Why do you teach?

[Wing Woo Gar]

I looking for honest reasons why people choose to teach MA. More so if you are not a school owner (IE, you teach for someone else), but opinions are welcome from everyone.

What motivates you to teach? How does it support your personal goals? What do you get out of it?

Whether it's altruistic or purely self serving (and anywhere in between), say so - I'm not judging.

My Sifu (Paul Gale) passed away suddenly, myself and my training brothers took over the school. My peers all have kids, I do not. I ended up teaching most of the classes by default. 10 years have passed, I have learned more by teaching than I ever expected. I have learned some things that I may not have ever been exposed to if it weren’t for the students, I am eternally grateful to all of them for giving me the opportunity to learn from them. Something Similar happened when my Sigung (James Wing Woo) passed away in his late 90s, One of his students of 45 years (Mike La Teer) assumed teaching and now our two schools are enjoying teaching each other. In addition, I am extremely lucky to have Dr Yang Jwing Ming as my new teacher due to the fact he lives just up the road from me and teaches me and a couple of my training brothers at his house. Teaching can be a great learning experience. Teaching while still being taught is a wonderful balance that makes MA training feel fresh and inspiring.

 

[HighKick]

Coming from the opposite angle, I avoid teaching for few reasons:

1) It prevents one from practising. I need every opportunity to practise I can get.
2) The frustration of students making the same mistakes, over and over again despite one’s best efforts.
3) The disappointment of investing a lot of time and effort into students who then disappear without a word.
4) The shameful, ego massaging effects of teaching. Holding court. Showing off.

But the opposite to your queries is SO rewarding as a teacher. Be it martial arts or something else.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

3) The disappointment of investing a lot of time and effort into students who then disappear without a word.

You may see a lot of bean sprouts but you do see any tree.

 

[Holmejr]

I wonder if posters would mind indicating what a belt colour stands for with regards in ‘time to achieve’...just approximately, just so the rest of us have some idea of experience. Grey, red, pink are so arbitrary.

In our flavor of FMA, It took me 3 years to achieve Black. That was with approx 4 years of prior FMA experience. I also had years of experience in Muay Thai, JKD and TKD experience. I’ve been at the school for 7 years and supposedly will be testing for my 2nd in spring of 25.