Definition of a good instructor
Wednesday 20 March 2024
Some of this is easy to articulate, i.e. an instructor is someone who clearly knows what he or she is doing and who is more knowledgeable and experienced than the students in their care. The beauty of the belts system, when applied robustly so no-one gets a belt they haven’t earned, is that when a Sensei is wearing a 1st Dan Black Belt, you have the confidence of knowing they’re qualified to teach up to 1st Dan.
But it isn’t just to do with qualifications. As Florence Nightingale famously said: “The most important attribute of a good nurse isn’t registration, qualification or certification – it’s character”. This is so true in martial arts. The Bushido Code of the Samurai we follow at Meiji is almost entirely related to character - Integrity, Respect, Heroic Courage, Honor, Compassion, Honesty & Sincerity, Duty & Loyalty. And instructors who achieve the higher Dans are judged more on character than their proven physical skills and attributes.
In some ways, character is related to very simple things. This is why you can spot it quite easily, and also notice when it’s absent. Good instructors teach students of all grades with equal respect. Bowing and saying “Ouss” isn’t just a routine formality, it’s a statement of equality. Everyone is equal in a good instructor’s class. Students have different skill levels, but their value as a person is the same as everybody else’s.
Bad instructors teach their class like a blob. They speak to it over their heads, often with no direct eye contact. Good instructors, whilst promoting the values of teamwork and collaboration, treat every student as an individual. They know their names. They ask them about themselves. They foster a professional relationship. This, more than anything, is what draws students back on a regular basis, and is the true measure of a successful Dojo, together with the number of referrals it gets from satisfied customers recommending it to their friends. It is what has helped Meiji grow so rapidly.
Good instructors focus not just on body fitness and stress-busting, but also on winning hearts and minds through helping to build confidence, self-esteem and joy of living, on the mat and outside in the real world.