When students start to adopt leadership roles in their martial arts school, they often worry about whether or not people will take them seriously, unsure of how to carry themselves in such a way as to engender respect and trust. They naturally look to their instructors’ examples to learn how to carry themselves as an instructor. For many, this is a mistake. I’m not suggesting that instructors can’t be helpful as a role model, but they shouldn’t simply look at their teaching style and the way they address students for modelling. Instead, they should be looking at the spirit behind a confident instructor’s actions.

Behind every truly confident martial arts instructor, there are a number of characteristics that define them that go beyond the mechanics of how they run a class. Below are 5 that I’ve noted in the many excellent instructors from whom I’ve had the pleasure of learning. (more…)

Tags: role of the martial arts instructor