Becoming an instructor/ school owner

[Runs With Fire]

What does it take to become an instructor and possibly a school owner other than :certification, credentials, sound knowledge and martial arts experience? I have had the itch to seek an instructorship at my school for several years. I decided I must understand and agree with the mission of my school. Also, that I must strive to know and understand my style as well as to find where I fit within that style. I am good personal friends with all leadership in my style and the head of the style has let me know that he wishes me to gain title as an instructor.
My perspective is that if I choose to follow that path, to strengthen and build up others as has been done to me, I must dedicate myself to a deeper knowledge, understanding and passion of the martial arts. In that pursuit, I would like to inquire of those already dedicated and more experienced than myself. Looking down the road, if I am going to do this I want to do this right.

 

[PhotonGuy]

Well if you want to start your own place you need collateral in addition to all the stuff you mentioned. You also have to have a business sense. If you're teaching within an organization than you would be best off getting advice from the organization.

 

[K-man]

I think you have described what it needs to be an instructor. Most people would work as an instructor before trying to run a school and instruct. Then it depends on your motivation. Are you wanting to do this for personal satisfaction or are you wanting it as a professional career?

 

[Runs With Fire]

It is not quite for personal satisfaction, I do believe in a calling placed on one's shoulders. on the other hand, I have been wanting a career change. I currently work in construction but I am considering ,in time, to create a profession from my martial arts training and understanding.

 

[Runs With Fire]

perhaps an additional question is required, what separates instructors into the average, the good and the great?

 

[Jaeimseu]

Being an instructor requires knowledge, a willingness to acquire more knowledge, and a passion for building relationships with people and seeing them grow. All of those things are nice to have as a school owner, but are useless without a sound business plan and the ability to execute it.

 

[jks9199]

Want to know how to make a small fortune in the martial arts?

Start with a large fortune.

It's an old joke, but there's a lot of truth to it. So, if you're going to run a martial arts school as a business... Learn how to run a successful business, first.

If, instead, you're looking to spread your art, share what you've learned, and "pay back" your instructor's investment in you... There are lots of ways to do this. I'd start by talking to your instructors. Learn how to teach your art. Learn how to teach different types of people... As to how to identify the "good" teaching practices? Look to your own training. Emulate the ones you felt were good, and don't do the things that you really didn't like seeing done.

 

[JR 137]

Other than knowledge of your art and business sense/training, I strongly recommend formal training in teaching physical education. What truly separates instructors IMO is knowing knowing what to say and what not to say, how to properly motivate, how to praise effort and performance, and what you should realistically expect people to be able to do.

Just because you can easily perform a technique doesn't mean you can break it down to its simplest elements and teach it to everyone. Just because you can see things happen/unfold and react doesn't mean you can easily teach that to anyone. I'm not saying you personally can't, I just mean in general people can struggle with it.

I'm not saying it takes a degree in physical education to be able to run an MA school effectively, but some formal training in teaching can only make you better. Most people who run dojos replicate what their instructors do/did. Be different. Bring something unique to the table. There are a lot of things that you can learn from a professional educator that you may not learn from your MA instructor.

Most community colleges have education and/or physical education courses. Make an appointment and speak with an advisor in the department. Let them know your intentions, and they'll most likely give you some advice on which course/courses would be most beneficial. Look at the cost as an investment, not a bill.

I have a master's in physical education. If you'd like some info on which classes may benefit most, pm me.

 

[K-man]

perhaps an additional question is required, what separates instructors into the average, the good and the great?

By the very definition, half of the instructors out there are below average. On another scale, about 20% of instructors are good and 20% of those are very good. Take 20% of the very good ones and you start looking at the great instructors. I would suggest they would be less than 1% of the guys out there instructing.

So if I was looking at a great instructor what would I be seeing? Well the best guys I have seen have been incredibly humble. They haven't had to trumpet their own attributes. They have undertaken a lifetime of study, regardless of their age. They don't just parrot what they have been taught but have explored their chosen art to achieve a greater understanding and they happily share that knowledge. They don't have to be the best fighter as, to me, that is not the best indicator of a good instructor, but they must be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the techniques they are teaching.

Most importantly the great instructor will be a great communicator and that transcends language.

 

[PhotonGuy]

Most people would work as an instructor before trying to run a school and instruct.

You mean as an assistant instructor. Well yes, usually you have to be an assistant instructor before you can be a full instructor or teach on your own.

 

[Buka]

Starting with the assumption that the initial teaching skills are already in place -

1. A place to teach that has a surrounding population necessary to support the business.

2. Enough capital to comfortably open the business and sustain the business if the anticipated numbers of clientèle' aren't immediately met.

3. Balls.

 

[Andrew Green]

Being a instructor is different then being a owner. A lot of the time a owner also is an instructor, but sometimes the owned rarely teaches a class if ever.

If you want to be a instructor start teaching under someone else. In addition to that expand your knowledge beyond what exists in your school already. There are some really great resources out there to learn how to be a better instructor. I'd suggest starting with Dave Kovars Instructors Toolbox book, it's cheap and has a lot of the fundamental concepts in there and things you might not have thought about.

If you want to be a owner you have to learn about business. Being a good instructor alone is not going to make a school succeed. Things get a whole lot trickier, and your best bet is probably to start a small program in a community centre or other rented space, build it up and then go into a full time space when you can afford it. Or, have a lot of capital, because it's going to cost a lot to get started.

What you definitely do not want to do is start teaching in a school and then open up your own close enough to be considered competition to the one you worked in.

 

[hoshin1600]

some good advise given already.
#1... teaching and running a business are two separate things, you need to understand they are not the same and success at one does not equal success in the other.
my advise is to start teaching under someone else. talk with many other school owners to get an understanding of what it is like. you may have a romanticised idea about teaching you may find the reality of it may not be what you thought. this is not something you want to find out after sinking your life savings and borrowing 3-5 years of your future construction salary.
"students that dont pay"
"parents that treat you like a babysitter"
"child students who dont want to be there"
"children that are not potty trained and make a mess on your rug"
"adult students who are only there to hook up with other students"
all this stuff comes with the job description. once you open the school it can really take the fun and the love out of the martial arts for some people.
as example i used to love auto detailing my corvette and entering car shows. then i started detailing for a living and i found it wasnt the same. doing a show car and cleaning puke and the upturned turkey dinner from the back of a moms SUV was just not the same.. lol

 

[PhotonGuy]

"students that dont pay"

They don't pay, they don't stay.

"parents that treat you like a babysitter"

That's how they often treat school teachers. There is a difference though, when you're with children for just an hour or two a day vs. being with them all day, as school teachers are.

"child students who dont want to be there"

If I felt a child student didn't want to be there I would ask them if they really want to do this or if they're being made to do it by parents, ect. If its the latter than I would talk to the parents about taking the child elsewhere and pursuing something else.

"children that are not potty trained and make a mess on your rug"

I wouldn't take students that young.

"adult students who are only there to hook up with other students"

If they don't take it seriously I would ask them to leave.

 

[Gnarlie]

They don't pay, they don't stay.

That's how they often treat school teachers. There is a difference though, when you're with children for just an hour or two a day vs. being with them all day, as school teachers are.

If I felt a child student didn't want to be there I would ask them if they really want to do this or if they're being made to do it by parents, ect. If its the latter than I would talk to the parents about taking the child elsewhere and pursuing something else.

I wouldn't take students that young.

If they don't take it seriously I would ask them to leave.

And by doing all of the above, you would have very few students left.

Is it not preferable to turn someone around than to ask them to leave?

 

[Gnarlie]

I find that teaching Taekwondo is sometimes more of a test of my influencing skills that it is my Taekwondo skills.

 

[Runs With Fire]

And by doing all of the above, you would have very few students left.

Is it not preferable to turn someone around than to ask them to leave?

I would assume, give somebody many chances and try to help them overcome, come around or realize the value of a life in the martial arts. If, however, that person is detrimental to the collective, putting others in danger of being injured or distracted in studies, it may be necessary to shorten that person's career in martial arts. If they are willing but struggling, perhaps some private instruction. I used to think I wouldn't be able to handle little ones, but I have been running a group of first graders in Sunday school for a while and I'm getting better with kids.

 

[Andrew Green]

I would assume, give somebody many chances and try to help them overcome, come around or realize the value of a life in the martial arts. If, however, that person is detrimental to the collective, putting others in danger of being injured or distracted in studies, it may be necessary to shorten that person's career in martial arts. If they are willing but struggling, perhaps some private instruction. I used to think I wouldn't be able to handle little ones, but I have been running a group of first graders in Sunday school for a while and I'm getting better with kids.

With regard to firing students that is the right idea. If they are hurting the group it's best to get rid of them. Unfortunately there will be a phase in a school owners path that it's a tough choice. There is that point where you are just starting out and struggling to make enough to pay the bills that firing a student might not be a easy pill to swallow. If you go for this, remember it is the right pill to swallow though. Keeping one paying student that drives away two paying students wasn't worth it. A lesson I suspect just about every school owner gets to learn.

With regard to the little ones. Our youngest class is 3-4 year olds. They are a lot of fun to teach, I'd say they are probably the favourite class to teach amongst my staff. I've had that age for 4 or 5 years now, never had a accident and the kids that started in it when I started it and are now 7-8 years old are amazing. It is a personality thing, and if you don't want to teach that age group I understand that. But with the right instructor and a age appropriate curriculum that age group can be a amazing age group to teach.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Much good advice has been given so I'll add my own thoughts that may differ a little. To open a school and become an instructor dose not require a certificate or any competency in the arts. All it takes is the willingness to say you have a certain rank , a uniform, and maybe some learning from videos or books. With enough personal appeal, charisma, and the ability to sell yourself as knowledgeable you can open and keep a school running for some time. I know this is not the excepted view but I've seen it before and I'm sure I'll see it again someday.
What should be needed has been mentioned by others in this thread. A good source of income to keep the school above water for at least 6 months, a good background in the art you wish to instruct, maybe some uniforms to sell to new participants, some advertising in the local papers or even on some local television if your budget will allow, some fliers for prospective clients to look at, and a good looking sign in front of your place

 

[Tony Dismukes]

To be a good instructor:

Know the material very well.
Be able to demonstrate the material
Be able to explain the material in whatever level of detail is appropriate for the student at hand
Understand what level of detail a given student needs at the moment.
Be able to explain or demonstrate the material in different ways according to how a given student learns.
Be able to see what a student needs corrected. Understand how to correct. Understand when to correct.
Know how to encourage and inspire students to train.
Know how to structure a curriculum.
Be able to answer questions
Have the humility and self-awareness to admit when you don't know the answers.
Have the drive for self-improvement that allows you to go out and find the answers when you don't know them.
Always watch out for your students safety and well-being.
Always put your students progress above your own ego.

To be a non-broke school owner:

Master everything that goes into being successful in any other small business, i.e.:
Understand your budget
Understand the market, demand, and your competition
Advertising
Location
Student retention
Maintaining your facilities
Collecting dues
etc, etc, etc.

Full disclosure: I'm still working on improving everything from the first (instructor) list and will be for the foreseeable future. I don't have the time, energy, or finances to tackle the second (owner) list for now, so I'm happy that I have the opportunity to teach the way I like out of someone else's school.