Agreed. If we ever win the lottery (which probably requires buying a ticket...need to rethink my methodology), I'll be making many MA trips.
Respect for younger instructors
- Thread starter Monkey Turned Wolf
- Start date
That latter one is important. We all need good role models, but sometimes bad ones are just as important.
Christopher Adamchek
Purple Belt
I feel this - im a 27 year old instructor with 22 years of martial arts experience and have been teaching (assisting or lead) for 16 years, and am a 4th dan.
Ive experienced
Ive experienced
- new students parents looking worried to sign their kids up with me (if my teacher isnt there) but all the current parents love me
- new adult students acting like i dont know what im talking about when teaching
- people my own age seem to be not believe i know enough
- other older black belts baby and dumb down explanations to me when we are the same rank and have trained for nearly the same amount of time (they just started later in life)
skribs
Grandmaster
Whoosh. That one went right over your head.
jobo
Grandmaster
hmmm, what do you mean by " respect " you have to earn respect and youl get the respect you've earnt, it maybe that someone older will have an easier time of it at the beginning, based on the ma stereo type that older is better for trad ma, but that will soon abate if he isn't worthy of respect as your will increase if you are ?
I find it somewhat annoying when people patronise me over what I'm capable of doing at my advanced age, so it cuts both ways. I was refused a sign up to play at a very informal five a side soccer class, as I was over 50 and therefore a significant risk to myself, some arguemente and a couple of months later, they gave me an award for being the most outstanding player over 50, which as I was the only one, was also very patronising.
age discrimination is every where, no matter what age you happen to be
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Apparently.
skribs
Grandmaster
It is important to remember that I am an instructor at my school.
Wait, you don't learn things from yourself? I'm often amazed by what my mouth can say that my brain didn't know.
JR 137
Grandmaster
There’s something to learn from everyone. Even a horrible instructor can teach you something. Let’s let’s say you’re watching said horrible instructor; what if he/she does a drill you haven’t seen before and it’ll fit into what you teach?
During my grad school training in physical education, we had to take turns teaching. For my team sports and coaching class, the teacher gave a group of 3 of us a sport. We chose what skill we were going to teach and how. The teacher would be off to the side evaluating us and gave us feedback. He was a full-time high school PE teacher with about 25 years of experience. Guess what? He told us he saw new things all the time that he’d end up using in his classes. And we all had zero experience. And he wasn’t giving baseball guys baseball assignments, basketball guys basketball assignments, etc. He went through the class roster alphabetically; 1st 3 we’re baseball, next 3 were basketball, next 3 were football, and so on. I drew baseball and lacrosse that semester. Never played organized baseball, and never even picked up a lacrosse stick. And he really liked my lessons.
No one has seen every drill, heard every explanation, etc. Even the person with practically zero experience can show someone with decades of experience something new. They might not have as much experience, but that doesn’t mean you know every single thing they know and then some.
During my grad school training in physical education, we had to take turns teaching. For my team sports and coaching class, the teacher gave a group of 3 of us a sport. We chose what skill we were going to teach and how. The teacher would be off to the side evaluating us and gave us feedback. He was a full-time high school PE teacher with about 25 years of experience. Guess what? He told us he saw new things all the time that he’d end up using in his classes. And we all had zero experience. And he wasn’t giving baseball guys baseball assignments, basketball guys basketball assignments, etc. He went through the class roster alphabetically; 1st 3 we’re baseball, next 3 were basketball, next 3 were football, and so on. I drew baseball and lacrosse that semester. Never played organized baseball, and never even picked up a lacrosse stick. And he really liked my lessons.
No one has seen every drill, heard every explanation, etc. Even the person with practically zero experience can show someone with decades of experience something new. They might not have as much experience, but that doesn’t mean you know every single thing they know and then some.
Yokozuna514
2nd Black Belt
I think good instructors can learn from anyone or anything if they are observant enough and can make the relationship between what they see and how they can apply it to a MA situation. Shaolin monks stylized techniques from animals they observed why shouldn't we be able to learn from people younger and or less experienced than we are ? The beauty of interacting with people of all shapes, sizes, experiences and ideas is that we can possibly see something we have never noticed before.
Respect for younger instructors ? If they have something to teach of value and you become a better MA because of the knowledge they impart, why would you not respect them ?
Respect for younger instructors ? If they have something to teach of value and you become a better MA because of the knowledge they impart, why would you not respect them ?
skribs
Grandmaster
@JR 137 @Yokozuna514
I feel like there were more whooshes in this one. Unless I'm just being vain and you aren't talking to me.
I feel like there were more whooshes in this one. Unless I'm just being vain and you aren't talking to me.
hoshin1600
Senior Master
If your good, respect isn't an issue. If your not that good then age only magnifies or masks the reason for the lack of respect. If your an immature arrogant jerk then your an arrogant jerk and everyone knows it.
JR 137
Grandmaster
It was just a general post responding to whoever wants to listen to my craziness.
You named your kid little $hit? My mom did, too!
DocWard
Purple Belt
Personally, I need to separate this into two, if not more, distinct questions.
Would I be willing to accept a 25 year old as an instructor, and would I be able to give that 25 year old the same level of respect I would to a 50 year old instructor? The short answer is "yes." The longer answer is that I generally approach people with an open mind and a listening ear. If the potential instructor is able to show mastery over their subject matter, explain concepts effectively, demonstrate techniques appropriately, and answer questions and make corrections patiently, then their age isn't necessarily a factor. I trained briefly under a couple of instructors that were much younger than I am, one a female just a couple of years older than my daughter. I had no problem with this, because they were clearly dedicated to their art and were knowledgeable, competent instructors.
Would I be able to respect an instructor of 25 with a claimed 23 to 30 years of experience. Bearing the above answer in mind, and respectfully, I wouldn't be able to seriously accept the claimed time in training. You didn't start training at two, and certainly not before you were born. I understand that you are likely saying you have X amount of time in one art, and X amount of time in another, and cumulatively that equals Y amount of time total. I tend to look at it from the perspective of "what age did you begin training." It was at this age you began developing skills as a martial artist, learning and understanding techniques and the principals behind them. As an analogy, I took three years of History to earn my minor, four years of political science to earn my major, along with two years of astronomy, two years of English Lit, etc... I don't tell people I have eleven-plus years of undergraduate work. I earned a four year degree.
Going one step further, I do agree with others that the younger a student is, the less likely they are to examine techniques from a critical perspective. That tends to be, in my experience, something that develops later in one's development, sometimes not until well into adulthood. That isn't to say a 25 year old can't be better at critical analysis of an art, it's theory and techniques than a 50 year old, not even a 50 year old with more time in training. That is determined by the individuals themselves, and their desire and ability to think critically. Which takes me back to my first response.
Yokozuna514
2nd Black Belt
I've never been accused of being too tall so it may just have gone over my head
. There is no reason I can think of for not talking to you. Should there be one ?
skribs
Grandmaster
I've never been accused of being too tall so it may just have gone over my head
I meant, if the post I was referencing was not directed at me.
KenpoMaster805
2nd Black Belt
We have young instructors in our kenpo karate class and shes gonna 2nd degree black and she only jr in highschool we have 3 young sifus and we respect them too
