Post by powerof0ne on Sept 1, 2014 21:28:35 GMT -5
Something I was thinking of today while with my other half grocery and furniture shopping so I wouldn't go insane LOL...many of us are aware, if not all that some of the best instructors aren't always the best fighters and many great fighters are not good instructors.
My belief is that a good to great instructor will always be a good to great fighter...or was before permanent injury(ies). The latter isn't reference to me neither but an instructor I spent some time learning from. However, that doesn't mean they'll be a world champion or even care to be a world champion because a good instructor understands what level of sacrifice is needed to become a champion fighter...this is also a way of fighting which means that there are great instructors but the way they personally train isn't necessarily legal for tournaments, too. A good instructor may often times rather help others become champions.
There are basically IMHO, two methods of teaching martial arts. Some instructors, myself included will use both to certain extents but not all instructors are really able to do one method. There is the "group" method, doing the same renraku, ido geiko, kihon, techniques in general and so forth "by the numbers" or simple repetition. Repetition is needed to learn muscle memory and to get a work out...but, it shouldn't be the only way to train or you will more than likely plateau only training that way. Due to logistics of the size and amount of students, sometimes repetition for most or all is the only option an instructor has to run a class.
The other method of teaching is tailoring training for a student, to bring out the best in that student. This is what "private lessons" should be like but not everybody is experienced or really knows how to really tailor instruction for somebody. Just about any half decent boxing corner can tailor training for the fighter they're coaching...and the same goes for kickboxing, Thaiboxing, MT, etc. There are SOME in knockdown that do this but there are also many that don't...there are some that think they do this but they honestly don't know what they're doing. I went through an apprenticeship/instructor training program to learn how to do this by a hand full of people in different orgs. I'm not saying I'm an expert and it took years after the training for me to really begin to really get it.
I won't name any names but recently talked to somebody on here that was telling me about an instructor that asked him a couple of weeks before a tournament how he should train his students that were competing. This right here tells me everything and it also makes me feel bad for the students of that instructor. These are the kind of instructors I will call out in front of their students and have in the past.
You can't learn much by reading or just watching videos..however they can be tools that are of use. I will say the first step is being able to properly assess a student/fighter to see what they're strong at, weak at, and so forth. If you can't properly assess a student it will take much longer to help that student reach their goals.
Now, I have seen "kickboxing," "Thaiboxing," "MMA," and whatever else instructors that are scams. Some are people that watch youtube vids and get together, some are personal trainers/crossfit instructors, and others got fake rank from fake people or left as green belts and did the old fake rank crap to 10th dan and became a "soakie dokie." It's one thing to get together with some friends and train together but I've always viewed only calling yourself an instructor when you earned that privilege. Teaching those to fight/defend themselves when you really don't know what the hell you're doing can be dangerous. Unfortunately, the civilized world is too politically correct which means many men and women are unable to tell whether something is effective or not....and see a black belt and think that no matter what, that black belt must know what they're doing!
Just my .02 cents.
Osu!
My belief is that a good to great instructor will always be a good to great fighter...or was before permanent injury(ies). The latter isn't reference to me neither but an instructor I spent some time learning from. However, that doesn't mean they'll be a world champion or even care to be a world champion because a good instructor understands what level of sacrifice is needed to become a champion fighter...this is also a way of fighting which means that there are great instructors but the way they personally train isn't necessarily legal for tournaments, too. A good instructor may often times rather help others become champions.
There are basically IMHO, two methods of teaching martial arts. Some instructors, myself included will use both to certain extents but not all instructors are really able to do one method. There is the "group" method, doing the same renraku, ido geiko, kihon, techniques in general and so forth "by the numbers" or simple repetition. Repetition is needed to learn muscle memory and to get a work out...but, it shouldn't be the only way to train or you will more than likely plateau only training that way. Due to logistics of the size and amount of students, sometimes repetition for most or all is the only option an instructor has to run a class.
The other method of teaching is tailoring training for a student, to bring out the best in that student. This is what "private lessons" should be like but not everybody is experienced or really knows how to really tailor instruction for somebody. Just about any half decent boxing corner can tailor training for the fighter they're coaching...and the same goes for kickboxing, Thaiboxing, MT, etc. There are SOME in knockdown that do this but there are also many that don't...there are some that think they do this but they honestly don't know what they're doing. I went through an apprenticeship/instructor training program to learn how to do this by a hand full of people in different orgs. I'm not saying I'm an expert and it took years after the training for me to really begin to really get it.
I won't name any names but recently talked to somebody on here that was telling me about an instructor that asked him a couple of weeks before a tournament how he should train his students that were competing. This right here tells me everything and it also makes me feel bad for the students of that instructor. These are the kind of instructors I will call out in front of their students and have in the past.
You can't learn much by reading or just watching videos..however they can be tools that are of use. I will say the first step is being able to properly assess a student/fighter to see what they're strong at, weak at, and so forth. If you can't properly assess a student it will take much longer to help that student reach their goals.
Now, I have seen "kickboxing," "Thaiboxing," "MMA," and whatever else instructors that are scams. Some are people that watch youtube vids and get together, some are personal trainers/crossfit instructors, and others got fake rank from fake people or left as green belts and did the old fake rank crap to 10th dan and became a "soakie dokie." It's one thing to get together with some friends and train together but I've always viewed only calling yourself an instructor when you earned that privilege. Teaching those to fight/defend themselves when you really don't know what the hell you're doing can be dangerous. Unfortunately, the civilized world is too politically correct which means many men and women are unable to tell whether something is effective or not....and see a black belt and think that no matter what, that black belt must know what they're doing!
Just my .02 cents.
Osu!
