Part One: Instructional Staff (First of a Three-Part Series)

Since I didn’t really talk about instructors last time, today (and the next two blogs) are about instructors and coaches. Every martial arts dojo has to have instructors (coaches, sensei, whatever you call them). Without instructors, perpetuating the arts is a very difficult task. Today is a general discussion about instructing, coaching, and whatnot with regard to what I’ve seen and what I think are good.

I was at a United States Judo Association (USJA) national coaching certification last year and one of the guest clinicians was Hayward Nishioka. For those of you who don’t know Hayward, let’s just say that there’s almost nothing in judo that he hasn’t done (written books, competed/coached/refereed at the international level, taught, etc.). Hayward mentioned that teaching and coaching are two very different things and I wholeheartedly agree.

So, let’s look at the difference between a coach and an instructor. Coaches are for sports and their goal is winning. Instructors teach and their goal is transference of knowledge from the instructor to the teacher. Instructors may coach and coaches may teach but their reasons for doing so are wildly different. If you run a club that does any competition at all, you need both. If you don’t, you should have both.

An instructor should be your first your first hire in a martial arts dojo, especially if you are starting with no clients. He should be able to teach fundamental concepts, principles, and techniques to your students whether the students are 6 or 60. He doesn’t need to be an Olympic or international champion, but he does need to understand how to relate to any student and help them learn. I’m in favor of a teacher that thoroughly understands the fundamentals at a basic level over one who knows a few things really well.

A coach should be your second on-the-mat hire regardless of whether your students compete or not. The coach’s job is to help your students master the techniques in practical applications. Drill and repetition under a wide variety of opportunities help the students develop their techniques differently that a regular instructor will teach them. If your students are competing, the coach can help them understand the rules of the tournament and develop specific strategies and tactics for competitive success.

Over time, your school grows and gains many more students. As you grow and gain, remember that large classes with extremely high student-teacher ratios limit real student growth, especially in grappling arts where seeing what’s being done is difficult. As a general rule, I like to keep my adult student ratio at about 1:10 and my youth student ratio about 1:6. If you have a striking art and you can teach larger groups and see everything, I encourage you to maximize your ratio, but too much isn’t good.

You’ll notice I said nothing about sensei or any of the other (Chinese, Korean, etc.) terms usually used for the teacher. I, personally, don’t believe that everyone who is a teacher or even a black belt is a sensei for martial arts. Certainly, the term is used generically in Japanese educational classes, but for a martial artist, it bears a peculiar meaning. The term also starts being overused and, in some cases, begins to deify the teacher. When an instructor is looked at as being infallible and the students feel they can’t ask questions, you begin the process of forming a martial arts cult rather than a school. On the other hand, when students only question and never do what they’re instructed, you have a debate club rather than a martial arts school. In both of these cases, your instructor needs better training in running a class. May I suggest Harry Wong and Fred Jones? They worked wonderfully for me!

Part two: Instructors: Buy or Build?

Part three: Coaches: What do you need?

Let me know what you think of this idea, post in the comments below or e-mail! Don’t forget to like the Roswell and New Mexico Military Institute Judo Clubs on Facebook!