Requirements for becoming school/branch instructor.

[RTKDCMB]

Different schools and organizations have different requirements for earning the responsibility of teaching and running a class. In my school an instructor has to have a minimum rank of 1st Dan to be an instructor. Typically after getting your black belt you would have been helping out in class taking belt groups through their patterns or pad work here and there and checking and adjusting the technique of the color belts. You might take the occasional class, either under the supervision of the branch instructor or when the branch instructor is unable to make it to the class. Once the branch instructor is satisfied with your skill level, knowledge,maturity and dedication to the art he or she will recommend to the regional or regional master instructor that you become an instructor.Then after you have been instructing for a year or few and you have shown an aptitude and interest in running a school the regional or regional master instructor will recommend to the Master Rhee that you either take over a branch that needs an instructor or start a new one.

What are the requirements for becoming a branch instructor in your school or organization?

 

[Dirty Dog]

That's a good question.
We're not that formal. As far as I know, we do not have any system that formal in place.
We expect any 1st Dan to be able to take a basic/intermediate class unsupervised.
My own instructor was running his own school as a 3rd Dan, mostly because his instructor passed away and he was the highest ranking student. It was pretty much take over, or let the school close. That was something like 25-30 years ago.

 

[MAfreak]

that depends on country laws as well as on federations, i guess.
here in germany you must get a license by the "olympic sports confederation" which needs seminars in didactics, first aid and mass sports and/or a licence by the federation of your specific style.
being at least first dan doesn't matter here, if your trainer thinks, you are able to train classes.
so when the specific style not sucks, its lesser possibility of creating mcdojos.
when starting an own school, one could register a trade, but its way more common here to register a club. there are, of course, different requirements for each of that, like a minimum number of members etc.

 

[JowGaWolf]

For most Jow Ga schools, being an instructor is less formal than being a Sifu. Instructors are often selected based on their time at the school and the knowledge of the techniques and how to do techniques correctly along with applications. For us the instructor is like the Sifu's extra pair of hands. Instructors have to have the willingness to teach and must be decent at teaching. Because the instructor is an extension of the Sifu, instructors are not allowed to determine what can be taught without the guidance of the Sifu.

To give an example, I'm an instructor at my school but I don't teach the regular class unless the other instructor is out. My primary roles of instructor is to teach younger kids ages 5-8 mainly because I have a good skill set in general with teaching kids that age. The other role is fight Instructor because of my ability to understand technique and to realistically apply it to free sparing and realistic fight scenarios. I was able to take this role within the school because my Sifu approved of it based on how the videos he saw of me sparring and actually trying to use Jow Ga. The other instructor also spoke well of me being able to understand applications beyond what is taught. There's no formal path to being an instructor. The only real requirement is to be a good study of the system, the techniques, and applications.

With that said, there may be some Jow Ga schools that have a formal process in which instructors are created. Either way it's up to the Sifu to determine the instructor.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

In my dojo, you're not a sensei until 3rd dan. You don't open your own dojo until you receive permission to do so. Something on the order of 20 years diligent training.

I assist with new students and kids as a 2nd dan. I am in no way qualified to run my own school.

 

[elder999]

I
I assist with new students and kids as a 2nd dan. I am in no way qualified to run my own school.

I gotta ask, in what way does 3rd dan "wualify" you to run your own school?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I am a first dan in two forms of ken/mpo. In one, I have been given explicit permission to teach it on my own (although I do not think I am ready to do so). In the other, I have not been given permission, although I never asked (I am much more qualified to teach that form of kempo though).
Overall, neither style really has strict requirements for teaching AFAIK.

 

[WaterGal]

There's not any kind of organizational requirements for being an instructor for the federations we're involved in, just a minimum dan ranking required to give someone a black belt (4th for KKW, 5th for IHF).

As far as our school goes, though, our minimum requirements to be an instructor are to be at least a 1st dan, at least 18, and have done a first aid class. We only have the one location (so far! ), so we don't have a path set up to becoming the chief instructor for a school. We do have one guy who wants to do that at some point, though, so we'll see....

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I gotta ask, in what way does 3rd dan "wualify" you to run your own school?

I doesn't, nor did I say that.

 

[elder999]

I doesn't, nor did I say that.

Understood-that's what I get for posting before my second cup of coffee.....