Preamble
To begin my essay for second degree black belt – My Philosophy of Teaching - it is imperative that “instructor”, as I perceive the term, be clearly defined for the reader. Additionally, in this preamble, I will explain the difference between a black belt and an instructor. Both are notable achievements and deserve to be distinguished. This will provide a clear understanding in all sections of the paper as to what my standards are for an instructor and how these standards apply in theory and practice.
An instructor in TaeKwonDo is a black belt who has demonstrated the ability to teach by way of ongoing success as a student of the martial arts. This leader has demonstrated a strict adherence to the five tenets of TaeKwonDo - Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control and Indomitable Spirit – and through understanding them has aspired to educate others. Indeed, the teacher will clearly explain to students that these tenets are the core for success in the martial art. Although an instructor, by definition, is a black belt, being at the Dan level is only one requirement for the authority and responsibility a teacher commands. Just as a black belt should be held to higher expectations than a color-belt, an instructor must be held to more rigorous standards than a black belt of similar degree.
Every black belt has influence within a dojang. Starting at first degree, each senior student offers a natural source of development to everyone in the school. It is within this hierarchy that students are afforded diversity in their development with the benefit of regimented standards: One black belt may excel in forms, another in sparring and still another in self-defense. Students will invariably be drawn to emulate senior students based on their demonstration of excellence. It is a sometimes silent way of encouraging the student to progress.
For an instructor this influence must be proactive and focused. Simply kicking (or throwing, or falling) well is only a small part of teaching. Attitude – including Discipline, Enthusiasm and Confidence - is an invaluable tool of the teacher. This is something, perhaps passively, expected of all black belts. A successful instructor knows this must be included in all class-related activities to engage students in learning.
In closing, this introduction serves to define the teacher as a superb example of the physical and attitudinal characteristics of every black belt in TaeKwonDo. As the following essay outlines, teaching is not an easy endeavor. To successfully instruct, a teacher must embody the tenets of TaeKwonDo, understand the challenges facing the instructor and, most importantly, how he or she wants to engage students in learning the art.
My Philosophy of Teaching
In first section of this essay, I will discuss the Challenges an individual must overcome in becoming an instructor and the challenges he or she must anticipate as a teacher. In the next section, every instructor must have a plan - a path - along which students can be expected to develop. My Plan of Instruction will be expressed and outlined. In Section Three, a teacher must be able to objectively monitor the progress of students as individuals and a group. This will be explained in terms of both student and teacher perspectives. Finally, there should be a reasonable expectation for success in any teaching objective. There should be promising results for the instructor and, equally important, the student. These rewards will be explained in the final section.
Section I. Challenges
Part I. Becoming an Instructor
Challenges are a factor in every goal. They allow us to learn, anticipate new obstacles and refine our viewpoints. Achievements are reached through exercising the diligence and discipline required of the task at-hand. This is certainly true for the martial arts. To truly foster instructor development, challenges must be identified when the future teacher is a white belt, with the guidance of the Master instructor, and continue even into tenure as a mentor.
The start of any martial arts career provides the foundation for the artist the practitioner will become and how he or she will perform in future endeavors. A plan for structured development that plays to a person's strengths and dominates his or her shortcomings ensures the student sits upon a foundation that may evolve into leadership. Simply put, effort and discipline at the start will pay dividends in the future.
Embodying the tenets of TaeKwonDo - essential for anyone to earn a black belt - is probably the most obvious challenge set before aspiring teachers. It speaks directly to the eventual instructor's credibility and determines a great deal of the school's success. As an instructor, I would absolutely require anyone promoted to black belt to define these tenets in his or her own words and consider them in every aspect of the art. This is the foundation upon which everything else rests.
Confidence must be developed for any martial artist to be a success. While practitioners of the arts do enjoy this as an almost given benefit, what I expect is a person who willingly sacrifices, constructively, some of his or her "safety cushion" to constantly improve confidence. Staying within a completely comfortable margin is an anathema to growth. The martial arts are not an exception to this rule.
As a personal example, I am also a recommended black belt in Combat Hapkido. One requirement for senior belts (brown and above) is the ability to air fall. This means standing in place, throwing my body over in a motion similar to a flip and landing on my side in a controlled fashion. My experience is that finding the will to do this is not an easy thing. However, it is the only means by which I can safely participate in classes. The decision, while discomforting, was based on the reality that I needed to learn this skill to continue in Hapkido. By placing myself in an uncomfortable (but reasonable) position to learn a new technique, I became capable of accomplishing more.
While a future instructor is building his or her foundation there must be a willingness to accomplish many "firsts" (e.g. - public speaking, interacting with students, leading class) and this is what develops the confidence required to positively influence his or her own group of students.
A black belt promoted to instructor has accomplished much: Not only has the student demonstrated the ability to learn a great deal of material and proven he or she can instruct others to learn this same curriculum, he or she has also overcome all of the aforementioned obstacles. As with any journey, this is only the beginning.
Another key factor for teaching is the ability to exhibit what has been learned. If the instructor cannot demonstrate, to a reasonable degree, he or she cannot wholly teach by example. There are definite physical requirements to being a black belt and these are no less important for an instructor. No matter the focus of instructorship, one must be able to explain and show students the proper execution of individual techniques.
My Master Instructor’s focus in TaeKwonDo is self-defense. As one of his students I recognize the inherent value of teaching practical self-defense to the community, and I will strive to continue on that path. This means in addition to communicating how a technique works – something essential for teaching – I must also have the ability to show why the technique is effective. The expectation is an instructor will possess the physical endurance required to teach in a “hands on” situation.
To develop this ability with the idea of becoming an instructor in TaeKwonDo the student must keep one concept in mind: proper repetition. This means the future instructor will learn how to execute a technique properly (this requires the most work) and repeat the action both inside and outside the dojang. Once the student develops this as a habit and reinforces its importance in every skill learned he or she will have an excellent start for one demand of being a teacher.
The final aspect of preparation to become a teacher rests with the philosophy of the art. TaeKwonDo is more than kicks, punches, blocks and strikes: It teaches its own philosophy that centers on the five Tenets of TaeKwonDo. Only by embracing the tenets and making them part of everyday life can one be capable of teaching.
I hold this philosophical development as key in learning to teach. Confidence is developed with time, Physical Ability varies from person to person, and while both are expected for an instructor, it is also understood any practitioner of TaeKwonDo will probably possess them in adequate measure. Philosophy is the only concept that will directly affect the course of a school and its students.
Since the application of the Tenets of TaeKwonDo can drive a school in a positive or negative direction, extra caution should be taken by the aspiring instructor to instill the most benevolent beliefs into his school. While the tenets are excellent in providing a direction for anyone in the art, they, like most documents, are subject to interpretation. For example, Courtesy is the first Tenet of TaeKwonDo and is essential for maintaining discipline in class and for demonstrating respect to all practitioners of the art. However, it can be taken to a reactionary extreme. Some instructors have been known to expect students to bow to them outside of class. While that may be showing respect, it is also bordering on arrogance from the instructor. Bowing in a public setting is simply not part of our society. One can follow all the Tenets as long as they are applied from within and with consideration given to common sense and societal norms.
Part II. Anticipated Challenges
A successful instructor has learned from previous lessons and can reasonably anticipate the requirements of being a teacher in the martial arts. Just as a newly-promoted black belt benefits from the experience of previous levels, an instructor benefits from his or her experience prior to being certified. Exercising this reserve of knowledge is where a leader has every opportunity to shine and demonstrates how much has been learned from the Master Instructor.
The purpose of an instructor is to teach. For this, he or she must have students willing to learn the art. Each student is going to have individual goals: some want to exercise, others want to learn self-defense and still others want a sense of belonging to a group. Individual goals are necessary and should be encouraged.
Keeping this in mind, there is a general disposition of students in a class. Some excel naturally, while others must work ever harder to maintain status quo. From one end of the spectrum – excellent students – to the other – remedial students – an instructor will be challenged to ensure all have the opportunity to achieve individual goals.
The most common problem an instructor will face is keeping students interested in the art and continuing their learning. Frustration is part of every martial artist’s career and there is little any one person can do to avoid it. We all have a technique, a part of our terminology or even another student that vexes us. While the student ultimately must succeed in conquering this obstacle, the instructor bears the responsibility of motivating the student and directing him or her in a positive direction. In the case of a technique or definition this may be as simple as setting a few minutes aside to discuss the problem, identify it and correct the issue through training.
Another person in the martial arts is the remedial student. This is a pupil who may be frustrated and unmotivated or have physical difficulty with some requirements of TaeKwonDo. I originally considered labeling this section as “problem” students but considered that a student with a problem is not necessarily a difficulty by nature and the term, of course, carries with it a negative connotation.
In my time as a black belt I have noticed the majority of remedial students are children. Many are easily distracted, lacking in motivation and do not recognize the importance of learning a discipline. This, plain and simple, is an opportunity for the instructor, albeit a difficult one.
The obstacle to training students with a lack of focus or motivation is time. The teacher has an obligation to these students and more importantly to the entirety of his or her class. An instructor needs to strike a balance between helping the students who require assistance and giving necessary attention to the people giving full effort to the school.
This is accomplished by the instructor having trusted black belts to lead class or work on an individual basis with the students who need help. It cannot be accomplished by one person. Let me repeat that in another form: Successful teaching can only be done with a capable group of senior belts who are trained by a capable instructor. This will allow all students the opportunity to reach their potential as it builds upon the mutual trust between instructors and senior belts.
The final type of student is the one who excels in all aspects of the art. I believe this person is exceedingly rare as few people can demonstrate superior ability and knowledge in any pursuit. I would not include myself in this group.
This student is not necessarily gifted with physical prowess or genius intelligence. What this person does possess is a work ethic and dedication to succeed beyond even his or her own expectations. There is a constant desire for improvement and he or she is always eager for a new challenge. Essentially, with proper direction, this pupil has the makings of an ideal student and potential instructor.
The best way for the instructor to challenge this student is to use his or her natural drive to the school’s advantage. If the student doesn’t know HapKiDo, offer him or her some basic material to learn something new. Also, offer basic instruction in a weapon style or ground-fighting. I believe the student will benefit and, because of the need for constant improvement, so will the instructor.
I would like to admonish any aspiring instructor that rapid advancement, in my opinion, should not be used as a reward for excellence. While the student may be able to adapt to higher belts more quickly, TaeKwonDo must be taught with Integrity and Maturity in mind. Rewards for success in the martial arts can be many and varied but giving away rank should never be one of them.
Similar to the above discussion for excellent students, all students must be encouraged to branch into other aspects of the martial arts and be given the opportunity to learn this inside the dojang. Anyone who has the same experience inside the classroom every day will become complacent. The instructor is no different in this regard. A lack of innovation and encouragement for learning will stifle the ability of the leader to teach. The curriculum must factor this and combat a stagnant environment.
Cross-training in multiple martial arts, while not practical as a primary focus in a largely traditional environment, is necessary to encourage thinking and adaptability in students and teachers alike. As a TaeKwonDo instructor, it will be essential for my knowledge of other martial arts, particularly HapKiDo, to blend with the established structure of classes. My Instructor has done this particularly well by adapting the self-defense program to include this predominately self-defense art. I believe by continuing this and involving students in activities such as rolling and break falls there will be a constant need for training that never leaves a pupil unfulfilled.
Discipline is one necessary virtue to succeed in martial arts. This concept can be defined in terms of self-control, patience, and perseverance and is often considered antithetical to another valuable asset in the arts: enthusiasm. I disagree with this concept. The two can be perfectly married to create a safe, positive learning environment.
An instructor has the obligation of providing discipline and enthusiasm to his or her students so there is an example to be followed. The individual student must ultimately have the motivation to enjoy class. Encouragement can intensify enthusiasm, though it must initially exist for this to happen.
These two values of discipline and enthusiasm are coupled perfectly when there is a reasonable expectation for any activity in addition to an aspect from which the student can draw enjoyment. For example, a student takes a great deal of pleasure in sparring but does not particularly appreciate the time spent practicing forms. It must be impressed upon the student that the part of TaeKwonDo he or she enjoys most, sparring, will be enhanced by superior blocking, striking and kicking ability. Undoubtedly, the student will want to improve these techniques because he or she will perform at a higher level in an area of preference. The instructor can use that motivation to remind the pupil that the best way to focus on proper technique is through forms – which are simulated fights with multiple opponents.
The above example, while practical, does not present a complete solution. A teacher should not expect that the student, no matter how much encouragement has been given, will suddenly prefer forms over sparring or radically change focus in class. It is a small step and most importantly, one in the right direction that has taken the student’s enthusiasm and focused it in a positive manner. That summarizes the essence of being an instructor: Willingness to make progress by encouraging students to succeed in ways they can appreciate.
Testing is a periodic requirement in the martial arts. Though it becomes less frequent at higher ranks, its importance at determining fitness to advance never diminishes. While I believe any practitioner of the arts is obligated to earn the rank he or she wears on a daily basis, I do think testing is most valuable in showing how a student will perform on any given day.
I am a firm believer that rank testing in TaeKwonDo, which is traditionally structured around a group testing, is perfectly sound for colored-belts. Normally, adequate time is given to allow students of all aptitudes to digest the curriculum. Those who need more time should be provided as much as is reasonable.
Black belts, including red belts testing for recommended black belt, should be tested on an individual basis. The only caveat I would offer is group testing can work for large classes or multiple schools. The physical and mental requirements to test for black belt are extreme and the student should be made to understand this is a significant accomplishment. This is a defining moment that requires the full attention of the candidate’s instructor.
Section II. Plan of Instruction
Every instructor should have a plan to teach. Stating this seems very obvious and it is a fact. A more precise declaration is every instructor should have a plan to teach that includes a primary focus, encourages progression, provides consistency and allows for adaptability. Determining this from the start will be difficult and will also provide the opportunity for a successful school.
Every school should have a primary focus of instruction. This is really what the instructor offers to the community and students. The focus is not necessarily unique, though it is the teacher’s passion and what he or she enjoys most about the martial arts.
My focus as an instructor will be on self-defense. As my instructor predominately teaches this to the community, and I agree it is invaluable for every law-abiding citizen to know, this is a sensible choice for me to teach.
Self-defense cannot be the entire curriculum, of course. TaeKwonDo is a traditional art that includes calisthenics (warm ups), kicking, basic movements, forms, breaking, sparring and self-defense. To exclude any one aspect would be a disservice to the art, the students and the school.
An ideal class would include one hour, fifteen minutes of activities. The first fifteen minutes would be unstructured and for the purpose of allowing students to warm up for the formal start of class. After bowing to the flags and instructor, calisthenics begin. These include jumping jacks, a small number of crunches – such as leg lifts - and push ups, knee bends and basic static stretches. This part of the class should take no longer than five minutes to complete, as students should already be warm.
The second part of class is basic kicking. This allows for more dynamic stretching and time to focus on the technique of the kick. Activity should be fairly intense and cause students to break a sweat. There should be a change of the kicks on occasion but the four basic ones – front, side, roundhouse and crescent – should always be included. This is a good time to work on basic combinations of kicks such as hooking kick to roundhouse kick or crescent kick to side kick. The kicking section of class will be about ten minutes.
The third part of class will cover basic movements. This is where students are taught to execute blocks, combine kicks and punches, and work on basic stances. Most of the focus should be on stances as this is where I believe excellent technique originates: from a balanced position. Advanced students should be encouraged to try adaptive combinations that include techniques from their higher forms. Basic movements should involve five to ten minutes of class.
The fourth section is Forms. While the other parts of class involve the entire group, forms are delineated by rank. Forms will generally start at the lowest form, Four-Direction Punch, for everyone and keep progressing to the highest form of the senior belt. Time is limited, so senior belts should be allowed to do their form of choice based on where they feel practice is most needed. Ten minutes should be provided for Forms, and students need to practice outside of class as well.
Breaking is extremely useful in understanding and demonstrating the Theory of Power – something all students need to know. The limitations here are that boards for a class of any size can cost a great deal, “re-breakable” boards are expensive and much time must be dedicated for students to be educated on the reasons for board breaking. Paddle kicking is a reasonable alternative that involves about five minutes of class time. With this in mind, I would encourage Breaking to be scheduled once per month in place of Forms and One-Step Sparring.
Sparring is something I view as a competitive “game” in TaeKwonDo. This is an opportunity to learn combinations, movement and have a little more fun in a controlled environment. Sparring is best done once or twice per month instead of One-Step Sparring and Self-Defense in order to change the pace of class and allow students to utilize what they have learned in class.
One-Step Sparring and Self-Defense will generally round out the last twenty minutes of class time. With my focus being on self-defense, it will receive the lion’s share of time and attention. One-Steps, once learned, should not take more than five minutes - give or take one minute - for color-belts to complete. Self-Defense will pair similarly ranked students together when possible. If a higher-ranked student is paired with a junior belt, both students will focus on the lower-ranked student’s techniques.
The plan above described in detail sets a consistent outline for each class and affords a reasonable amount of adaptability for a group of students. Almost one quarter of class time is dedicated to the primary focus of the instructor and all other aspects of the art are provided sufficient attention.
Section III. Evaluation
With the plan of instruction defined, the teacher needs to adequately monitor the progress of students with regards to the school’s primary focus, attitude, technique and consistency. Additionally, the instructor bears the burden of honestly evaluating himself in the above aspects as well as his relationship with the students. This is most readily accomplished by honest evaluation of the class’ performance.
Monitoring progress in the school’s primary objective – in this case, Self-Defense – can best be accomplished by a hands-on approach. In the case of self-defense I will use what we in HapKiDo call the “circle of death” concept. This means a student is placed in a controlled, in class, self-defense situation. While the student is surrounded by “attackers”, the goal is not to cause harm; it is to test the pupil’s ability to effectively defend his or her person. Training weapons may be used where necessary and full-strength grabs should be employed. The only restriction on power and speed is for kicks and punches. Advanced students can reasonably be expected to handle ¾ to full speed attacks but beginner to intermediate students should deal only with ½ speed attacks for safety reasons. As the skill of these individuals develops, so will their ability to avoid faster onslaughts.
Attitude is largely an individual consideration in the instructor/student relationship. This is a part of advancement that is not only considered at test time. Trying to make up for a poor attitude or lack of courtesy during test time will not change the reputation of a student. In fact, I believe a student must demonstrate, through positive attitude and respect, he or she has earned the right to test. Students who are well-behaved, courteous and disciplined every day will be that way outside of class, during tests and generally in every part of their lives.
Every student must be consistent in his or her performance. The real benefit of this is the student and instructor both realize it is acceptable to have an “off” day – it doesn’t imply a lack of dedication, discipline or effort – because there is an established pattern of performance. An additional benefit for the teacher is consistency stands out by being inconspicuous. That may read as contradicting terms, however the fact is an instructor can identify his or her most consistent students by considering which ones are least visible in their actions. This does not mean these students do not require help or do not ask questions. It does mean they demonstrate similar patterns in each class – good or poor. This provides the observant instructor the chance to recognize these patterns and encourage or correct them as necessary.
The last aspect of monitoring progress is how to grade all of what the instructor must consider about each student as an individual. Certainly, there must be an absolute minimum standard – performance is either acceptable or unacceptable – that cannot be affected by a relativistic viewpoint. Outside of absolutes such as Attitude, Adherence to the Tenets of TaeKwonDo and Consistency there must also be standards applied to the individual student. These must be as inflexible as the universal standards and be applied on an individual basis (i.e. – expecting a fifty year-old man to perform acrobatic kicks similar to an eighteen year-old boy would be unreasonable but expecting both to know and define the Tenets would be a logical expectation.).
I believe these individual standards should take into account the attributes of the person and personal motivation. I define these attributes in terms of age, physical ability and mental acuity. I do not consider gender, race or religion as factors in these standards. This is because a person must meet the reasonable expectations set for them based on the ability they have demonstrated in the past. All of those abilities, to differing degrees, can be affected by age, physical limitations and mental capacity. None of the latter three have anything to do with meeting an individual standard in TaeKwonDo.
The standards I have defined are summarized as:
Absolute Standards Individual Standards
Attitude Personal Motivation
Adherence to Tenets Physical Ability
Consistency Mental Acuity
For testing, there must be a specific set of attributes to grade. These, conveniently, are directly related to class material. Students will be expected to cover the following in all advancement examinations:
Curriculum Consideration
Kicking Technique, Speed, Power
Basic Movements Stance, Fluidity, Power
Forms Knowledge, Stance, Power
Breaking Success, Theory of Power
One-Step Sparring Technique, Movement, Control
Self-Defense Reaction, Technique, Control
Sparring Combinations, Improvisation, Technique
Terminology Knowledge, Attention to Detail
With the standards defined as they are, testing becomes largely subjective for the instructor. The student can be rated on a defined scale, however, and it must reflect the teacher’s estimation of the pupil’s performance. The grading system is shown as:
Grade Description
Excellent Exceeds expectations. Good technique by any standard
Good Above expectations in some aspects. Marked improvement
Acceptable Meets expectations
Needs Improvement Below expectations in some aspects
Unacceptable Demonstrates poor knowledge of required material
I consider it difficult for any but the most dedicated students to receive an “Excellent” in any one aspect of testing. This is because it must be earned in every way and there should be a sense of accomplishment for any student who achieves this rare grade. Statistically, less than 10% of all students will probably receive this grade on any test. Similarly, less than 10% of all students should perform at the level of “Unacceptable”. In honesty, I would not test someone who would likely receive this grade as the student is not ready to advance. Therefore, all students who test should earn a minimum grade of “Needs Improvement” in any one aspect and at least an Average (passing) grade overall.
The above standards must remain consistent for the integrity of the school. An instructor owes it to both his students and the community to demonstrate the value of a positive influence. Only by ensuring students know the material and defining exactly the expectations for each level can a student truly advance. Rank can only come with accomplishment, not the opposite.
Section IV. Results
Considering all the challenges, plans and standards that have been mentioned there must be a result, or reward, to following the path set forth in this essay. The student and instructor have both made a significant sacrifice. In other words, both have expended time and effort with the promise of earning something of great value for that energy. What have the student and instructor of TaeKwonDo gained by being a part of this?
First and foremost, I believe a relationship is founded between instructor and students that is more valuable than anything else gained in the martial arts. That has not been defined explicitly in this discussion and for good reason: The relationship between these individuals is different in every experience. For me, my instructor is a mentor, a friend and I consider him every bit a part of my family. To others, the instructor may be an advisor or even a coach. Whatever the role, the trust that comes with this experience is an invaluable benefit that is worth more than any time and effort.
Secondly, the student has a considerable, solid foundation based upon his or her instructor’s choice of focus. This builds on the first reward as pupil and teacher alike promote each other’s understanding of the art through trust. This will inspire new students to endure in an encouraging situation. Also, in the case of self-defense, the student is safer, increasingly self-aware and confident.
From the perspective of the instructor the rewards are significantly greater. By dedicating his or her efforts into teaching new martial artists, there is an unmistakable contribution to the community. Add to this an instructor that takes an area of focus, makes it something of his own, and teaches it with passion to his students and now there is a contribution to the Art of TaeKwonDo as well. This, I believe, is the hallmark of a great instructor and can accomplish more for furthering martial arts than a new style or improved set of techniques.
In conclusion, my Philosophy of Teaching is best summarized as an organized collection of ideals that apply an absolute standard to a group of students and acknowledges the individual passions and abilities of each pupil. The obligation of each instructor is to have a primary focus around which he or she can encourage students develop in a positive direction. With the understanding that the energy sacrificed by all participants will reap greater rewards, the school will develop disciplined, enthusiastic students and leaders that can benefit the martial arts as a whole.
