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How to Give the “What” and the “Why” When Teaching Martial Arts

by | Curriculum-Teaching-Tests, Instructor Certification and Training

Setting Expectations for Martial Arts Students Upfront

Authority is highly influenced by emotion.

While your staff and students may intellectually understand that you are the boss and master instructor, they have to feel it, not think it.

It’s the emotional connection that anchors your authority on a deep level.

If there is one powerful moment in your role as a professional martial arts instructor, it’s in the enrollment conference.

While the parents may see you as the master black belt, they usually don’t have an authoritative reverence at this early stage.

The enrollment conference is a seminal moment for you to establish your authority and gain the respect and gratitude of the family you’re dealing with.

Presenting the programs and their cost to parents can be tense at times. Some parents want to negotiate. Others might object to the agreement. Some want a safety net in case their child wants to quit.

While it’s important that you are prepared to overcome any objections, it’s when the bottom line is signed and the initial investment is completed that you have a critical window to demonstrate your authority.

Many owners complete the transaction and gush with statements like, “Awesome. It’s great to have you on board. Johnny, you did an awesome job tonight. High five! Thanks Mrs. Jones it’s great to have Johnny as part of our family. Let me know if I can help with anything.”

Barf.

Who has the role of authority here? Mrs. Jones and her credit card. That was a missed opportunity.

Let’s try again. You would adjust this script to the age and circumstance, but here is an authority template for the enrollment conference.

Mom has just enrolled Johnny into the program.

You, “Johnny. You want to learn Empower Kickboxing, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. I want you to understand that your mom just enrolled you into a six month program. You are going to learn a lot of great skills and lessons. It’s going to be fun and sometimes it’s going to be hard. That’s the good part because that means you’re learning. So you have to pay attention and practice at home 20-minutes a day when you don’t have class.

Are you going to work hard and practice?”

“Yes sir.”

“I’m glad. Your classes are Monday and Wednesday at 5pm. When are your classes?”

“Monday and Wednesday at 5pm.”

“Good. You’re a smart guy. That means that you have to be ready to come to class by 4:30 on Monday and Wednesdays so that you’re not late. Will you do that?”

“Yes sir.”

“No matter what you are doing, you will be ready by 4:30, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. The first lesson is integrity. Integrity means that you do what you say you are going to do. You keep your promises. You promise to work hard and be ready for class, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“No matter what you’re doing. Right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Great. We’re going to be so proud of you. Your mom just enrolled you, so please turn to her and say, ‘Thank you mom.”

“Thank you mom.”

“Alright. When someone does something good for you, you always say thank you. That’s called gratitude. What’s it called?”

“Gratitude.”

“Correct. So you’ve learned two important lessons today. Integrity and gratitude. What does integrity mean?

“Keeping your promises.”

“Yes. What does gratitude mean?”

“Saying thank you.”

“You got it! You are going to do great, I can tell already.”

“Remember, your class is…”

“Monday and Wednesday at 5pm.”

“When will you be ready to come to class?”

“4:30pm.”

“You have a good head on your shoulders Johnny. You’re going to be good at this.”

“Because you’ve showed your mom gratitude and you’re going to keep your promises, here is a school t-shirt for you to wear. Every time you put it on, I want you to think of integrity and gratitude. Will you do that?”

“Yes sir.”

“I just gave you a shirt. How do you show gratitude?”

“Thank you sir.”

As taught in the MATA Certification program, it’s also a good idea to let mom know that it’s important that she control what Johnny is doing around 4:30 which is the agreed upon to be ready for class.

If Johnny is playing with his friends or deep in a video game, it’s going to be harder to get him to get ready than if he is cleaning his bedroom or something he’d like to leave to go to class.

Keep in mind that mom is watching this happen before her eyes. What have you done to establish your authority?

  1. You’ve provided her with a language pattern that both her and Johnny understand. This is huge.
  2. You’ve given mom the “integrity” framework to deal with any reluctance to go to class.
  3. You’ve provided her with a strategy to engage Johnny in less fun activities so that going to class is an easy decision.
  4. You’ve laid out when Johnny should get ready for class without complaint.
  5. Before her eyes, you taught her son important lessons with real world examples. No doubt, your authority sky-rocketed in her eyes and in her heart.

Look for places where you can make these kinds of strong emotional connections.

Demonstrate true authority and leadership. That will last much longer than a trite, shallow compliments like “Awesome! Good job.”

This will help your students to understand how and why they are training with the best school.

If you teach martial arts for a living, read this carefully.

As a parent, if you saw your child clearly underperforming in class yet the instructor proclaims he is doing “awesome!” would you trust that instructors’ feedback on how your child is doing?

I wouldn’t. Would you?

The skills of teaching martial arts have changed over the years. You would think that the process should be producing much better black belts than it is.

When I made black belt in 1978, my instructor hired me to teach for $5 a class. I was thrilled. By the standards of any era, my instructor was excellent and produced world-caliber students.

He made it clear to me that the number one rule of teaching is, “Never compliment a student.” 

His idea was there was always room for improvement and if you compliment a student, the student might think they don’t need to practice anymore.

Fast forward nearly half a century, the number one rule of teaching today is, “Never correct a student. Instead, praise everything.”

When it comes to individual skills like the round kick, any instructor being paid to teach the skill should be able help students improve that skill. That outcome requires honest guidance not shallow gushing.

Clearly, society and culture have created a highly sensitive and easily triggered population, but you can correct and encourage at the same time. 

Instructors need to give feedback that is constructive and motivating. This kind of feedback will help students improve their skills and confidence.

The key is to give your student the “why” with the “what.” For instance, “recoil your kick so your opponent can’t grab it.” 

“Recoil your kick” is the what. “So your opponent can’t grab it” is the why.

The “why” is a motivator. Proclaiming a kick as “Outstanding” is not.

The Solution

There are many ways that MATA helps instructors with this issue. The most popular is the MATA Instructor Certification program. 

We also have a Rank System that includes video reviews of your teaching and we’re creating a custom video review of your classes.

Of the four sections in the program, the Psychology of Teaching section teaches you: 

  • Martial Arts Student Discipline, Praise, and Punishment
    by Gianine D. Rosenblum, Ph.D.
  • Teaching Strategies for Martial Arts Instructors by Age Group
    by Dr. Derenda Timmons Schubert, Ph. D.
  • How to Instill a Sense of Purpose in Your Martial Arts Students
    by Joe Lewis
  • How to Create a Healthy Martial Arts Hierarchy System
    by John Donohue, Ph.D.
  • The Power of Motivation and Charisma for Martial Arts Instructors
    by Brian Tracy
  • Teaching Character Skills Responsibly to Martial Arts Students
    by Scot Conway, Esquire
  • Teaching Martial Arts Students with ADHD
    by Dr. Derenda Timmons Schubert, Ph. D 

MATA Certification Program

Using Text to Increase Enrollments in Your Martial Arts School

Texting is instant and is opened 97% of the time, so it’s a real-time communication that helps to confirm to the parents that they made the right decision to choose your program.

Texts work great and MATA/Empower Kickboxing members have a free dedicated SMS marketing platform in their GenerateMoreStudents.com account that allows them to text up to 100 people a month for free.

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