To Teach By Example
by Mark Guest.

In the many years that I have beeen training in the martial arts, I have come across many good Instructors, though I have come among what I consider bad Istructors, overwieght they can not touch their toes with their fingertips and do not even train themselves, they just put their doboks on look the part but they do not act the part.

It is very important that the Instructor peforms every technique when teaching students , also stretch and work out in the warm up, students can see that you can peform what you asking them to do. Once I went to train at a dojang with another Instructor, he sat on a chair with a stop watch shouted out the commands for a two our training session, he never got of the chair, I never went back to that class.

Instructors will gain respect from their students if they teach by example, demonstrating techniques when they are teaching, If I ask my students to do fifty press ups, I must be able to do fifty press ups myself so I will do fifty press ups with them, after all I am going to benefit from the excercise in conditioning myself and I will get respect from my students.

Aswell as teaching several classes a week it is important for the Instructor to have his/her training program , I teach four classes a week,as for myself I have a gym built at my house, which includes a joging machine, punch bag, kicking paddle mounted on the wall, free weights and a weight machine, I train three times a week keeping myself in condition so I can maintain my ability to teach, I am 43 years of age, their is no excuse for age not to train, if you train you will keep your youth, age is just a number.

Conclusion

Teach by example, train out of teaching, demonstrate everything you ask your students to do, warm up and condition along side your students, and most important respect your students as much as they respect you.

Yours in Tae Kwon Do - Mark Guest