How Many Teachers?

[Flatlander]

How many different Martial Art teachers/Instructors have you learned from?

For those of you with multiple teachers: if you could say that one was the "best" teacher that you have learned from, what quality set them apart from the others?

 

[terryl965]

Four actual teacher but flatlander I learn everyday from those that I teach and those that I watch my journey will end when my breath goes good night.

Learning is a way of life and life is a journey to learn.
Master Stoker

 

[arnisador]

Plenty!

Honestly, I've taken different things from each one.

 

[MJS]

Many different instructors. As for who is the best...its a tie between my current Kenpo inst. and Arnis inst. There is a huge amount of energy in each and every class, they're always keeping things real and alive, and most importantly, I leave every class having learned something.

Mike

 

[jfarnsworth]

I'm going to say 3 main ones.

 

[searcher]

4 main ones, but I have had several ones that I have learned key principles and concepts from. I try to go around to different instructors at tourneys, dojo/dojangs, seminars and pick their brains. I am constantly searching for new ways to advance my martial knowledge and skills.

If you learn anything form somebody then they have taught you, therefore I consider to be a teacher. Even if only in a small ammount.

 

[shesulsa]

Two direct instructors - my kenpo instructor and my hrd teacher, yet my hrd teacher's master also. Then there's other hrd people I've had the pleasure of discourse with or seminar training with.

However, I would like to echo Terry's statement that I learn from everyone I work with - if nothing else, I learn where that individual is in their training or in life and how to recognize their individual signature to their movements.

The "best" instructor ... well ... crap, they've all taught me important things, but my favorite is my current teacher, Carmen Gallino, because of all kinds of stuff I don't want to mention here. I will say he's a rare individual with unending patience, absolute love and compassion, incredible skills and TONS of knowledge. I'm lucky to be his student. :asian:

 

[Grenadier]

Six instructors.

I really can't give a "best" title to one particular instructor, as each of them had different strong points that helped strengthen people in those areas. One of them made me a better teacher, while another one helped me learn how to get more power out of my techniques without sacrificing the correct mechanics. Another one gave me back my focus and imparted the greatest variety of knowledge out of all of them. I could go on, and on about each of them.

To put it this way, each of my teachers were able to instill a sense of loyalty. I would have gladly stuck with any of them, had I not been moving around, living like a gypsy. I don't regret moving around, though, since it has helped me get a wider variety of experiences.

Now that I've settled down, I don't anticipate leaving this dojo, unless something horribly disasterous happens, and that there is no possibility of reconciliation. I hope it never, ever comes down to that, as I've never been in that situation before.

 

[Sam]

I dont know how to answer this, I'm wondering what exactly you mean. I could go either way, and say I have ONE instructor, who teaches me the techniques, or I could say I have... *counts*

karen(1) steve l(2) aimee(3) dave h(4) tim(5) steve a(6) joe(7) dave d(8) tom(9) dan(10) ben(11)

I have 11 because they all teach classes, and help me with sparring... some every week, others only every once in a while, but they all influence me - yet only one of them teaches me the techniques I need to know for each rank, and only with that one do I take private lessons.

 

[karatekid1975]

Interesting thread

I have had four (main) instructors. I did Tang Soo Do first. My instructor there was the good, because he was very picky with technique. He was good at "drilling techniques" into your brain and body. He did this so much that my TSD technique still comes out when I train in TKD LOL. I still train with him when I visit family in NJ.

I did train at a Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwon dojang (mixed with Judo). The master instructor had this huge ego. I had a fallin-out with him. But two of his assist instructors were good. One of them helped me with the Judo part. He was good at making me do throws over and over till I got it right. The other one helped me with TKD. She was also a good technique buff.

My current teachers are also good (TKD and Jujitsu). I have two in TKD, the 3rd dan senior instructor, and the master instructor.They are both good in their own ways. The senior instructor helped me with sparring a great deal. My master instructor is hard on the advanced students (for disipline and technique).

My Jujitsu instructor is actually a friend of mine. But he had his own dojo in CA before he moved here. He is a 5th dan bulldog! I call him that, because he shows me the "good stuff" for self defense. The "down and dirty" tricks. He is good because he said that no matter what style anyone one does, it will work, and he proved it (my first lesson was related to stuff I learn in TKD and how to use it effectively).

I also have a friend (my jujitsu instructor's wife) that also shows me technique stuff. She influences me so much, because she also did several styles like me, and she is really good!

So I couldn't really pick my "best" instructor. They were/are all good in their own ways.

 

[pesilat]

I believe that I can learn something from everyone but not everyone has something to teach me.

As far as MA go, I have had 5 people who I consider to have been my teachers. My first was Melinda Bear. She taught me TKD but she also taught me (by example) what a good MA instructor should be and I used that knowledge to find my other teachers and they've all been good.

My second was Shihan Larry Davenport. I trained in Okinawan Goju-Ryu with him. More than anything else, though, he taught me the importance of the basics. I still visit him when I am near his dojo and still work out with him on occasion.

My final three instructors are people I still actively train with on a regular (if not always frequent) basis.

Guru Ken Pannell is my Sikal instructor. He is my primary instructor. He is a mentor to me in a wide variety of ways in and out of the MA. My dad is still alive and we're very close so I don't consider Guru Ken to be a father figure for me but he's definitely like a favorite uncle in many ways. And in other ways he's a close brother. Mostly, though, he's one of my best friends.

Bapak Willem "Uncle Bill" de Thouars is my Kuntao Silat de Thouars instructor. Uncle is an amazing guy. He's very friendly with a lot of good knowledge to share and I feel very proud to call him one of my teachers. But beyond what he's taught me about MA, he's shown me the importance of keeping a young and fresh mindset in life in general. There's a great quote by Teresa Langdon that I love: "Believe as a child believes and the magic will find you." Uncle embodies this quote and he is most definitely magical.

Professor Joe Lansdale is my Shen Chuan instructor. Prof. Lansdale is like a magician, too. He does things with his MA that seem, at first, like magic. Then he starts explaining them and the next thing you know, you're doing them. Outside of MA, though, he's taught me (directly and by example) a lot about writing and communicating in general.

A couple of honorable mentions would be Guro Dan Inosanto and GM Cacoy Canete. I don't consider either of these men to be direct instructors to me because I haven't spent enough regular time with either of them. However, they have both had huge impacts on me both as a martial artist and in general. Guro Dan is my role model for humility. He is an incredibly skilled MAist with a lot of knowledge and background but he never hesitates to set what he knows aside and put on a white belt (literally or metaphorically) and learn what others have to teach him.

GM Cacoy is my role model for enjoying life to its fullest. In his mid-80s he's still full of energy and life. He's able to not only beat people in sparring who are 1/4 his age but he's able to play with them, instruct them, and have fun while he does it. He cackles the whole time he's beating the tar out of someone - and, while painful, the beatings are actually very light (compared to what he could be doing) and instructive.

Mike

 

[Aqua4ever]

I put four teachers. They are all at my current tae kwon do school- two teach every night and two once a week each. They are all incredible instructors with their own strengths.
The owner of the club is young, energetic and very knowledagable. He always has patience IF he knows you are trying to your full potential and will push you as far as he can.
His father (who teaches as much if not more) has more facts, knowledge and ideas then anyone I've met. He's caring, kind, patient, but also strict and you know when he means buisness.
The two other instructors are my age (16/17) and are also incredibly talented. They both work hard and have unique approaches to the patterns and techniques, as well as sparring. They expect (and are granted) the same respect as the other instructors but it is well deserved.
Aqua

 

[Andrew Green]

Lots, the most important quality for me:

Training to learn and improve, for themself and everyone they train. No association politics, belt hunting or ego stroking. Just a simple question of "How can we improve our skills" I would also tend towards someone with experience in many different places, rather then many years in one isolated style. Specialization is good sometimes, but I'd want someone that understands how there specialty works within a broader context and relates to other systems.

 

[Ceicei]

I have trained at five different kenpo schools, so I have worked with more than five instructors. All of these schools have very distinct instructors with their own personalities and ways of teaching. I learned a lot from each of the instructors.

However, the ones I learned from the most are the ones with the more enduring training relationships (third and fifth schools). The instructor from the third school is now with the fifth school too.

You want to know my views of the qualities of an instructor? You can check out the thread: "A really great instructor" http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16728

- Ceicei

 

[bignick]

I think I'd go with 8-10. My training got split up...I did 3 years of TKD when I was younger and had two instructors, and a couple years I came back and was in the same organization but with a different instructor, and as time progressed I learned from others as well. Not to mention, my judo and jujutsu instructors. The best actual teacher as in, ability to teach, is one of my judo instructors who is an electrical engineer. She has the most uncanning ability to dissect throws and explain them in great mechanical detail.

 

[Flatlander]

I posted the thread because I've only had one teacher. I just can't imagine being able to learn from anyone else. In many different threads here I've read of the value of training with different instructors and being exposed to different arts. I understand that, but, have difficulty imagining that I could possibly find a better place than where I have been. I just feel that way. So, I thought it might be kind of neat to read your stories. Thank you all who have shared so far. Keep it coming.

:asian:

 

[karatekid1975]

Wow! Well, if I stayed in NJ, I'd probably would have had only two instructors. My TSD instructor, and my first jujitsu instructor (who I forgot to mention).

But I don't learn just from the instructors. I learn from the students, too. I still learn from whites belts. They have a way of asking questions and make you "think" about what you are doing. Plus all my fellow dojang dwellers who hang out after class to work on stuff

 

[chinto01]

I have had a few instructors in my past. That is what happens when the owner of the dojo passes responsibility on to his black belts who never seemed to stay and doesn't teach classes himself. That being said I have had only one true teacher. Someone who not only cared about your martial arts but cared about character and how you are as a person. he is a teacher.

In the spirit of bushido!

Rob

 

[tshadowchaser]

Over my 35+ years in the arts i hav studied with many good instructors and learned from about 10 great ones

 

[Loki]

I've had four instructors to date: my original instructor, the instructor who teaches the black belts, my grandmaster and one other instructor. The most influential always was my original instructor, who invests a great deal of effort in all his students and is one of the people who I admire most.