Remember your favorite teacher in grade school? I do. She was my 4th grade teacher, Miss Munyan. She left an impression on me as a 9 year old that I still remember to this day. I was too young to understand just how hard it was to be a great teacher. All I knew is that Miss Munyan was awesome at what she did. She engaged the whole class in her lessons, made kids fall in love with subjects they hated, and made learning fun.
^Too be fair, I may think all those things because I had a huge crush on her. But that’s neither here nor there…
I’ve had a handful of teachers/coaches that were able to leave strong impressions on me like Miss Munyan did. Unfortunately, people like that are too rare. I fell in love with teaching martial arts when I was a teenager assisting in kids classes. I didn’t realize back then that being a teacher takes constant work. Just like in training, it’s easy to become complacent in teaching martial arts. To combat this, I want to share some of the teaching practices I’ve picked up from observing the greats do their thing.
We all know bad teachers. But what makes great teachers? Through the years, I’ve noticed a few common traits of great instructors that I try incorporating into my teaching style. If you find yourself lazily approaching teaching or if you’re just looking for ways to improve in general, give these a try. You’ll see a change in your class environment… one that makes your class (and ultimately you) more attractive to students (<Not visually. Sorry. You’re on your own with that.)
1. Personality (it’s more work than just having a good social skills!)
In 2010, I had the pleasure of attending a seminar taught by Professor Pedro Sauer. (For those of you not in the know, Professor Sauer is a really big name in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world.) He started the seminar by teaching a self defense drill as a warmup. While we were practicing this drill, he came up to each student in attendance and introduced himself personally. It took me off guard that such a big name would take the time to engage each attendee.
It’s the little things like this that make certain instructors’ personalities stand out. There needs to be a conscious effort though! It’s great to be a social butterfly… but social butterflies are also a dime a dozen. Combining an extroverted personality with actively engaging students will set you head and shoulders above the rest. There are some other ways I try to combine these two elements in my classes:
- Learn names as fast as possible: I know it’s tough when you have big classes but your students will feel much more connected to you and your classes if you refer to them by name. Think about how you felt as a new student when an instructor remembered your name. One tip to help with memorizing names is trying to repeat a person’s name when they introduce themselves to you. I.e. “Great to meet you Christine.” (Shout out to Queer Eye for giving me that tip… Don’t judge.) While you’re in class, make sure to mention people at least once by name. For example, “Great job Drew!” Trust me. Your students will leave class feeling great since their instructor noticed and acknowledged them.
- Physical contact: Eh, perhaps there could have been a better title for this bullet but don’t stop reading yet! Humans need physical interaction. This doesn’t mean you should be grabbing the closest butt to you in the middle of class (unless you want to be one of the instructors from my last post: 5 Martial Arts Instructors That Will Hurt Your Training). Using certain types of physical contact with students can help them understand techniques and make them feel more welcome. If a student isn’t understanding how to throw a punch without dropping their non-punching hand, it may help if you hold their hand in guard position while they strike. I also use physical contact to encourage students. Accompanying a “Nice kick Phil!” with a friendly pat on the shoulder amplifies the compliment even more in the student’s eyes. Speaking of encouragement…
2. Encourage Encourage Encourage!
It’s unbelievable that some instructors make it as far as they do without having this one down. Nobody wants to leave a class or a private session feeling like crap because they didn’t perform well enough. Some students are their own biggest critics too. Even if they do well in class, they’re always nitpicking little things that they did wrong. In any case, it’s the job of a good coach to constantly encourage students. How do I encourage students in classes?
- Be genuinely excited when students perform well: I would hope that all the instructors reading this post are passionate about what they do. Being conscious of this one can really show others your passion in a unique way. When a student nails a technique, I get excited and my voice shows it. People pick up on that excitement. Picture it like a parent expressing excitement when their child does something noteworthy. The child naturally feels encouraged that their parent is proud of them. It’s no different in the teacher-student dynamic.
- Focus them on their progression: We’ve all seen students get discouraged when they don’t feel satisfied with their performance whether in a technique, live training, or any other part of class. Dropping an encouraging comment as soon as you see the disappointed look on their face is crucial. Something as simple as “You’re looking 10 times better than when you first started” is great at getting your student to focus on how far they’ve progressed as opposed to how far they have left to go.
Lastly…
3. KISS: Keep it Simple Stupid
First off, props to The Office’s Michael Scott for the KISS Method.
People break this in 2 ways. They either teach material that isn’t congruent with the skill level of their students or they run their mouths to no end when explaining a drill.
- Teach according to skill levels: This is a tough one when you have a larger class population. I teach a Muay Thai class that encompasses several different levels. To make sure everyone gets a good workout without getting too overwhelmed, I teach a basic and an advanced variation. If the class is big enough, I split it into two groups: an advanced group and a novice group. This way, students get training with partners closer to their experience level which leads to a smoother experience.
- Don’t be too talkative: Confession… Since I’m the perfect instructor, I don’t struggle with anything relating to teaching. (For those that don’t know me, I’m being sarcastic.) My real struggle is in leaving messages when people don’t answer their phone. When it’s a message to a friend, I’m fine. Messages in a professional setting are a different story. I stutter, mumble, forget what I want to say, have a slight accent (the Indian in me comes out a bit), etc.. I’m not exactly the brown James Bond but I’m generally a pretty smooth individual. For some reason though, business messages are my kryptonite. To help with this, I always write my messages down and do practice runs before I leave the real thing. I know instructors who have used this technique to combat their verbose teaching style. They all swear by it. Write down a basic outline of important points and do a couple of practice runs before you teach class. You’ll see a difference immediately!
Almost done..
The most important thing to remember is to think like your student when teaching class. After all, we’re not teaching classes to help ourselves (even though that is a byproduct). It’s all about the student. Finding that perfect balance of catering to each student personally while interacting with the whole group is what will take your teaching to the next level.
In my opinion, more instructors should try giving themselves honest evaluations on where they excel as well as where they can improve. Teaching is just as important as training. If we constantly rank ourselves in training, why not do it in teaching? Think of it as a refresher course for yourself. It will separate you from everyone else and your students will thank you for it!
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Prashant Paul
“Intelligence is a lonely place.”
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