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Post by AngelaG on Feb 1, 2006 15:27:35 GMT
What makes a good karate instructor? What do people look for within their own instructors? What about from a personality / experience / age / knowledge / qualifications point of view?
<Edited for spelling>
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Post by pasmith on Feb 1, 2006 15:37:06 GMT
For me personality is the best (and most important) defining factor.
Someone that is easy to get on with, friendly, honest, up-front, leads by example (by training and generally being fit). Things like that. I couldn't train regularly with some old dude that shouted instructions from the side lines.
Age doesn't come into it for me (unless they're still a kid). I've had instructors older and younger than me. My current instructor is virtually the same age.
Knowledge is also very important. As I have been around the arts for a few years it would be pontless me going to a 1st Dan TKD instructor (as a general example), there just wouldn't be much that I would want to learn from him no matter how good he was personally.
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Post by miffersy on Feb 5, 2006 18:34:39 GMT
I think the ability to convey to Students the knowledge they need in simple terminology backed up by personal ability
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Post by random on Feb 10, 2006 0:59:50 GMT
For me personality is the best (and most important) defining factor. Someone that is easy to get on with, friendly, honest, up-front, leads by example (by training and generally being fit). Things like that. I couldn't train regularly with some old dude that shouted instructions from the side lines. Age doesn't come into it for me (unless they're still a kid). I've had instructors older and younger than me. My current instructor is virtually the same age. Knowledge is also very important. As I have been around the arts for a few years it would be pontless me going to a 1st Dan TKD instructor (as a general example), there just wouldn't be much that I would want to learn from him no matter how good he was personally. So at what Dan grade would you be willing to be instructed by? Does the belt/grade mean that much. Do you think you can only learn from someone much higher in grade, but with less experience. I know Black Belts that weren't born when I took my 1st Kyu, doesn't mean I have nothing to learn from them. |
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Post by Aefibird on Feb 10, 2006 18:08:43 GMT
I think that we can all learn from one another in martial arts. Even a white belt has things they can teach others - even if it is 'only' to show the total newb where to stand in the line or how to tie their belt!
Plus, lower grades can often have a way of looking at or doing things that higher kyu grades and dan grades wouldn't do. For example, in kumite higher grades have often been "conditioned" to a set whay of doing something whereas a lower grade would not do it that way. That's why sparring with grades lower than yourself is good IMO - it means they can (hopefully) learn from you how to do a technique/sequence and they keep you on your toes because they're not into that "set" way of throwing a karate punch or a front kick or whatever.
I think that just because somone has a bit of cloth around their waist that is a lighter colour than mine doesn't mean that I am automatically better than them. Appearence can be deceptive and grades and belts don't really count for owt, just attitude and wilingness to have a go.
My brother (who has cerebral palsy) often used to fool his opponents into thinking he was an easy win. He used to enter competition Judo events when he was younger (early teens) and people would look at him limping onto the mats and think that it was a given that they would win - until they actually started fighting with him. He'd often get the "aww, bless him for having a go" attitude, until he'd got the Ippon and people were left wondering how this disabled child who could barely walk unaided had managed to beat the dead-cert.
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Post by AJH-1stKyu on Feb 11, 2006 11:21:19 GMT
Life is a continual learning process. It does not matter what grade a person is, if you look closely enough, you can learn a lot from a person. Everyone is biomechanically different and will execute techniques according to their body types. You may learn another way of utilising a technique or defending against it !!!
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Post by Aefibird on Feb 11, 2006 21:27:54 GMT
Yes, that's why I think it is a good to train with as wide a variety of partners as possible. That way you get to be beaten up by even more people! lol j/k, it's a good thing to do as too often people can become accustomed to fighting with someone of roughtly the same build or grade as them or only training with people of the same sex. Mixing it up and training with all grades, all ages, all sizes is a great thing to do IMO as it gets you really thinking about the techniquyes you use and why.
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