Age

[ETinCYQX]

At the least you have to fight off horny women with a stick. (and no, you think you did raunchy in a guy locker room...a bunch of women in a room with a decent looking guy are 10 times worse! be afraid. Be VERY afraid!)

You're warning me about this? I mean, let's be honest, I am male. I think I can manage that, particularly given the women that show up to TKD classes

In all seriousness I am trying hard to break the habit. I'll be careful about what I say.

 

[Kylz]

Hi all,

I'm in a bit of a unique situation. I'm getting ready for my 1st Dan, and our TKD school looks to be losing the instructor. I've been asked by our head instructor in a different town to step in.

Go for it! Some of the instructors are younger than me at my club but that's expected when you're just starting at the age of 25! And I'm sure the students at your club will also understand that! They're there to train and learn and age shouldn't mean anything to them when it comes to the person teaching them, if you teach well and are good at what you do they will respect you for that. I actually like when I get to train with some of the younger instructors at my club as they have a tendancy to push us more physically than some of the older instructors which I think is a great thing!

 

[ETinCYQX]

Go for it! Some of the instructors are younger than me at my club but that's expected when you're just starting at the age of 25! And I'm sure the students at your club will also understand that! They're there to train and learn and age shouldn't mean anything to them when it comes to the person teaching them, if you teach well and are good at what you do they will respect you for that. I actually like when I get to train with some of the younger instructors at my club as they have a tendancy to push us more physically than some of the older instructors which I think is a great thing!

Thanks for your insight; the physical part of it is definitely an advantage I have IMO. My conditioning is pretty good. I'm hoping I can learn to teach well, I haven't done much teaching but my master is being horrendously picky with my technique so that will hopefully be exceptional. I decided a while ago that I wanted to be a damn good 1st Dan if I was going to teach.

25 is still pretty young to start compared to some people on here.

 

[granfire]

You're warning me about this? I mean, let's be honest, I am male. I think I can manage that, particularly given the women that show up to TKD classes

In all seriousness I am trying hard to break the habit. I'll be careful about what I say.

LOL, Ok, then you might have to fight off their angry husbands.

But seriously....a bunch of women with a guy in one room...that guy is in trouble. And the more middle aged women are even more dangerous!
(we had a lunch time class at one time 4 middle aged gals and our ever so pure instructor. We did get some guys in before we absolutely mortified the poor man!)

So yes, it is a warning. You only think you want that much attention!

 

[ajury]

Go for it, the best way to learn to teach is to do it!

People will vote with their feet, if you have a passion for it and care for your students you will do well and you will gain more.

My son (12) and I are the most Junior instructors in our school. When he teaches there must be an adult black belt in the room for insurance reasons. We are addressed as Sir or Mr Jury. I am somewhat lax in enforcing that with me but always enforce it with my son. It is very important to have everyone know who is in charge, the title helps with that.

Actually Arthur (my son) has trouble with children more than adults and he is getting quite good at managing them. It has been a great leadership opportunity for him, we are homeschoolers and are available to teach during the day.

The business part is what bothers me more than anything fortunately the owner of our school shares information about that as well. I am working on learning how to run my own school if we move from our current location. We also take over for area instructors when they go on vacation or are sick.

Go for it! If not now when will you be ready? 20, 30, 40? When I look to an instructor I look at what they can teach me not how old they are.

When I studied Tai Chi years ago my instructor said he started teaching because his Master said he would not advance further without it. Students ask so many questions and teach you so much. Teach when you can and learn from your students! When you stop learning from them, stop teaching.

 

[ETinCYQX]

I really hope the attitude amongst my students is close to the one here

Insurance wise, where I live I'm legally an adult and I'm told it will be taken care of for me. It's a well-oiled mechanism and a nicely run school so I have no worries in regards to insurance or legitimacy.

In the last few weeks I've also earned praise from some senior black belts who IMO were reserved about the idea of me teaching although they had too much class to mention it. I'm starting to feel like I should be able to do this as well as I'd like do.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I really hope the attitude amongst my students is close to the one here

Insurance wise, where I live I'm legally an adult and I'm told it will be taken care of for me. It's a well-oiled mechanism and a nicely run school so I have no worries in regards to insurance or legitimacy.

In the last few weeks I've also earned praise from some senior black belts who IMO were reserved about the idea of me teaching although they had too much class to mention it. I'm starting to feel like I should be able to do this as well as I'd like do.

Thats great to hear. Good luck with it all.

 

[ETinCYQX]

Just thought I'd update:

Spent this week teaching. Did poomsae last night, sparring class tomorrow night. Went well last night and my instructor, who watched, commended me on how well I taught. (He's been really sick, decided that he couldn't teach that night and asked if I would.) Class was at 4:30 and I found out at 3:50 that I was going to teach, so I was unprepared and I ended up with a not-so-great tempo, but I'm happy nonetheless.

I am still 1st kyu, the master I've been training with is around 3.5 hours away and it's hard to get a weekend to go train. Hopefully by mid-April.

 

[ETinCYQX]

Hi everybody, made it official tonight. The torch was passed and now its up to me. Thanks for your advice all.

 

[oftheherd1]

Hi everybody, made it official tonight. The torch was passed and now its up to me. Thanks for your advice all.

Good luck. It sounds like you are mature enough, and your master thinks you have the training and skills. I would listen to your master and strive to be a good teacher yourself.

 

[jda]

Good luck and I'm sure you'll do fine. My instructor is 20 years my junior and us old men have no problem learning from him. As long as you know your stuff and treat others with respect you'll have no problems. Have fun.
Jim

 

[andyjeffries]

Hi everybody, made it official tonight. The torch was passed and now its up to me. Thanks for your advice all.

Just remember not to neglect your own training. I ran a club when I was a 1st/2nd Dan and found that I was doing a lot more teaching than training. I ended up stopping teaching my own club (and merged it with my instructor's club) and getting back my training time.

You can manage the balance - you just have to be conscious of it...

Good luck mate, I'm sure you'll do great.

 

[ETinCYQX]

Thanks all, I really do appreciate the support. I've gotten a lot of support and gratitude from parents, too, which is important.

Andy, because of my school situation I'll only be teaching about a year. That will help me solidify my basics and prepare for my second Dan I hope. I'll get back to training once I move to the town our network of schools is based in for 2 years for school and I'll be traveling to train at least once a month.