Being an instructor in martial arts is very different than teaching
in an other profession. The time invloved to become an instructor is
usually greater than other jobs.
The role of a karate instructor is also different. The purpose is
to pass the martial knowledge on to the next generation. That is the
underlieing goal. Teaching is not about becoming rich and famous.
While those things are nice then can give instructors big egos which
can happer their further training and damage the relationship with
students and other instructors.
The dojo is almost a spiritual place. Part of this dates back to
when kempo was practiced in temples in China. The dojo needs to
remain void of big egos and hate. These emotions can weaken the
fighting spirit. A certain level of respect needs to reside in the
dojo which is very different from the rest of society today. Pick up
a newspaper or turn on a tv news show and you will see that society
has fallen to an all time low. People do not respect themselves much
less others.
Martial arts training is a way to make students better people in
more ways than just one. Discipline, respect, perseverence.
Karateka can not act unjust. They must be fair and maintain a level
of professionalism through their daily lives. The lessons learned in
the dojo art not just about karate but about life in general.
Many people want to become karate instructors but they do not know
why. Many will say it is to make money but as I've already mentioned
money is not what the art is all about. If you take away the money
aspect most instructors don't have an answer as to why they want to
teach. I'm not knocking anyone or any school that is profitable or
any instructor that makes his livelyhood solely from teaching karate
as long as that is not his only motive for doing so.
As an instructor I make an agreement with each and every student
that joins. I agree to teach them and they in turn agree to learn.
The dojo is not a place to socialize it's a place to train. You need
to train seriously and hard. Shoudl you be forced to defend yourself
excuses that you are tired, or sore, or stiff, or had to work
overtime yet again won't save you.
As an instructor it's difficult to continue your own training when
you have to focus so much on training other students. In order to
stay at your level and to continue to improve your own skills you
need to work that much harder. The instructor shoudl be training the
longest and hardest out of anyone in the class. And working out
during class does not really count. You need to push yourself to a
higher level but during class you can only push the class as hard as
the lowest rank can handle.
Over all being an instructor means being committed to your students
and ensuring that they reach their goals but motivating them and
leading by example.