Rewards of Teaching Martial Arts Today

I conducted a lot of Martial Arts Instructor Boot Camps virtually throughout this year. My goal for these camps has always been to continue to help improve the quality and professionalism of today’s Martial Arts teachers regardless of the situations and challenges we face. I love seeing the different schools across the world and getting to know their instructors. For the most part, there seems to be a real sense of family among the instructors at these events and a sense of congruency about our professional mission.

Martial arts instructors are uniquely situated to impact the world in a positive way during a time when negative energy is certainly strong. I am happy to say that this generation of instructors is light years ahead of where instructors were when I was starting out.

One of the most important things I focus on is helping instructors to be able to discuss the benefits of Martial Arts training with both current students and potential students.  I’d like to share one of those benefits in detail now.

With everything that is happening in this country and around the world, the stress level of the average person is dramatically higher than in the past. Unmanaged stress can be extremely detrimental to health, relationships and job productivity. Very few things are as effective at reducing stress as Martial Arts.

How many of you have come to your class stressed, but left with a completely different mindset? At the end of class, anchor in the good feelings your students have. That conscious memory will make it easier for them to stay in the routine. Remind your students that the next time they consider skipping class to remember how good it feels to train.

I know right now things are extremely tough and we cannot help but focus on the bad, but remember how rewarding your job is and how much you mean to your students and their families each day. Keep training, keep teaching, and never forget the benefits of martial arts.