Always listen to your coach, even if they're not talking to you

[skribs]

When I would teach Taekwondo, I would get frustrated with my students that would only take advice aimed directly at them. I tell one student to bring his knee up higher when he kicks, and a few others might do so as well, but everyone else would still have a low chamber. I would pick a few that had the lowest and then they would fix it, but again, despite hearing me call out several times to bring your knees up, they wouldn't.

Well, yesterday I was rolling in BJJ. I heard my professor yell, "Get over the leg." So I stepped over my partner's leg. Then he yelled "Underhook with the left arm." So I underhooked. "Flatten him out." So I did. "Good job, John!"

My name isn't John.

Yep, he wasn't even looking at me. But the calls he was making worked for me.

The moral of the story? Always listen to your coach.

 

[drop bear]

When he is coaching your partner. So you do the opposite.

 

[isshinryuronin]

I would get frustrated with my students that would only take advice aimed directly at them.

Good story. It's amazing how so many have tunnel vision (and hearing). There are so many opportunities to learn, but some seem to need to have it served to them on a silver platter. It's a matter of active learning, taking responsibility for it, rather than passive. They have no "situational awareness" when it comes to these missed opportunities. These include not only an instructor working with someone else, but watching a higher belt doing forms or sparing. Reading or even critically looking at YouTube provide additional opportunities.

A good student has his radar primed to pick up relevant info and is the kind of student an instructor should spend extra time with - They want to learn. One of our maxims is "The ear must listen in all directions."

 

[JowGaWolf]

Always listen to your coach. he he he..

 

[Holmejr]

When our teacher talks, I almost always stop practice and motion whoever I’m coaching to listen up. I never spent time with GM, whereas my teacher spent many years with him to the day he passed. Wealth of knowledge there, not to be taken for granted.

 

[Gyakuto]

It is good to listen in on the advice one’s teacher is giving others be it for self affirmation or learning something potentially new to you.

However, I once has a teacher who very rarely gave ‘personal feedback’. He’d stand at the front of the class, with his back to us leading the repetitions (taking the opportunity to practise himself) and for the last few, he’d turn around and observe the class, stop us and give generic feedback. One never knew if his suggestions applied to you and it was very difficult to progress due to this lack of personal feedback (there was four us in the class). He never gathered any accomplished student and was well known for his laziness in all avenues of his life!

 

[Anarax]

When I would teach Taekwondo, I would get frustrated with my students that would only take advice aimed directly at them. I tell one student to bring his knee up higher when he kicks, and a few others might do so as well, but everyone else would still have a low chamber. I would pick a few that had the lowest and then they would fix it, but again, despite hearing me call out several times to bring your knees up, they wouldn't.

Well, yesterday I was rolling in BJJ. I heard my professor yell, "Get over the leg." So I stepped over my partner's leg. Then he yelled "Underhook with the left arm." So I underhooked. "Flatten him out." So I did. "Good job, John!"

My name isn't John.

Yep, he wasn't even looking at me. But the calls he was making worked for me.

The moral of the story? Always listen to your coach.

Anytime the instructor is making a correction to one of the other students, I'll stop and listen to make sure I'm not making the same mistake.

 

[Gyakuto]

One of the tenets instilled during lecturer’s training is that students will only be able to absorb two or maybe three principles/facts at the most, from a 50 minute lecture and so it’s a good idea to make those two or three essential ‘take home’ messages absolutely clear almost to the point of labouring them (for the more ’challenged’ degree-level students).

Is this is something a good martial arts teacher should consider? In any lesson (or series of lessons) what are the absolute essentials they wish to convey and firmly implant in their students?

 

[HighKick]

Good story. It's amazing how so many have tunnel vision (and hearing). There are so many opportunities to learn, but some seem to need to have it served to them on a silver platter. It's a matter of active learning, taking responsibility for it, rather than passive. They have no "situational awareness" when it comes to these missed opportunities. These include not only an instructor working with someone else, but watching a higher belt doing forms or sparing. Reading or even critically looking at YouTube provide additional opportunities.

A good student has his radar primed to pick up relevant info and is the kind of student an instructor should spend extra time with - They want to learn. One of our maxims is "The ear must listen in all directions."

This is a natural trait in some people, but I would say not many. In a class environment, the expectations have to be established, reaffirmed, and repeated at every class. And it is usually on a sliding scale based on rank and practice time.
For example, a white belt may just be to keep up, making mistakes all along the way. And Yes, the tunnel vision is fully on so unless they hear their name (and they may not even hear that) they will stay focused on whatever they are doing, right or wrong.
This is a good example of where age specific or belt specific classes can be a bad thing. Expecting everyone in a group of young kids to listen to only one source of information100% of the time can be a recipe for failure. It takes an exceptionally strong teacher and a seasoned environment for this to work well most of the time.
When a class is really clicking, your partner will recognize when you need to get your knee up and let you know. This is the nexus of training in a large group environment. No instructor is going to catch everything so if you have green belts holding for white and yellow belts for example, and they are giving good feedback, everything about the class goes much smoother.
So, instead of expecting everyone to hear and recognize everything that is said, we establish the expectation that higher belts help lower belts, always. This is more personal, immediate, and functional in the teaching model.

 

[Belkster]

When I would teach Taekwondo, I would get frustrated with my students that would only take advice aimed directly at them. I tell one student to bring his knee up higher when he kicks, and a few others might do so as well, but everyone else would still have a low chamber. I would pick a few that had the lowest and then they would fix it, but again, despite hearing me call out several times to bring your knees up, they wouldn't.

Well, yesterday I was rolling in BJJ. I heard my professor yell, "Get over the leg." So I stepped over my partner's leg. Then he yelled "Underhook with the left arm." So I underhooked. "Flatten him out." So I did. "Good job, John!"

My name isn't John.

Yep, he wasn't even looking at me. But the calls he was making worked for me.

The moral of the story? Always listen to your coach.

Usually trainees think that the coach's remark does not apply to them, because they do not have such a fault. A personalised approach to training is a good thing.