How Do You Teach or How Do You Like To Be Taught?

[Brian R. VanCise]

How Do You Teach or How Do You Like To Be Taught?

This is the topic for the day on my daily Blog so I thought I would share:
http://brianvancise.wordpress.com/


However, I am really interested in knowing how you like to teach or be taught and everyone's thoughts on the matter!

 

[charyuop]

I am taught in 2 different ways by 2 different people and I like them both. Sensei is more the kinda guy who shows and you have to copy, if you don't get it adjust a little by telling you, but mostly he trains you to learn to look.
Senpai is more the guy that explains in detail what you do wrong and guides you to do it correctly.

I am not sure which way is the best, since I admit I just suck! period!, but both ways of teaching have negative and positive aspects in them. I noticed that with the first way of teaching it helps me in being more fluent, while the second way of teaching me helps more to correct my errors.

 

[morph4me]

How I teach depends on how the people I'm trying to teach learn. I generally start off with a technique and let everyone try it. Then, when it looks something like what I was trying to teach, I move among the students to break it down a little bit depending on the needs of that student.


When I'm being taught, I like to feel the technique,so I understand what's happening to the person it's being done to, and have it broken down, to understand it as thouroughly as I'm capable of at the time I'm leaning it.

 

[Em MacIntosh]

I like a beating that doesn't injure me. From day one my old sensei was hard on me and I apreciated it. He was always on my case. I never thought I was worse than the others, just that he thought it was worth putting the effort in me. Tough love, honesty about fighting, what really works etc. Rather than preservation of tradition for tradition's sake, it was progressive and stressed individual ability. That's where I developed my interpretation of the concept of JKD or rather my percieved equivalent me-jitsu.

 

[still learning]

Hello, Just a thought here? ....for those who came from hard core, lots of phycial training. Tons of kicking,punching, lots of drills....lots of pain too...like in the old days....YOU DO MISS THEM!

Today as you get real older...you do miss the old days but love the lighter training methods.

Most of us learn you cannot beat the old style of hard core training...because you did learn alot more..you were more physcial fit, and the body got tougher too!

You do wish sometimes the training made you exhausted at the end of class.

Our kempo training is consider lighter today compare to years ago....because we cover so many different things and shorter class hours.

One can guest...the harder the training? ...the better the results!

Aloha, (trying to work harder....the easy way )? ..is there an easier way?

 

[geezer]

How Do You Teach or How Do You Like To Be Taught?

This is the topic for the day on my daily Blog so I thought I would share:
http://brianvancise.wordpress.com/
However, I am really interested in knowing how you like to teach or be taught and everyone's thoughts on the matter!

I was just thinking about this myself when I found your post. We all know good fighters who are poor teachers, and conversely, some good, patient teachers who were never great fighters. The best--those who are good at both--are rare.

The fighters are often poor students too. They do work hard and are happy to mix it up. They learn fast, But...they have little patience when it comes to learning material that doesn't have immediate combat practicality. They also tend to be impatient when working with less physically gifted students. And, although they may be "strait shooters" --that is good honest types who are fun to hang out with, they tend to be less than loyal to any one art or system. They learn what they can use and move on as they build their repertoire of skills.

A lot of teacher types had to work harder to acheive a high level of proficiency. That may make them more understanding of students who struggle. In addition, since they didn't just pick up their techniques intuitively, but by studying them, practicing, and reflecting on them, they are often better prepared to present information in a simple, logical and progressive format that students find easy to grasp.

Finally, as said above, different students learn differently. A good teacher must be sensitive to the different leaqrning styles of his students, and be able to present material in a way that each can grasp. I, for example, need to have the material broken down and explained physically and verbally. Then I need a lot of repetition, then a lot of patient correction until it hopefully "clicks". I usually understand the idea, in my head, long before my body fully gets it. And it gets worse as I get older.

 

[Guardian]

How Do You Teach or How Do You Like To Be Taught?

This is the topic for the day on my daily Blog so I thought I would share:
http://brianvancise.wordpress.com/


However, I am really interested in knowing how you like to teach or be taught and everyone's thoughts on the matter!

I love to teach the fun way, serious when needed and having fun while doing it, blood, sweat and tears but having fun while do it. I like to be taught that way also, it's worked for 20+ years without any serious injuries, so I guess I'm doing something right.

 

[YoungMan]

As much as possible, I teach the way my Instructor taught me: very serious with lots of concentration and respectful of traditional Tae Kwon Do. I do not consider Tae Kwon Do a game or sport and do not teach it as such.
I start off teaching the gross, general movements of each technique, and fine tune from there. The most common feedback I've gotten from students and people I've taught over the years is that I'm very serious and very intense when I teach; perhaps too much so.

 

[lowkickr]

The way I teach is iferent then Ive seen in others schools, but I dont claim that its an innovation by any means. What I choose to do is to introduce a specific technique, demonstrate it to the class, then open the floor for discussion. I consider all points brought up by students, so that we all come to understand the technique thoroughly. Not just the hows, but the why's as well. we accept any challenges to the technique, study those challenges, defeat them or adjust accordingly. I feel I am a better fighter because of this method. No technique is ever accepted as valid until it is proven to the entire class. Then we test our theory in practice. We attempt to integrate the said technique into free sparring, maintaining a non compliant atmosphere. Then after the baptism by fire, we once again revisit the pros and cons of the technique. After this, we as a whole decide if it is a valid technique. Upon this decision I then set out to adjust and/or tweak it to suit the specific nature or body type of each of my students. Then once again each will have the opportunity to use it under duress while sparring at full speed and power. I consider it a strength to sometimes have to admit that a traditional technique may not be suited for self defense or may not work well with students as presented. The end result is that everyone advances in their knowledge and understanding of what we do as a whole, including myself. I think that is what its all about.
Thanks.
Glenn

 

[KempoGuy06]

I like the way I am taught. I am one of those visual people (of course with MA it has to be visual ), but let me explain. He shows me the tech at full speed, then at a slow speed while he explains the movements. If it is something that is long and has a lot of steps he'll break it down and have me do it in stages. Then once Ive got the whole thing he will have me do it, watch me and explain what i need to adjust if im doing something wrong. I like it and it helps me a lot.

B

 

[ares]

I am a hands on guy. My Shihan will show us from several different angles then pair us up and we run through it slowly and he adjusts us accordingly. I think it's great.

 

[jazzmasta25]

I learn best when its shown to me, while at the same time the mechanics of the technique are explained. Once I have done it a few times alone, and then a couple with a partner I can usually get it. I make the most sense of everything I have learned when solo practicing though, really taking everything I learned slow trying to understand every peice of what I learned earlier in the day.

 

[7starmarc]

It really depends on what we're learning.

I like discussions about theory.

I like demonstration, repetition and then detailed correction during forms.

For sparring, I really like working with feedback. We have had a couple exercises where feedback is key, and felt that I learned so much from those sessions. One was sparring while others from the class watched. Then, each observer had to make at least one observation about the fighters. The fighters learn what others see in their fighting. And the others learn how to watch and analyse other people's techniques.

 

[bluekey88]

I tend to teach kids classes mostly...and I use a variety of techniques. I try to tailor what I use to the needs of a particular group or individual. Never a one size fits all.

Generally, I try to teach with humor as I find that keeps the kids more engaged. But, you have to be careful otherwsie they start getting silly and get off track. If I find I have one or more kids in a group who are really unrully, then I go into drill intructor mode (don't talk, don't move until i tell you to do so) and thyen use fun and humor as a reinforcer for following directions. The fun-to-discipline ratio really depends on where my class is at on a given day.

I really like to mix up physical dmeonstrations with verbal explanations of WHY we do particualr things. I also like "pop" quizes. Again, getting the students engaged in the class and getting them more in touch with the "themes" of what we do instead of jsut going through the motions by rote. Basically. I'm trying to teach the fundmentals of tactics and strategy using our beginning techniques and excercises.Even the little ones can start to get it.

WHen teaching more involved things (like forms), aside from the standard follow th eleader approach...I also use backward chaining. So, one common scenario is a class gets really good at the beginning of a form, but struggles with the middle and end of the form. So, I start by working hte last couple of moves first until they get them, then add on the next previous move and build it up that way. This not only breaks the monotony of doing the same thing over and over. It also means the students doing the form are going from a place where they are strong (the beginning) to another place of strength (the ending). I find the middle will gel up pretty quickly after a session or two of this.

Also, when working on a technique where the group seems to be stuck...rather than bang away at it all session, I may work at it in the beginning, then go review something they are good at, then come back, then go review some other stuff....keep swithcing back and forth. I'm always striving to maintain a sense of self-efficacy in my students while carefully trying to keep them right at thre edge of their comfort and skill level.

I improvise a LOT.

Just a few random thoughts.

Personally, I love when I have an instructor that is able to do a similar assessment of me and adjsut to where I am at at any given time.

Peace,
Erik

 

[fireman00]

Explain the move - what each part of the move should be doing be it blocking/ weight shifting/ joint locking/ redirecting their energy. Show me once or twice then let me perform the move in slow motion a couple of times before moving to real-time speed; correct me if I'm doing it incorrectly.

Reinforce the training with practice in subsequent classes.

 

[Steel Tiger]

I think the best way to describe the way I teach is to say it is a five part system.

First I will demonstrate a technique or form element.
Next I will have students work through it with me.
Then I let them replicate it by themselves simply telling them if it is correct or not. In this I am trying to get them to remember what they have learned.
After that it is time for a refresher demonstration with a more detailed analysis of the movement.
Lastly we examine the application of the technique, entering, how to chain it to other movements, and possible variations.

My classes tend to be relaxed and move at an easy pace dictated by the learning speed of the students. I like a little respect but I don't require students to call me sifu, unless they really want to.