Laying the right foundation is essential. It begins at the beginning, with understanding "why" and not just "how" you are doing something.

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on JAN 11, 2023

Laying the right foundation is essential. It begins at the beginning, with understanding "why" and not just "how" you are doing something.

 

If you're an instructor in the martial arts then you will have a system that you use to instruct your class. It is more than probable that you learned this from observing your own instructor, in whatever style of the martial arts that you study and are now teaching.

As an instructor, it’s important you make sure that your students know and understand the material that you wish to teach them. It’s your job, to break it down, to find the terms to use, to make sure that your students understand the "why" and not just the “how" you are doing something. Just showing a technique without any real understanding, and making the student perform it over and over leads to false security, ultimately failure, and it could lead to a dangerous outcome.

An explanation that works for one person does not necessarily work for another. Even though the end result is the same, there must be more than one way of getting there. If there’s not, then frustration could creep in and the lack of understanding will hinder your student and your ability to teach them.

The original intent of karate training was civilian self-defense. Showing an interpretation of a principle or technique should address a common act of violence, this will put your students on the road to training the right way. Unless of course, you karate is sport orientated.

Students should learn the difference for both the self-defense and the sporting aspects of the particular martial art that you teach, and I mean effective self-defense, not just giving it lip service.

Learning when to use principles and techniques to protect themselves, and how much force is appropriate should be included in their study. The laws wherever you're from, will dictate what exactly constitutes "appropriate self defense" and when it can be used. You should be aware of them, and make your students aware of them too. Fighting is NOT the only option, and your students need to understand this. There are far too many instructors teaching their students to fight first….. the comments I get over this are quite frankly astounding.

Teaching your students awareness and trouble avoidance is extremely important, as they are the first lines of self-defense. Learning to walk away, or to stay away from known hazardous areas is just as important a skill. Sometimes good verbal communication can disarm a situation; other times, simply keeping your mouth shut will also do the trick.

This particular aspect of the martial arts is not usually taught. It's a shame because these skills will save students of all levels getting into trouble. If students are made aware and taught this knowledge then they will have a strong foundation to build upon.

Physical movements, throwing punches (which often are not punches), blocks (which more than likely are not blocks), kicks (that don’t compromise your balance), stances (that are not stationary) etc, without the necessary understanding, is not complete training. A little can go a long way when it is known and understood well. That is the way to train and advance students.

There are many different approaches to the martial arts, and whichever approach you teach, understand, truly understand, the differences. Don’t lay claim that the information you give to your students is the only way to do it and is effective in ALL situations. Because the likelihood is, it will fail when your students need it most.

By laying the right foundation it is essential that each element is carefully taught and nurtured by the instructor….. and it begins at the beginning, with understanding “why” and not just “how” you are doing something.