Martial Arts:An Instructors Perspective

I’ve noticed something lately about the adult students that I teach. It seems as though most of the adults that get into martial arts are very exacting and demanding on themselves. They are exacting in the fact that they have entered into a sport/hobby that requires specific movements to be successful in certain situations. This is a tremendous amount of pressure to put on themselves on a daily and weekly basis. Most people would not dream of making their lives more difficult by participating in such a venture, but the MA does. Also, due to their detailed natures, the adult students on not very forgiving of themselves when they make a mistake. While whatever specific move they are doing at the moment is very simple, they need to keep in mind that they know thousands of such small moves. The overlooking or improper execution of one of those is miniscule when taken as a whole. I guess that all us practitioners suffer from the same drive to better ourselves.

I’ve recently found that my perspective as an instructor has changed. I have gotten to the point where I’m very comfortable with most teaching situations that come up. This has allowed me to be extremely focused on the needs of each student that I’m teaching. On any given day, I will find myself  instructing one-on-one as well as leading groups of students. The one-on-ones are currently very easy for me.  With regard to the groups, I am now able to utilize the school’s mirrors to oversee that groups as I lead them. This is exceptionally challenging due to the fact that all activity is reversed from my perspective. Additionally, the larger the group, the farther away the students in the back row are and the more difficult for me to observe. My focus while leading is to ensure the group is following properly and to identify when one or more students are having problems. I need to alter the pace as needed while ensuring that the more capable students are still adequately engaged and interested. I’ve learned from my sensei that the key to successful teaching is making each class interesting for all and not leaving anyone feeling left behind.  It is a balancing act that I am becoming more at ease with. My new goal is to help the other instructors attain this level of comfort with their teaching.

I’ve often wondered why, even after 10 years, I am still driven to continue training. In my time I’ve seen many people attain their Black Belt and then abandon the upkeep of their arts. I have been taught that my martial arts is like boiling water, the heat must be maintained or it cools. I do know that when I train, there is a brief period of satisfaction followed closely by another strong desire to do better. It’s usually no longer than 12 hours after my last session that the urge to practice something strikes me. Maybe it’s the idea that my art emanates from me and and I give it form by my practice of it. I am fully aware that, realistically, there is no end to my art and I can always learn more. I am also perfectly content to keep going on like this for the rest of my life. For me, the journey is so enjoyable that I hope I never reach a destination.

I have been fortunate to experience physical altercations both in the dojo as well as the outside world. Not to say that I am a trouble-maker, but my career for the last ten years involved dealing with potentially violent people. The reason that I believe I am fortunate is because my training and my career have helped me overcome my fear of getting hurt. It is true that many/most people are afraid of getting hurt physically. While this is not a bad thing, it often keeps people from reaching their full potential. I have learned that the human body is a remarkable thing. It is designed to take an incredible amount of punishment and continue functioning. Furthermore, I now know that I may be struck by someone and it will not necessarily incapacitate me. The only way that I was able to learn this is by getting hit…and kicked…and thrown. After a while, it just becomes commonplace and easily accepted. Fear of pain is a powerful motivator but overcoming that fear is liberating. That fact is true in all aspects of life.

My school recently finished a round of tournament competitions and I’ve found myself distracted by it. I did not compete this year and instead helped coach and train the participants. Now that they are all finished, I am extremely motivated to start preparing for next year immediately. I would like to put together a compelling form and tune my fighting to a level I’ve never achieved before. This is the first time that I’ve felt this way and I’m excited that even after 10 years, my Martial Arts can still excite me. This is a testament to my instructor’s teaching and patience. I am so glad that I took the time to pick the right school. It really paid off!

There are some simple aspects of Martial Arts that most don’t understand. This is true no matter what style is chosen:

• People who are proficient at a move or technique are so because they have practiced it hundreds or even thousands of times
• In a self defense situation, the attacker or aggressor does not “know” what move is supposed to be done
• Most people in society do not train for combat in any way
• The more time spent training, the greater the students’ confidence and awareness
• Most people will not physically engage someone who has a high level of confidence
• Criminals tend to target those who are not aware of their surroundings
• Anything can be used to defend ones self
• Most fights are over in a matter of seconds
• Almost all fights are avoidable
• No one can defeat everyone

The bottom line is this:

The best way to protect ones self is to be aware of surroundings, identify dangerous situations and take yourself away from them. The trick with Martial Arts is that the more you train, the more aware you become. The more aware you are, the better you can identify trouble. Once you’re able to identify trouble earlier, the more trouble you can avoid.

Just wanna share something a little off-topic, or maybe it’s not. For the past few weeks I’ve been overcome by a strange sensation with regards to my martial arts. I’ve never really felt this way before and because of that, I find myself dwelling on it a lot. Throughout the 10+ years that I’ve been practicing I have searched for the “inner beast” that my instructors have spoken about. They tell of an animal instinct that should emerge when a practitioner is faced with a dangerous situation. While it’s been true that over the years I have been able to mentally increase my aggression level, I had yet to get in touch with that primal place. I think that I’m feeling it now! I can’t explain it so I won’t try now…….

My school is currently involved in a mini tournament circuit. We have participants competing in Florida at the time of this post. I personally do not prefer doing tournaments over fighting but my instructor’s outlook about them makes sense. While tournaments are by no means a large focus of our studio, my sensei’s reasoning for them is sound:

1. The spirit of competition is healthy
2. Being able to perform under pressure/stress is very beneficial to self-defense situations
3. Persevering despite making mistakes builds character
4. Being courageous is not the absence of fear, but the act of continuing despite it
5. Sets a specific goal/time-line to be worked towards.Builds focus
6. Sparring. Helps overcome the fear of pain, (getting struck)
7. There is much to be learned  from losing.  Develops  good  attitude
8. Preserves the basics
9. Just plain fun!

Here are a few things that newer students of martial arts don’t realize or consider about most instructors.

• Instructors are practitioners and students no matter what level they are
• We are under a lot of stress to be as close to perfect as possible. There’s nothing worse than teaching someone something incorrectly and they make it a habit.
• If the owner/sensei is worth following and emulating, it is probably true that they are very intense people. This can be stressful for the people who work for them.
• Instructors are human and make mistakes.
• We have outside lives and don’t spend every waking hour practicing, (although we’d like to).
• We have bad days.
• We get nervous
• We are not special. We’ve just decided to take up a hobby that we enjoy, made it a part of our lives, and love to share it with others.

These are just things I wanted to share as an instructor.

<update: I had to move this post due to website issues. This is actually my first post. Sorry for the inconvenience.>

I’m starting this blog because there are so many people in the SF Bay Area who want to get into martial arts but don’t know where to start. It’s here to support my consulting business which I run in the SF Bay Area. My in-person services are very in depth but this blog is here to answer basic questions and help those who need direction. Training in martial arts has been very rewarding for me for various reasons. It is the combination of physical, mental and spiritual aspects that has kept me coming back. It’s not about beating the pulp out of someone, (well sometimes it is) but more about the confidence that training brings. Whether someone chooses to use it as a recreational outlet or for combat/self defense purposes, the results can be very inspirational. There is a not many other activities where your payoff is as directly proportional to you involvement. Basically, you get out what you put in. Choosing a style and a school is very important. Karate and such require a significant time investment. Nothing is worse than training for months or years only to figure out that a different style/school/instructor would have been better suited to your or your child’s needs. I look forward to helping others find their path to a new beginning in martial arts.