Teaching
is similar to parenting in that teachers can provide a role model that will be
emulated and perpetuated by their students later in their own lives. Both parenting and teaching are the art of
guiding, influencing and shaping the directions that child or student will
follow as they proceed through the instructions provided by their parents
and/or teachers. Bad practices in
teaching as well as parenting can lead to replications of these behaviors when
the students reach a point in their own lives where they are placed in charge
of others.
Unfortunately,
like parenting, most martial arts instructors have not been taught how to
instruct nor have they acquired some practical hands-on experiences before they
walked on the floor/mat to begin their instructional journey. They are actually experimenting with live
students in an on-the-job learning format.
These instructors are forced to fall back and rely on what the
experienced as students. They are going
to channel their own instructor(s) because that is all that they have as a
basis for their own instructional format.
And like so many of us, who said as children, that we would never do
what our parents did to us, these instructors find themselves repeating the
same things that they learned from their instructors.
When our
students see, hear and experience these examples they in turn are being
impacted with a behavioral imperative that will be repeated after they leave
the confines our schools and open their own martial arts instructional
programs. In a good number of cases the
results are closely aligned with the cult-followers syndrome. The instructor both presents himself as and
is observed by his students as being the leading authority figure on the
art. Most other instructors and martial
arts styles are seen as being inferior and should be avoided at all costs in
order to prevent yourself from becoming ‘contaminated’ with inferior techniques
and information. In many cases this
attitude is not consciously and deliberately perpetrated by the
instructor. However, when an instructor
does not actively encourage independent thinking and research, the tendency to
move in the direction of cultism is virtually inescapable for both the
instructor as well as many of his students.
This is particularly true when there is a kids program at the
school. Young dragons are easier to mold
in one’s own image than adults who have enrolled in the program for their own
individual reasons.
The
Paradigm Eskrima-Kenpo instructional program is grounded in the belief that a
student who is taught to observe and think positively will become a better
student of the arts and he/she can successfully transfer these concepts to all
other aspects of their lives. In
addition these students become positive role models for others in almost every
situation that they are participating in.
We strive to provide our students with positive behavioral
experiences. We want our students to
learn how to deal with adversity and failure as a springboard for future
successes. Our students are shown how to
evaluate themselves and accept responsibility for their own shortcomings, then
work to reverse the previous outcome at the next opportunity that becomes
available to them. In short, we want our
students to make lemonade after they’ve been handed a batch of lemons.
Our
basic instructional format is based on having a principal instructor and at
least 2 assistant instructors. The
assistant instructors are usually 3 to 4 belt ranks higher than the newest
student who has joined our training group.
We use a combination of class instruction, small group lessons and 1 on
1 training throughout our program. The
assistant instructors provide the 1 on 1 lesson with specific tasks/goals
assigned by the principal instructor.
These lessons are evaluated by the principal instructor at the end of
the training hour and corrections, if needed, are recommended at that time for
the next training session. In time the
assistant instructors are assigned small groups ranging in size from 2 to 6
people to instruct. In both cases
mentioned above the assistant instructors are acting as tutors and resource
people, reviewing the techniques/drills that have previously been taught by the
principal instructor in the larger class format. We believe that the more individualized
instruction that our students receive the better they will become and the
faster they can progress through the underbelt ranks to black belt. The more confidence the students have in us
as instructors, the more confidence they will have in themselves as students
and martial artists. This confidence is
easily transferred to other aspects of their lives because success in one area
is the best way to build success in other areas of a person’s life.
Since
our assistant instructors are most often higher ranked under-belts themselves
they are actually re-learning their basic skill sets as they instruct the newer
students in the 1 on 1 and later small group sessions. This is a win-win situation for everyone
involved. There is a strong bond that
extends from the lowest ranked students to the principal instructor and
everyone is viewed as being a significant and important person within the
training group. We do not wear belts or
use titles in our training group, yet everyone understands where they are within
the group. We also stress ability over
time within the Paradigm Escrima-Kenpo Group.
In other words, progress is determined by skills learned and mastered,
rather than any concerns for how long someone has been a member of the
group. Promotions are based on skill
development and are a measure of one’s commitment to study and work. Anyone can pass another person in rank by
simply being better or more skilled than someone else regardless of how much
time each person has been a member of the training group. That potential situation keeps everyone
motivated. The newer people want to move
up as quickly as possible and the older students want to remain at a higher
grade than the people they might have instructed at an earlier point in time.
Throughout
our training format, we are stressing skill development, cooperation,
competition and shared responsibilities.
We are developing communication and instructional skill
development. The PEK format is designed
and intended to provide our students with the information and training
necessary to make them good instructors if they choose to go into the
instructional field in any area of their own personal interest.
At PEK
we believe that leadership skills can be taught. By giving our students an opportunity to work
in an instructional mode very early in their training, we have identified those
people who have a knack for instructing.
We do not leave instructional skills and leadership development to chance. Our program is very well structured and
planned out. We use a standardized
methodology and evaluation process to identify those people who could become
excellent instructors both in and outside of the martial arts. We believe that we can develop leaders and we
may very well be the first organizational entity in a student’s life that gives
them some definite and specific responsibilities within an organizational
structure. We use both informal and
formal evaluation processes to help our assistant instructors. Each assistant instructor is responsible for
monitoring lower ranked assistants and making suggestions to the principal instructor. Over time the assistant instructors will be
asked to discuss their observations with the lower ranked assistants in formal
training sessions and demonstrate the areas needing corrections.
The PEK
instructor training program is a by-product of our main mission which is
teaching practical and realistic self-defense to all of our students. We are not focused on retention and getting
every single person who enters our program to black belt status. We take students who come to us with a very
specific short term goal as well as people who are interested in a full program
agenda. It is understood that not
everyone is seeking a black belt when they enter our program and it is our job
to give each student the best training and information that we can provide
while they are training with us. It is
equally important to train every student to maximize his/her potential for both
the short and long terms. And for those
students who go through the full training curriculum it is important that they
leave our program with strong leadership and teaching skills that they can use
throughout their lifetime.
Jerome Barber, Ed. D.
Grand Master, Principal Teacher,
Independent Escrima-Kenpo-Arnis Associates
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