How to Tell if a Martial Arts Instructor Is Qualified

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

Rate: (5 Ratings)

Choosing a school with good teachers is a crucial element in your martial arts training. Here are a few ways to determine the quality of instruction.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

  • Martial Arts Encyclopedias
  • Martial Arts Supplies
  • Martial Arts Videos

Step1
Watch the instructors. If you're not a student, ask permission first. Do they demonstrate techniques and do they correct any incorrect techniques students perform, or do they simply give commands?
Step2
Determine the level of discipline used. Are they too lenient, just right or too severe?
Step3
Assess the extent instructors encourage respect for partners and opponents during drills and practice.
Step4
Identify how often instructors ask for student feedback. Are they open to suggestions and innovative practices within a structured curriculum?
Step5
Check with other students and share examples of good and bad instruction.
Step6
Ask the head instructor how the school's teachers are chosen. What qualifications do they have? Are they promoted in an accredited organization, such as the World Tae Kwon Do Federation?
Step7
Assess your progress. Have instructors provided clear direction when asked? Have they encouraged short and long-term goals for each class?

Tips & Warnings

  • Good instructors model the same values they expect from you.
  • Consult a physician before beginning any exercise regimen. Remember that the practice of martial arts can be dangerous, so use caution at all times.

Comments

| View All Comments
skecanj

skecanj said

Flag This Comment

on 8/1/2008 sorry... not enough room.

Best advice is to ask the instructor directly what his training has been in how to teach.

Some instructors have had no training in how to teach (as opposed to how to do) the style. Others have gone through an intensive, internal course of instruction.

Another thing to watch for is -- is the instructor in shape and does he or she still train? Does the instructor practice what he or she preaches?

As far as being able to turn off a light switch with your feet, I am not sure that qualifies a person to be a good instructor. It's a great thing to be able to do, but even students can do it.

skecanj

skecanj said

Flag This Comment

on 8/1/2008 Another thing to watch for is whether or not instructors explain why a technique works.

On discipline, sometimes it is hard to gauge how you will react to the discipline in a style. I tried out a class once where I wasn't sure if I liked the strict discipline. As it turned out, I thrived in a well-disciplined class, and I trained there for 15 years.

Share with students examples of good and bad instruction? I am not sure that students have enough knowledge about instruction to critique their instructors -- but... students do know how they feel about the instructors. Be careful this doesn't turn into an instructor-bashing session. Not cool.

As far as teacher accreditation goes, few styles have a supervising organization like taekwondo does. Even so, you do not know what kind of training the instructor has been through. Best advice is to ask the instructor directly what his

evalinpar

evalinpar said

Flag This Comment

on 5/27/2007 i was in a tae kwon do class, but i went out, because it was stupid. if you look up tae kwon do on the internet you'll see people standing stright. but if you look up wushu, you see everyone walking around, jumping, and free, i rather have learn wushu.

mrcolj

mrcolj said

Flag This Comment

on 1/15/2007 Yes, it's all about choosing a good instructor. And I have a weird answer--I'm a good instructor, and people constantly tease me for reflexively using my feet as hands. Watch for that. When I look around at good instructors, a lot of them, "like monkeys", pick up things, turn on and off lights, etc. with their feet--not for practice, but accidentally because they have become so coordinated with their feet.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 9/11/2006 Go to more than one class. Plus, if the pace is nice and comfortable all the time, leave. It's martial arts, not cross-stitch classes.

View All

Post a Comment

POST A COMMENT

Request a New How-To Article

Looking for more How To information? Chances are there’s an eHow member who knows how to do what you’re looking to do. Submit an article request now!

eHow Article: How to Tell if a Martial Arts Instructor Is Qualified

eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

Related Ads

Sports & Fitness

JoeRivera
Meet Joe Rivera eHow’s Sports & Fitness Expert.