I like watching sport. I am always impressed with the dedication, the professionalism, the discipline and the raw talent of the participants.
My Dad used to say that a true professional is someone who makes it look so easy that you feel you can go out and do the same yourself, in the backyard. I remember watching a 17 year old Boris Becker, playing in his first Men's Final at Wimbledon, beat Kevin Curren 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. I went out and, on the Monday, used my pocket money to buy a tennis racket.
The excitement and disappointment I felt over recent South African sporting performances got me thinking: there must be a better way! For too long South African sports people and their coaches have relied on raw talent and brute strength. On all fields we are embarrassed by the results of this approach, and it's about time we revolutionised both our coaching and our training methods.
For years now I have been told stories about how, when westerners visited dojos in Japan, the Japanese would drill their foreign visitors mercilessly, seemingly with the goal of breaking them. And guess what happened? Those instructors came back and taught karate the exact same way that they were taught in Japan - hard and heavy, up and down, basics and repetition. It's not a criticism, it's just the truth. We tend to teach in the same way we were taught.
However, the world has moved on: training methods have become more structured and scientific; technology and human movement science have revolutionised how we analyse performance and build programs to improve on that performance.
Have we done the same, or are we still stuck in the 'past'?
The JKS SA syllabus tells us exactly what it is we should be teaching. Did we take that syllabus, look at a calendar, and establish the date of the next event? Then, working backwards from that date, did we draw up a structured and planned program (a curriculum) to systematically prepare our students for their grading, or our own JKS Nationals.
Okay, we did that! Yeah right!
What about the balance between basics, kumite and kata? What about strength and fitness, stamina and speed. When and how are we going to work on these aspects of our students' development?
Who have we consulted for advice? Have we called other senseis to ask their advice on exercises to improve stamina, for advice on fighting tactics, strength work and improving reflexes, or technical aspects? How many of us have gone out and spent money on Thera-Bands for resistance training? Who among us has taken their video camera to the dojo to record a student's movement or form?
Perhaps our challenge should be to the Shihankai? Isn't it their responsibility? They should be setting this up; they should provide us with the structure and guidance; they should produce the manual and material!
No, I say, NO!
The role of the Shihankai is to demand this of us! We cannot abdicate this responsibility. It is OUR students. It's up to us to provide them with the best and most effective training we can. It's up to us to take charge, support each other, share ideas and work together to improve the quality of our teaching and of our students. If we are going to build a professional organisation, we need to start behaving like professionals!
My Dad used to say that a true professional is someone who makes it look so easy that you feel you can go out and do the same yourself, in the backyard. I remember watching a 17 year old Boris Becker, playing in his first Men's Final at Wimbledon, beat Kevin Curren 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. I went out and, on the Monday, used my pocket money to buy a tennis racket.
The excitement and disappointment I felt over recent South African sporting performances got me thinking: there must be a better way! For too long South African sports people and their coaches have relied on raw talent and brute strength. On all fields we are embarrassed by the results of this approach, and it's about time we revolutionised both our coaching and our training methods.
For years now I have been told stories about how, when westerners visited dojos in Japan, the Japanese would drill their foreign visitors mercilessly, seemingly with the goal of breaking them. And guess what happened? Those instructors came back and taught karate the exact same way that they were taught in Japan - hard and heavy, up and down, basics and repetition. It's not a criticism, it's just the truth. We tend to teach in the same way we were taught.
However, the world has moved on: training methods have become more structured and scientific; technology and human movement science have revolutionised how we analyse performance and build programs to improve on that performance.
Have we done the same, or are we still stuck in the 'past'?
The JKS SA syllabus tells us exactly what it is we should be teaching. Did we take that syllabus, look at a calendar, and establish the date of the next event? Then, working backwards from that date, did we draw up a structured and planned program (a curriculum) to systematically prepare our students for their grading, or our own JKS Nationals.
Okay, we did that! Yeah right!
What about the balance between basics, kumite and kata? What about strength and fitness, stamina and speed. When and how are we going to work on these aspects of our students' development?
Who have we consulted for advice? Have we called other senseis to ask their advice on exercises to improve stamina, for advice on fighting tactics, strength work and improving reflexes, or technical aspects? How many of us have gone out and spent money on Thera-Bands for resistance training? Who among us has taken their video camera to the dojo to record a student's movement or form?
Perhaps our challenge should be to the Shihankai? Isn't it their responsibility? They should be setting this up; they should provide us with the structure and guidance; they should produce the manual and material!
No, I say, NO!
The role of the Shihankai is to demand this of us! We cannot abdicate this responsibility. It is OUR students. It's up to us to provide them with the best and most effective training we can. It's up to us to take charge, support each other, share ideas and work together to improve the quality of our teaching and of our students. If we are going to build a professional organisation, we need to start behaving like professionals!
Most of our students will put in the work. They arrive at our dojos week in and week out, summer and winter. They are keen to learn. Are you doing justice to their enthusiasm, justice in your teaching?
I realised after 3 minutes on the tennis court that my new Dunlop Black Max wasn't going to make me play like Boris. For the first time I realised how hard he must have worked, how much training he must have put in, and how well he had been taught.
I realised after 3 minutes on the tennis court that my new Dunlop Black Max wasn't going to make me play like Boris. For the first time I realised how hard he must have worked, how much training he must have put in, and how well he had been taught.
I still can't play tennis, and managed to recoup some of my loss by selling the racquet to my brother. But, I am eternally grateful that my first Sensei, almost 20 years ago now, was a motivated and enthusiastic teacher!
- by Andre Kritzinger
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