Beside the physical, what characteristics are in a good instructor?

[TigerWoman]

I thought my instructor who brought me to black belt was one of the most honorable men I had met. Mostly because he espoused the keys and tenets of TKD - respect, patience, humility. courtesy, integrity, self control. I have seen him lose all of these since I became black belt. Mostly I lost trust because he lied to me, broke a promise, deceived me, and punished me for his mistakes and was not humble in the face of all his friends telling him he was wrong. An instructor is not perfect, but to teach others, I think you have to live it. Anyone have any similar experience or comment?

 

[Aikikitty]

I'm lucky to have several blackbelts (a couple of shodans and a few higher) who can teach our class. The one who has taught me the longest is my favorite 1. because he was my 'first' sensei and 2. he makes the classes fun because of his goofy personality. He's also extremely patient (I would probably never want to have someone like ME as a student as I'm so clumsy but he bears the burden gracefully), very encouraging, truly loves the art and "sharing it" with others, and he obviously cares about the well being/safety of his students. :asian:

About a year ago however, he was going through a very rough family time and for probably the first and only time ever, his frustrations showed through and he acted like a total jerk and hurt me (mostly on purpose but partly through misunderstanding). I was very hurt (not much physically but WAY more emotionally) and I cried right there in class. :waah: I couldn't believe the man I looked up to and trusted would do such a thing. It took a couple of days but through e-mails and a phone call, he apologized all over himself and I apologized for my part too. We are just human after all. Even my favorite sensei isn't perfect. After several classes of feeling 'uncomfortable' from the memory of it all, things got back to normal. The whole incident is something I wish I could just forget but on the other hand, because it happened, we're both (him especially) are more careful about certain things. Anyway, he's still my favorite sensei and I hope that I can continue to learn from him for many more years! :asian:

Robyn :asian:

 

[Tgace]

Beside the physical, what characteristics are in a good instructor?

Teach the martial arts...leave the personal baggage at the door. Can a martial arts instructor impart: respect, patience, humility. courtesy, integrity, self control? I dont see how somebody you see a few hours a week is going to be able to do that. Good people make "good" martial artists far more than martial arts make "good" people.

 

[Gary Crawford]

Tgace, I have to agree with about "good people make good matial artist far more than martial arts makes good people".That is one truthfull statement,but as far as instructors are concered,we all expect the most integrety from them,but that is not always the case.I think sometime we expect so much from instructors that we forget that they are human also.Being human,they make mistakes.I have learned to judge instructors in a different way than others have.The first thing I look for of course is reputation.I also look for how patient they are and how open minded they are.To me to ultimate criteria-how well do they handle their mistakes.This is the is most important to me because the way instructors handle their mistakes shows what kind of martial arts student they are.We are all suppost to be students,no matter how high our rank.

 

[WLMantisKid]

Call me traditional... but I think a martial arts instructors job goes above and beyond teaching. Sure they're there to make a living off of us who study, but there's something to be said about the bond the students and the teacher make with eachother in the process. Business is business... but the best things I've learned from studying under my Sifu are fellowship, patience, kindness, humility, and respect. I saw a true person in my Sifu when he confided to me that if he could, he'd teach kung fu for free and those who weren't dedicated to the art wouldn't be welcome. I think that's what martial arts is about in my opinion, dedication to an ancient and beautiful art that teaches us far more than fighting.

 

[elcajon555]

What makes a good instructor?? Thats a hard guestion to answer all I know is a have an awesome instructor. He not only teaches me about the martial arts but has helped me through alot. I have developed a very good relation with my instructor and fellow black belts, all of which I have know for over 6 years and have been up with the black belts for about 4. We tend to do alot of things together, which helps. I have been over my instructors house sereval times, in fact I have even house sat for him and watched his dogs when he was away for a week. We talk about any and everything, he knows more about me then my parents and that is true for alot of the students. He is just very good at what he does and I think alot has to do with the fact that he wants to help people and has helped many. One of the things that makes he a great instructor is the fact that he takes an interest and our lives outside of the martial arts and teaches us lessons outside of the arts. I would have to say he is more my mentor then instructor and then can be said by many people in his school. We are all very lucky and it will be a sad day when the group of us is split up( my instructor and the group of black belts), hopefully that is a long way off. Sorry I didn;t answer the guestion because it is hard to answer.