Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Why do I teach karate?

Hmmm... a very interesting question was asked yesterday... "Are you there for you students or are they there for you?" - hmm..... I guess my answer is that I am there for them 100% if they wanna learn what I teach. If they don't wanna learn what I teach then I can't and won't change.

This is of course not a business decision, but one made on the basis of passion. It has also evolved into this because of how I approach learning a skill for myself. I seek out someone that have done what I wanna learn and then I model them as best I can. (Meaning; I don't go to the car-mechanic in the hope that he will teach me to cook)

That said; I teach karate cause it is the one thing that has had the single biggest positive impact on my life. It has changed everything since I was 14 and I will keep struggling to improve with a karate spirit until I die. My dream is that I can help as many people as possible to have a similar positive experience like I have had.

:)

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Needs of a karate-teacher

To be able to function as a teacher of karate-do for a long time, i think most instructors will agree with the thoughts expressed in this post.

Everyone has different values in life and when I approach my teacher I listen very attentively to his directions so that I don't step too much on his toes. (My fear is that if I do it will make him less enthused in helping me improve) If he would say: "I think its important to not wear jewelry" or "The karate suit must be clean" - then I would show up without jewelry and with a clean suit. If his values were totally incompatible with mine, then I would look for a new teacher (It has happened to me, and yes, it still hurts)

My values regarding karate-training is best summed up like this: Try your best at all times, keep a positive attitude and don't give up, ever.

Another thought regarding how I approach being among the senior students in the class: My role is then to enhance the point that my teacher is trying to get across. (If i don't agree with what is being taught, I would not voice my opinion nor argue about it in class)

Open letter to my former students

I just read some scary statistics. It said that 70% of the students that quit do it because they think the instructor don't care about them or their progress. I find this to be very sad, cause it couldn't be farther from the truth.

I care deeply bout the progress of *anyone* that wanna improve their control of their own body and reap the benefits of consistent karate-training. Come to think of it, in many cases I probably care more bout the students progress than what they do and sometimes this might lead to some frustrations on my side. I will try to up my tolerance for this issue. My main problem, though, is when the student will sabotage their progress with a weak spirit. (Like not trying their best cause just "I can't do it" or "I don't wanna do it". This quickly  makes me wanna quit teaching. (luckily this usually pass fast, cause I really love to share my passion for the art of shotokan karate-do))

So with that said; here is my challenge to the 70% of the ones that have given up on me: I think you should try my classes again with an open mind, cause I am 100% sure that we can together have some mad fun and get your karate to the next level.
 
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