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Alan
30th November 2000, 12:51
Hi All,

Can anyone recommend either some good books or good web sites on how to teach martial arts. I ask because I have just got to the point at in my training where I will begin to be asked to teach small groups, and it is pretty intimidating to begin with.

KenpoKev
30th November 2000, 22:08
Welcome to the forum. This is not meant as a commercial message for NAPMA, but the ACMA instructor's manual is pretty good and covers a wide variety of topic relating to instruction. It runs $50 US and you can order it from their website at http://www.napma.com and go to the ACMA section.

You may also wish to elaborate as to the group you will be teaching...children, adults, advanced, beginners, what style art, highly structured or playful and casual. There are a bunch of great teachers on this forum that could give you more ideas than you could use in a year's worth of sessions. I'll share my 2 pence worth too. :p

Respectfully,
Kevin Schaller

Alan
1st December 2000, 13:01
Thanks for the link, I will look into it.

Now for some more info. I train in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and there is a syllabus in the form of the TenChiJin. But my instructor is also preparing a syllabus to expand this somewhat as he is particularly street orientated, and we practice against all kinds of attacks, not just the more formal ones. So as for syllabus I have some idea what to cover, the question is the how.

What I am after is information on how to teach people in ways that will get and keep their interest, and get them to think for themselves. I don't want to just go over a kata parrot fashion, I want to be able to explain those principles that the kata teaches and how they apply in the modern world. But I don't want to bore people to death or give them to much information. I believe you learn better if you are enjoying what you do, even though you still take it seriously.

Some particular areas that interest me are sources of information, or tips from other members of the board on the following.

How to teach traditional katas in an interesting, practical way. What do people think of coming up with drills based on an aspect of a kata to emphasise that part, i.e. the footwork?

Use of language in teaching. I know that how a teacher phrases something can have a big effect on how a student learns.

People's experiences on dealing with different kinds of student, from the somewhat meek beginner to the much brasher thinks they know it all type.

I hope my thoughts aren't coming across as to disjointed. Any tips, book names or web site addresses would be appreciated.

Thanks

KenpoKev
1st December 2000, 17:37
Hi Alan,
Just a few quick thoughts:

1. Keep things moving quickly in class. No pontificating, but explain how and why you are doing something a particular way.

2. Have students partner up as much as possible and rotate partners often. Teach a particular section of a kata and have them execute that technique segment upon one another. Same hold true for self defense techniques.

3. ENCOURAGE! Catch students doing things right and praise loudly, correct errors softly. This has been told to me by my students the most often as to why they enjoy learning from me.

4. Use humor. Be a little irreverent, find humor in how you explain things. HAVE FUN!

5. If you can, have students suggest self defense scenarios then work together in coming up with responses. We have a lot of fun with this in my school.

Give it some thought.
Regards,
Kevin Schaller

Joseph Svinth
2nd December 2000, 08:38
Teach kata using bunkai. (The tendency is to teach via "look and step and turn and block" or numbers.) The game is to figure out how to make even a seemingly ludicrous movement work against a realistic attack delivered correctly. Don't change a thing of the kata movement, instead keep tinkering with the attacks until you find the particular action that this piece of the kata defeats. A bit of this, and suddenly middle block or walking up and down the floor becomes a thrilling pastime.

[Edited by Joseph Svinth on 12-02-2000 at 02:41 AM]

Joseph Svinth
2nd December 2000, 08:50
An important part of teaching is establishing a pedagogy. Toward this end, start by setting out your idiosyncratic and stylistic tasks, conditions, and standards, and then deciding whether to teach the test or to teach understanding. An epiphany for me was realizing that it was easy to get an A in graduate school; you simply told the professor what he wanted to hear. And all along I had been suffering from the delusion that one went to school to learn...

Steve Williams
2nd December 2000, 22:20
Originally posted by Joseph Svinth
And all along I had been suffering from the delusion that one went to school to learn...

Well of course you do...You learn how to tell the teacher what he wants to hear.. :laugh:

Joseph Svinth
2nd December 2000, 23:31
Me, I just wrapped up the thesis and left.

If the purpose of going to school is obtaining a degree, then 70% is the same as 100%, and education is a better major than rocket science because education only requires a 2.75 in major, 2.5 overall, instead of a 3.0 in major, 2.75 overall. On the other hand, if you're there for an education, well, what you really need is a library card and somebody to critique your papers...

Alan
5th December 2000, 05:29
Thanks for the info.

Another question occurs to me now. At what point should you start allowing students to play around with the technique shown, i.e. coming up with their own finish to a move, or suggesting attacks to work from. I guess beginning students shouldn't do this, but I was thinking that those who have been in the dojo for a couple of years would likely find this useful. Any thoughts anyone?

Joseph Svinth
5th December 2000, 09:19
What's the matter with beginners playing with the technique? Slow motion, lots of personal supervision, and oh by the way, the reason this isn't working for you is that you need some work on foot placement. See? So come on over here and we'll spend some time walking up and down the floor.

Think about it -- if I don't let you play with the technique, you'll think I'm a jerk for having you walk up and down the floor for an hour. But if I let you play with the technique, then you'll wish class was longer because an hour isn't long enough to walk up and down the floor...

And besides, how on earth do you teach someone that what looks like a push is really a pull, or that what looks like a punch is really a grip release, without experimentation?

Neil Hawkins
5th December 2000, 11:04
I usually pick a theme for each class, I group together a number of techniques that have a common facet, same footwork, same finish, whatever. I then start with a warmup that emphasises one small part of that common thread, I build on this as individual movement throught out the first 15 or so minutes, then hit them with the complete technique, one or twice alone or in kata, then from a variety of attacks building up the intensity.

Gradually add the variations or similar techniques, the main thing is keep them moving. Don't worry about perfect technique, that will come through practice, gross movements right and reinforce through repitition. I usually try and only correct one thing per person per class, but I will correct the entire class as a group maybe twice per class.

With beginners I tend to alternate one lesson lots of talk, build the confidence, next lesson, hardly any talk, train, train, train.

Intermediate or advanced students are harder because the questions they ask are more pointed, don't be led off on a tangent, keep the responses short and illustrate with action rather than long discussion. If they want to talk you can do it over a beer or whatever after class. :D

Hope this helps.

Regards

Neil