Coaching

I've just completed a 2-week long "team leader" training course for my job at work. A significant portion of the course was dedicated to coaching skills. Although the course was aimed at our workplace, the principles outlined in the seminars can be applied to all areas of life, including martial arts practice.

In the course we had a look at ego states and transactional analysis, as well as negotiating skills, learning styles and so on. It was a definite eye-opener, and I found many techniques that I can apply direct to my job as well as my karate coaching skills.

One question that crops up on forums relates to the ability of a person to teach martial arts (specifically self protection), if he or she hasn't got "field experience" (i.e. you don't get into fights, you shouldn't be teaching this stuff).

I received my answer to the question during the seminar. We had an exercise in which we paired up with someone from a different part of the business and offer coaching in that person's specialty.

The point of the exercise was to highlight that coaching and teaching are two different skills. The aim of coaching is to help the coachee get the best out of themselves, to help them find their own answers. Teaching or instructing is about passing on information.

So... let's take our karate instructor example...

The person is a black belt who has completed a suitable instructors' certificate with his association. The standard of martial arts is high, and the senior instructors know their stuff when it comes to the street. Therefore the information is sound.

Our new instructor is skilled in passing on those techniques, but doesn't have the ability to share his own direct experiences. This is the difference between an instructor and a teacher. But, our instructor has good coaching skills too, so even without that direct experience he can help his students get the most out of their training.

Boxing, tennis, motor racing, swimming, football - name any sport. The best players all have coaches. The job of the coach isn't to out-play the player at all. The coach is there to provide assistance, support and the necessary skills to take the sports player to the next level.

So, if you are a new black belt or a new instructor don't get hung up on whether you have the "right" to run classes. Provided your teaching material is sound and you have good coaching skills you can "pass on" the information you hold. Of course a good coach will also arrange courses with other more experienced teachers who do have those experiences, so the students get a wide range of different teaching and learning styles.