Teaching Beginners

[MJS]

Sometimes when we're teaching a new student, we may have a tendency to get on a roll and start over teaching. There are so many things we want to show them, we may forget about a few of the most important things.

That being said, what do you feel is the single most important thing to teach first?

I feel that while the student is going to want to learn as much as possible, having a good foundation (stance) is the most important. By having them develop a good stance, all of the other things..blocks, strikes, kicks, etc....will come that much more natural and also have power.

What does everyone else think?

Mike

 

[terryl965]

Stances areprobaly the one most inportant technique, but respect is the first rule of anybody walking into the Dojang or Dojo. Without respect they can never truely understand Martial Arts.
Terry

 

[Andrew Green]

footowork and the jab

 

[Lisa]

How to properly fall.

 

[Gemini]

Wow, Mike. Tough question, and you're right. Just reading this brings a flurry of things you might want to be first. But being that IMO everything stems from attitude, I'd have to agree with Terry. Proper attitude starts with respect.

 

[Touch Of Death]

I would teach margin for error: create distance, stabilize your base, most coordinated hand to the front, ect. (oh hey thats delayed sword)
Sean

 

[Touch Of Death]

Also proper attitude and respect gives you a margin for error.

 

[arnisador]

IN FMA, I find that blade awareness is a big one--learning to strike iwth the blade, and not the flat, even if it's a stick. Also, being light on one's feet.

 

[dubljay]

I start with making sure they have good stances and can transition well. Bad stances = bad technique. Then I move onto basics, blocks punches kicks ect. Then I work the three into little combinations.

 

[Dark Kenpo Lord]

Sometimes when we're teaching a new student, we may have a tendency to get on a roll and start over teaching. There are so many things we want to show them, we may forget about a few of the most important things.

That being said, what do you feel is the single most important thing to teach first?

I feel that while the student is going to want to learn as much as possible, having a good foundation (stance) is the most important. By having them develop a good stance, all of the other things..blocks, strikes, kicks, etc....will come that much more natural and also have power.

What does everyone else think?

Mike

In order of importance, Stances, Stances, Stances, Stances, blocks, punches, kicks, and techniques.

DarK LorD

 

[Touch Of Death]

In order of importance, Stances, Stances, Stances, Stances, blocks, punches, kicks, and techniques.

DarK LorD

While I agree stances are important we teach that distance is your best freind; so, its control the distance then stabilize your base.
Sean

 

[Dark Kenpo Lord]

While I agree stances are important we teach that distance is your best freind; so, its control the distance then stabilize your base.
Sean

And I also teach that if you're packing heat, why not just pull the gun and eliminate all this rubbish entirely.

DarK LorD

 

[Navarre]

In all of the classes I've been to, one started with basic respect and discipline along with stances. I often start students off with learning the two-hand bypass as well; the basic "wax on, wax off" drill. It allows them to move a little while learning to protect their head.

 

[MJS]

Great replies!! I picked stance work as the foundation, for a few reasons.

1: Think about a house. The first thing that is put down is the foundation. This is what supports the rest of the frame. If the student does not have a good 'foundation', they're not going to be stable when they throw stirkes.

2: Now, we begin to add in movement. If the student does not have a good base, once they start to move, the chance of them being off balance is great, as well as not having much power.

As for the respect aspect, yes I do feel that that is also an important part of the arts as well.

Mike

 

[dianhsuhe]

I say ettiquette and Respect- The student needs to learn to how to bow "in" and "out" of our Dojo, and how to pay respects to instructors... It'd be hard to teach anything if the student cannot properly get INTO the class

In my particular style there is quite a bit to simply starting the class and getting belted up and bowed in... This is of course a practical answer-

My favorite "fundamental" when helping a new student get started happens to be stances. They are the foundation of many martial arts, even arts that eventually end up not using stances much...

Build two houses one on a solid three foot concrete foundation the other on sand, both identical from the ground up and see which lasts the longest...

Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

jamey

 

[RichK]

Stances and footwork.

 

[MartialIntent]

As a beginner myself I've mentally made a couple of general notes in my attempts to find a suitable FMA instructor [though surely this applies to any MA]: I like to be shown at least a couple of techniques that I can go home, practice and get some sense of early accomplishment. Stances are indeed a great foundation but I think what you called "over teaching" isn't necessarily the case - by that I mean, it's also good to throw it out wide and give the student some overall impression before zeroing in on the minor details - it's nice to have an idea of the whole machine before moving like the cog [as it were]! I also agree with a previous post and appreciate being shown the instructor's etiquette protocol and finally IMO, being taught early that there's more to the martial aspect than going in hard [if there's an alternative], shows the instructor is grounded in the real world and not closetted in the dojo/dojang. Obviously that's a subjective opinion. Just quickly put yourself in the beginner's shoes and figure out what would give *you* an incentive to come back for more. Getting them back for the first number of weeks and months and getting them hooked has got to rank highly on any instructor's agenda.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Stances areprobaly the one most inportant technique, but respect is the first rule of anybody walking into the Dojang or Dojo. Without respect they can never truely understand Martial Arts.
Terry

Yes. Without respect, training is pointless. I think good, solid stances are the foundation of all subsequent training. However, recently I've been having them learn some basics from a relaxed ready stance because I want their bodies trained from the beginning that they don't have to fall back into a fighting stance in order to execute a technique. I'm still seeing how that goes.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

As a beginner myself I've mentally made a couple of general notes in my attempts to find a suitable FMA instructor [though surely this applies to any MA]: I like to be shown at least a couple of techniques that I can go home, practice and get some sense of early accomplishment. Stances are indeed a great foundation but I think what you called "over teaching" isn't necessarily the case - by that I mean, it's also good to throw it out wide and give the student some overall impression before zeroing in on the minor details - it's nice to have an idea of the whole machine before moving like the cog [as it were]! I also agree with a previous post and appreciate being shown the instructor's etiquette protocol and finally IMO, being taught early that there's more to the martial aspect than going in hard [if there's an alternative], shows the instructor is grounded in the real world and not closetted in the dojo/dojang. Obviously that's a subjective opinion. Just quickly put yourself in the beginner's shoes and figure out what would give *you* an incentive to come back for more. Getting them back for the first number of weeks and months and getting them hooked has got to rank highly on any instructor's agenda.

I think that you are going to make a great student. :asian:

 

[arnisador]

I like to be shown at least a couple of techniques that I can go home, practice and get some sense of early accomplishment.

This is a good point, especially if there's a question of whether or not the student intends to stick with the system! He or she needs to see how a technique in the system might work and get a feeling that he or she can do it.