MAKING IT INTERESTING

 by Phillip Starr

One of the concerns about teaching “traditional” martial arts that I’ve heard from numerous instructors is that it’s…boring (for the students). Understandable. But not an insurmountable problem.

One of the main problems most traditional instructors (and students) encounter is the arduous repetition of basic techniques and forms. Some teachers fear that boredom will cause students to drop out and low enrollment means loss of income. And they’re right. But having students play “games” regularly – although it provides some relief from the boredom – won’t really teach them a given martial art. So, what to do?

Alleviating the problem requires the teacher to do quite a bit of homework; something that, unfortunately, many aren’t willing to do. The instructor should make the training more interesting for the students. This isn’t to say that it makes training and sweating more “fun”, but it does help alleviate the boredom. For a given form or technique, the teacher can:

• Give the students historical points on it…where it originated, why it’s performed the way it is, who developed it (if known), changes made to it over the years, and so on.

• Special information on it (how it can be applied in other ways). Of course, this depends on the student’s level of skill.

• Give interesting examples of how he/she or others have applied it…

  

The idea is to make the training INTERESTING as well as educational. This helps hold the student’s attention and perhaps promote some enthusiasm for the training.