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
Premier Martial Arts Franchise Cost vs Licensing Empower Kickboxing Fee
Why risk your life savings in a franchise when you can license a successful system for less than 1% of the cost? How does that make any sense?Premier Martial Arts Franchise cost ranges from: $183,650 – $421,800 Source: premiermartialartsfranchise.com/investment VS...
Premier Martial Arts Sued by Over 30 of Their Franchise Owners
Dozens of new franchise owners are suing Knoxville-based Premier Martial Arts in federal court, claiming the company defrauded them for years. "Our school opened right in the middle of COVID," one owner said. "Everyone told us it would be easy to get started and make...
Martial Arts Instructors: How to Introduce a New Skill
What Two Words the Japanese Say are Ruining American Culture?
Setting Expectations for Martial Arts Students Upfront
Does Teaching Martial Arts Like This Make Any Sense?
HOW TO TEACH A MARTIAL ARTS CLASS THAT MAKES SENSE. Martial arts does not encourage free-thinking, but the pursuit of success requires it. Most classes contradict everything they taught in the first half of class.Which half of a martial arts class makes sense?First...
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.
Self-Defense Lessons from Will Smith’s Slap Heard ‘Round the World
From my upcoming book, Choose Your Battles Wisely Will Smith’s slap heard ‘round the world was a clear lesson in not choosing your battles wisely. On the 27th of March, 2022, during the live television broadcast of the 94th Academy Awards, show co-host Chris Rock...
How To Pose For Martial Arts Images
How To Get The Best Images For Your Martial Arts School I was in Munich at the WAKO World Championships in 1987 as a coach and official. I had a slide from a photoshoot I just did. I showed it to the publisher of Banzai magazine from Italy. He said, "If you let me use...
Martial Arts Instructor Certification: How to Give Clear Instructions
From the MATA Professional Martial Arts Instructor Certification Course Module 1-Lesson 1: Four Keys to Giving Clear Directions 1. Specific. Effective directions are specific. They focus on manageable and precisely describe actions that martial arts students can take....
First Lesson Video: Traditional Martial Arts vs Empower Kickboxing
Traditional Karate First Lesson This video is smaller because of the notes.Empower Kickboxing First Lesson [video_popup...
Martial Arts Instructor Certification: How Students Learn
The MATA Certification was authored by 18 different veteran black belts who are also experts in their respective fields such as law, psychology, pedagogy, movement science, motivation, and communication.
Read the Lawsuit Against Premier Martial Arts
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE KNOXVILLE DIVISION WILLIAM ANTHONY, PBA MARTIAL ) ARTS, INC., KATIE BAKER, WILLIAM ) BAKER, S&RW LEGACY, LLC, MORGAN ) BARTH, ECM HOLDINGS, LLC, CALE ) BEARDEN, AIMEE BEARDEN, BEARDEN ) PMA ONE,...
The Six Levels of Intervention
Excerpt from the MATA Certification Program. A common misperception is that ignoring misbehavior—or addressing it by praising students who are behaving (proximity influence)—is the least invasive form of intervention. But ignoring misbehavior is the most invasive...
How to Improve Your Martial Arts School’s Local SEO Results
How to Increase Your Martial Arts Schools' SEO by Increasing Your Level of Expertise for Google Here is a simple test. In an incognito window, type site:yourwebsite.com What you should see looks like this. The 632 is the number of pages that our site has. It actually...
0 Comments