanted to focus the essay at the start.  The first part of the essay is just kind of a history of my journey to becoming an instructor in the first place, and then later I get into what I feel the duties of the Master Instructor are.  The section titled The Duty of the Master Instructor is what I turned in as my testing essay.  You all get the bonus content.  It's long, so I want to thank those in advance who take the time to read my ramblings.

The Road to Mastery

I started my Martial Arts journey in 1993.  I always knew I wanted to stay with it, to keep studying, learning new things, and getting better.  The more I progressed, the more I realized that it was something I wanted to keep doing for the rest of my life.  I wanted to be a Martial Artist, not just someone who others knew practiced martial arts for just a while.

The early years were filled with the challenges that come with learning a new physical endeavor.  Learning to punch, block, and kick, coordinating both sides of the body with the hands and arms doing opposite movements.  Learning to maintain balance while kicking low, and then learning to kick higher and higher.  Learning to properly balance the body in several different ways through the use of stance work taught a level of kinesthetic awareness that I still fall back on today.  Then there is putting all those aspects together; performing blocks, strikes, and kicks while moving methodically in the proper stances, culminating in the performance of hyungs.

In these early, formative years of martial arts training, it was all about me.  Sure, I had training partners here and there that I worked with, but in the grand scheme of things at the time, it was about making myself better, making improvements, improving skill, and getting to the next testing so I could start over again with a new rank.  Things are a bit easier when one only has to keep track of oneself and is the only focus of training.  However, I had made the decision that I wanted to be a life-long martial artist, which meant my focus was not going to stay on me all the time.  As time passed and I moved up in rank, getting closer to the black belt levels, it became clear to me that my time would become less and less my own.

When I achieved black belt rank, my role as a martial artist changed.  Not only did I need to find the time to dedicate to my own training, I was also expected to be assisting instructors with classes.  The tasks started out simple enough; lead the warmups and stretches for the first 15 minutes or so of class, then the chief instructor would step in and handle the main class content.  These class warmups made me start to think about how I would organize a set of warmup exercises in such a way that the order seemed logical and prepared the class properly for further work to come.  These warmup blocks laid the foundation for what was to come later as a full-fledged instructor.

Time continued on, and the expectations of my instructors grew, and so I took on more responsibility in working with other students.  I would be asked to work with new students, teaching them basic techniques along with how to perform the stances and move in them.  This opened up a whole new world to me.  It was one thing for me to know the techniques and how to do them; it was a totally different experience trying to teach what I knew how to do to new students that didn’t have the experience base I had to fall back on.  It was quite a challenge, and I began learning again, too.  I began to learn how to formulate my thoughts clearly and in a concise way in the hopes of getting the student to understand what I wanted them to do and how to do it.  I also began to learn that one student may come to an understanding from one approach and another student can require a totally different approach.

I enjoyed my martial arts training when I was focused on my own training, but as I began to teach more and more, I found that I really enjoyed that aspect of martial arts.  I had decided that I wanted to be an instructor.

I began teaching classes on my own.  This entailed coming up with focused lesson plans that built on each other in order to move students towards their next testing.  Learning to build these classes in a cogent manner took time.  I wanted the classes to have good order and flow, so that one drill would build on the next, and move the students forward for what was to come in the next class, and the next class, and so on.  I learned a lot in my early years as an instructor, about what approaches worked and what didn’t work, and learning how to get the best responses out of the students I was teaching.

As the years pass by, students that have been martial arts practitioners for quite some time all become familiar with the rank structure within their organization.  We see who the instructors are, and we see other titles out there as well.  We see certified instructors and school owners.  We see junior masters.  We also know of the ones referred to as master instructors and of course, grandmasters.

When I became an instructor, I didn’t give much thought about what becoming a master would be like.  I never really thought it would be a title that would pertain to me; I just don’t see myself in that way.  But here I stand, on the precipice of a testing in which, should I pass, I will earn the title of Master Instructor.  This has given me pause to consider what it actually means, and how it changes my approach to martial arts training and teaching going forward.

Early on as an instructor, my focus was on the class at hand for that night.  Sometimes I’d stress a bit about what I would be having the students do.  I think at times I would think way too hard about what I could do that the students would enjoy with the thought in the back of my mind hoping they’d come back for the next class.  Perhaps this was due to a lack of confidence in my teaching abilities at the time.  As time went on, I worried about this less and less and became more comfortable with building classes.  My focus shifted to making sure the students were getting better at the skills they needed based on where they were in the curriculum.  I learned as I went along that if I could create a quality lesson plan that kept the students engaged, no matter how basic it might be, they would benefit from the contents.

The Duty of the Master Instructor

When I became an instructor, I didn’t give much thought about what becoming a master would be like.  I never really thought it would be a title that would pertain to me; I just don’t see myself in that way.  But here I stand, on the precipice of a test in which, should I pass, I will earn the title of Master Instructor.  This has given me pause to consider what it actually means, and how it changes my approach to martial arts training and teaching going forward.

As I have matured as an instructor, I think about a class taught today and how it builds on the classes to come.  I’ve gone from thinking about teaching on a class-by-class basis to focusing more on classes that build on each other and build the skill development of the students.

With these experiences I’ve gained as an instructor through the years, I am now looking at what my role as a Master Instructor would be.  I feel I should start with some simple definitions.

Instructor: one who instructs; a teacher.

Master: a person eminently skilled in something, as an occupation, art, or science.

Therefore, a Master Instructor would be a highly skilled instructor in his or her area of expertise.  For our purposes here, they would be as martial arts instructors, and more specifically, Taekwondo instructors.

First and foremost, would be having command of the material to be taught, including the basic techniques, the forms and one-steps for each rank.  Without complete knowledge of the material, it is difficult to prepare students for advancing in rank.  Once a student reaches the black belt level, they should have the curriculum to that point memorized and be prepared to demonstrate it on demand.

As an instructor gains experience by having the techniques and curriculum memorized, the instructor can begin to layer in new and various applications for the techniques, thus enriching the student’s knowledge of not only how to do the techniques, but what they do with the techniques based on different scenarios.

It’s important to start looking into how an instructor matures into a master instructor.  Earning a black belt is often referred to as “just the beginning” of the martial arts journey.  Those of us that have stuck it out this long realize what this means.  We go from black belt student, to assistant teaching, to becoming a certified instructor, and then moving on to the higher tiers: junior master instructor, master instructor, senior master, and then grandmaster for the very few that earn that title.  The most obvious attribution comes from experience, lots of time spent teaching classes.  Teaching different classes with varying skill levels and ages brings in all kinds of experiences to build on.

I found in my time teaching kids classes that the most important attribute I acquired was patience.  Kids will keep you on your toes with questions and conversations that aren’t always in line with the focus of the class.  A good instructor must be able to keep the kids focused on the task at hand and must also keep things fresh for the students.  It’s not unreasonable to have four to five different tasks planned out for a 30–45-minute class of 5–8-year-olds.  A kid’s instructor must also be just as engaged as the children in the activities.  Kids at this age learn through play, and when the instructor plays with the kids, they get more engaged.  Children will often copy-cat, so an instructor must be sure to do everything as technically correct as possible and watch for their mistakes.  I also found out that there were times when I had some ideas planned out in my head, but when it came down to implementing them in the class, the ideas didn’t translate like I thought they would and didn’t make much sense to the kids.  I had to learn to pivot to something else really quickly in order to not sacrifice class time and to still meet the goals of the class.  By learning patience, getting engaged in the classes, and making sure to be a good example are all attributes that the master instructor should be able to implement in any class they teach.

Teaching classes of older kids, ages 9-13 or so, also provides some unique challenges.  What I saw happening a lot when teaching this age range is the level of motivation can vary from class to class.  There will be classes where the kids are fired up and ready to go, and then there are classes where they lag and drag and seem like they’d rather be somewhere else.  It’s also important to point out that this isn’t always consistent throughout the class.  I have had students that were tuned in and ready to go and students that appeared disinterested in the same class.  As a master instructor, it is of paramount importance to be sure to get every student engaged in the class in an effort to make it the best hour or so of their day.  It can be as simple as pointing out the good things students are doing to get their confidence up.  If the kids look like they are shutting down in basics, pivoting the class approach and changing things up by adding some pad work can break them out of their funk.  The benefits of teaching this age range for the master instructor manifest in being flexible with how the material is presented in class while still meeting your goals for that class and the classes in the weeks to come.

Teaching adult classes tend to be more straightforward, in that adults that show up to class are usually motivated to do so.  It can be easy to assume as an instructor that keeping the status quo of the class structure for the adults will suffice, but this is not always the case.  Master instructors should use their knowledge of the basic techniques to their advantage.  A good instructor will have a solid grasp of the basic techniques as well as more advanced techniques.  With this good foundation, the master instructor can change how the basic techniques are approached so the students get to see things from a different perspective, and therefore challenge their own perceptions of what the basic techniques are and how to do them.  I’ve found in my time teaching that the more concise I can be with my directions then the more beneficial they become for the students.

Being able to present the physical application of techniques is important so a student can have a physical example to follow when learning.  This is easier when we are young and more athletic, but as age and experience set it, performing the more athletic movements can be more difficult for an aging instructor.  Therefore, it is not only important to be able to demonstrate technique, but also to be able to offer verbal explanations and cues in performing techniques that perhaps an instructor can’t do as well as he once could.  A master instructor should be able to explain techniques in this way.  Having a young, spry assistant doesn’t hurt either.

A master instructor will be able to succinctly explain the nuances of techniques from the experiences they build early on as new instructors.  I found it easy early on as a new instructor to get wordy when trying to explain things.  As I’ve matured as an instructor, I’ve found that I can say less and get more understanding across to the students, thus allowing them to get more time training in class and less time listening to me ramble.

All of these experiences help bring the master instructor to a point at which commanding a class becomes second nature and allows the instructor to run classes in the most efficient way possible.  To sum up these attributes:

Grasp of the Curriculum

Patience

Engagement

Pivoting Approaches

Positive Reinforcement

Provide Different Perspectives

Providing Layers of Application

Giving Concise, Succinct Instruction

With these attributes in tow, the master instructor will be able to make adjustments to class activities and provide the students with more and more advanced technique and applications in training, but the master instructor will be able to do this in the simplest manner possible.  The master instructor will see that instead of planning classes one at a time, he will be able to plan the classes to build off of each other, building steady improvement over the course of months over whatever topics he chooses to emphasize, while along the way maintaining the integrity of the curriculum required for testing and advancing in rank.  With all the experience gained through the early years of teaching, the master instructor will be able to produce students with solid foundations in the basics and begin to understand how simple nuances can advance their understanding of martial arts concepts.  Not only will they be able to demonstrate the curriculum for testing, but they will also be able to demonstrate the concepts of solid self-defense.  Therefore, as you can see, the duty of the master instructor is to help produce the next generation of master instructors, who can become the stalwarts that continue to perpetuate the art.

I truly believe that a master instructor’s job is to not show the students how good he is, but to make the students as good as they can be.

[aurik]

16 hours ago, bushido_man96 said:

I truly believe that a master instructor’s job is to not show the students how good he is, but to make the students as good as they can be.

I couldn't agree more wholeheartedly.  A good practitioner will have excellent technique.  A good instructor will figure out how to bring out the best technique in others.  The second is much harder than the first, because different students learn in different ways.  An explanation that resonates with one student may go completely over the head of another, and vice versa.