Black Belt = Teacher??

Hello

This is an issue I've come across quite a bit in a lot of different martial arts classes directly (by being in the class and seeing what's going on) or indirectly (by talking to people who are involved in different classes).

Once a person reaches a certain level (e.g. 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree black belt in a martial art, or some such equivalent) they are encouraged to start teaching classes or setting up their own club/school.

How would you feel if you went to a certain class for a long time, gained a high amount of proficency in whatever MA it was you were studying, then the coach asks you to take over some of his/her classes or encourages you to start your own group???

As has been said before, MA can be pretty much a selfish activity. Some people view teaching as giving something back. Or perhaps teaching is merely taking the self-interest that is at the heart of a lot of martial arts classes and pushing it further (e.g. a person only sets up a new class to make money for themselves).

Should getting to a high level in martial arts automatically mean you should be teaching a class?

Automatically? Lord, no. Just because someone has gotten a black belt does not mean they are capable of relating what they know. Theoretically they should, but this is not always the case. In American kenpo, students are required to have 50 hours of teaching time between brown belt and black belt. This gives them some experience with what it's like to have to answer questions, as opposed to asking them. But not all styles have such a requirement, and many kenpo schools don't enforce that one, either.

I know of one school, Which has its founder and Head Office (honbu) in Austrailia, which has presence in many countries and they are still allowed to train and "teach" where the students are put on "Instructor Training Programmes" and given a "Black and White Belt" and are expected to teach classes with only 2 or 3 Kyu grades "passed" experience!!!! And they are called "sensei" without even passing a 1st Dan grading!!!!!
To me its seems like Pyramid selling Karate as you have to door knock and sign people up to "courses" before they've even stepped foot inside the Dojo.

So to me if someone has a 1st Dan grade then he has far more experience that the "Outfit" described above. I have 15 years experience of Martial Arts but I am only graded to 2nd Dan, does that mean I'm not experienced enough to teach?

[quote=] I have 15 years experience of Martial Arts but I am only graded to 2nd Dan, does that mean I'm not experienced enough to teach? [/quote]
It depends on the art, the dojo and your teacher.
With your teacher's permission you can teach.

It's not a bad idea to take a coaching course if you want to teach. When I was a student, it was no secret that some of the most brilliant professors were lousy teachers. We read their books and avoided their courses. I was a teacher for years before I took a teaching course; some of the content was old-hat to me, but I learned some techniques I was glad to use.

Of course, some ability in the area you're teaching is a good pre-requisite to teaching, but no way is it enough. Watching great teachers helps. Trial and error helps; it would be a lot faster to take a teaching / coaching skills course.

Don't most schools expect their advanced students to take on minor teaching duties anyway?

Very often, it's just an excuse for the mcdojo's macmaster to avoid doing his job.

That said, a lot of genuine masters can pay their students to help them with the onerous task of teaching over a hundred students. IOW, it all depends - does the master delegate everything, or does he take an active part in the teaching?

Hello Prizewriter:

A misguided parallel.

Dan ranking means solely that one has a particular foundation of techniques, a partular understanding and ability according to the person who specifically issued it.

From a capasity based on technical knowledge one can share how to perform many things and aspects of the larger art or practice. But the art of teaching, the passing on of knowledge whether to one person or many is a very different creature. Teaching is far more complex than simply sharing tidbits, small pieces. Teaching has a map, very specific landmarks and a timeline of events to be met in a precise sequence.

Teaching is not haphazard, not random in the least. The skill of developing a student is a different skill set than the ability to demonstrate, share.

A teacher can a yudansha but a yudansha is never automaticly a teacher. The assumption or retroactive belief of those skills is a tragic mistake.

Jeff

Hello kathryn:

What's the definition of "minor" teaching exactly?

A punch, a kick, a whole kata, basic waza, principals... at what point does minor become signifigant and extremely important to be taught professionally by experts?

Jeff

Hello TaekwandoFan:

Never known a live bone-fide MASTER... are they common?

Teaching is onerous <sp.?> ? Going to look that term up, be certain it means what I believe it to mean. A hundred students... I hope we are not talking in a single class, correct?

Even so, men and women who are the head teachers are responsible for And to a greater extent I propose we are responsible for teaching ourselves. Further I contend we learn as much, or more from our classmates the finer points, the refinements taught by each body.

Merely my opinion I could surely be mistaken,
Jeff

Hello Hope:

Only problem in that belief being that you or I then receive those mistaken teachings. At some point we wasted our time learning from a well meaning but incompetant teacher. We have to unlearn the mistakes taught...

Where do we learn the skills of "riot control", large group instruction of dynamic physical skills rather than "blander" academic instruction?

Nobody is likely to be actually hurt by mistaken art history, political science, stastics. A mistaken block, or kick <cringe>

Jeff

Hello iaibear:

What happens to those who seperate from their instructors prey tell? I require no permission, no sanctioning authority to teach my art. Whether that is good or bad I cannot say.

The question becomes does what and how we present our practies attract students, those who wish to study our particular skills, practices, approach.

Merely my opinion, I could surely be mistaken.
Jeff

I had permission to teach our Iaido class if our instructor could not make it.
At another time, I was informed by the "powers that be" that having a third level black belt, it still was not good enough to sign a permission for a student to test formally, even though I would not be one of the judges.
It depends on the situation.
BTW, I have never had the intention of starting my own school.

Hi Jeff -- I think you misunderstood my post! I didn't say a coaching course was a substitute for skill, but that skill wasn't enough to be a good teacher. It's ALSO good to have some training in teaching. Teaching is a skill, like MA. You need both skills to teach MA.

BB IMHO defeniately does not equal teacher.
I agree with points already made, like BBs teaching help lazy teachers or give school owners a break, allow for McDojos to grow & flourish, as well as make more schools with more money coming in, especially via testing fees, which in essence often become a retirement program for the original school owner, the instructor who sends out their students to teach or open schools.
To me it is easy, define the terms:
BB = one who has reached a certain level in a MA
Teacher = one who spreads knowledge
While there may be nothing wrong with a BB helping out by leading a class from time to time, that IMHO is not teaching. There is also nothing wrong with any senior student helping out any other student, or any student for that matter that can help a fellow student learn, grasp or become better.
However IMHO to teach, one must have 3 general things:
1) desire to share knowledge
2) sufficent understanding themselves of the knowledge they wish to share
3) the ability to share that knowledge in a way that will be understood, absorbed in a way that the knowledge will be retained by others & useful for them

The thing that helped me best to share knowledge with fellow students was taking academic methods of instruction classes, which helped me tremendously to be a able to share more efficiently.

So a BB does not equal a teacher! JMHO!

Hello iaibear:

Were you content with that situation, not "permitted" supposedly due to your rank? Your instructor said you were good enough... complete strangers said differently.

How do/did you solve that?

You raise another excellent point IMHO... can we still be teachers, instructors if we do not "own" a dojo/kwan/dojang. Is a school necessary to teach do you think?


Jeff

I agree with ITFunity. BB does not equal teacher. Like a teacher of anything else, the student must have the desire to teach and the ability to convey those teachings in a way that others can and want to learn. Fight experience certainly helps, and I don't mean in a ring. A teacher should be able to tell if a student will make a good teacher, one good reason to let senior students teach a little bit to lower ranks. As to whether you need a dojo, I taught for a few years in garages, fields, anywhere I could gather students. It is nice to have a place,though. Mantis

When my original sensei's own instructor left the area, he gave his top student the right to teach the first three ryuha, at which he was really quite skilled. That totalled thirty-six kata. The one stipulation was he should tell his students, up front, that basically it was information only. He would not be able to sign permission allowing them to test. My sensei's job kept him from the long trip to the nearest dojo with such capability. At the time none of us had any illusions of grandeur. We just wanted to learn Iaido.

This was quite satisfactory for over four years.

When my sensei had taught me to the limit of his permission, I started making monthly trips to Massachusetts to study Muso Shinden Iaido under a ranked instructor. At the next North Eastern Seminar I was permitted to test and was granted Shodan. They said if I had requested it, I could have been granted Nidan. I said I thought I needed to extra time. They said they would permit me to try for nidan the following year, which I did. Three years later I was granted sandan as well. But I did not have the time to study the several concentrated months required to earn jodan. So I was never able to sign the permission for my original sensei to test officially. I regret it to this day.

I make little or no connection between teaching and a black belt.

As a rule of thumb I consider shodan level to be way insufficient to start one's own school; while on the other hand my first instructor, a funny and highly multiversed Japanese dude who who was (and still is) one of the very best martial artists I've ever seen, never stayed long enough in any dojo to earn a black belt in any particular system.

A belt it something to hold your saya.

On the one hand NOBODY should be forced or "expected" to teach.

Plus just having the rank in no way, shape or form, says anyhting about your TEACHING skills---a very different thing than whatever skills you having using the material.

On the other hand---I have heard it said that you learn quite a bit from teaching someone what you know. So perhaps, if true, the person trying to "teach" might be learning something themselves.

Tough call---I still think nobody should be required to teach or open a school etc.

Teaching is a fundamental part of our martial arts program. Anyone at any time can be asked to work with someone of a lower rank during class. This keeps students motivated to continually work on things like lower patterns in the event that they will have to teach someone. When a teen or adult student gets to red belt they might be required to run the warmups at the beginning of class or to assist with kicking drills or otherwise assist in class. This also helps to teach students to think on their feet, learn to speak in front of a group of people and builds confidence. It teaches them to think about the material they've been learning for the past several years. While not every student becomes an official instructor, it is very clear who has the desire and skill to do so. These are the students that show up early so they can help with other classes and who are ready to jump in at a moments notice.

I started assisting when I was a high blue belt and was given my own class when I earned my black belt. I have learned more from teaching than I ever thought possible and wouldn't trade a second of it for the world.

I have not read all of the posts so if I'm repeating anything that has already been said, I apologize.

In short, no, I do not believe having a black belt automatically makes you a teacher, nor do I believe every black belt should teach.

For one, teaching in itself is an art, and I have seen more bad martial arts instructors that do not really know what they are doing (as far as teaching goes) than I have seen good ones. They are very few, and far between.

Two, not everybody, no matter how much education they receive on the matter, is actually capable of being a good teacher. Some people just can't do it.

Three, not everybody wants to teach, and anybody who does so only to fulfil an expectation is not going to enjoy it.

If a martial arts student shows interest or potential in teaching, they should be training to learn how to do it BEFORE their black belt. After there should be a shadowing period where they assist in the teaching of classes after they've received their black belt.

Teaching and coaching in all sports is highly hit and miss because very few people actually learn how to do it right, and I don't think education, training, or experience in a certain thing automatically means you should pass it on, or that you ill be good at it.

Anybody who has been to university knows there are good professors and bad professors, and if every student who graduated with a bachelor's in something was expected to teach at some point education would surely suffer for it.

To be a full fledged teacher and open up a dojo no. But to be hired by a dojo to teach people they feel you are qualified to teach then yes perhaps.

In my school it's taught that as a higher ranking belt you are an idol and guide to those belts below you. An instructor should only be bothered with a question if you ask someone in your rank or a higher belt rank and they can not provide the correct answer.

As you train you should not only be looking out for yourself but for others, if you see someones kicking technique is wrong you dont ignore it and wait for the teacher to get around to correcting them you say -hey this is what you should do instead- because it's what you would want someone to do for you in return before being criticized by your instructor. You could also get more praise for looking like you knew what you where doing the whole time lol =]

We have student instructors but they usually teach younger students and have it as their part time job while the actual instructors teach the big stuff. During a class an instructor might ask one student or two to show others how to preform something, help them, or lead in a basic exercise because he knows that/those students are capable... nothing is asked of you that you aren't able to do, the instructors do their jobs but sometimes it's necessary for others to step up to keep things flowing more quickly and not hold up the whole class.