When it comes to certification the realities are quite
clear. Any certificate of instructorship is only as
valid or impressive as the quality and amount of training
which facilitated it. If a person who has no training
experience whatsoever receives a certificate of instructorship
in martial arts after only a week or two of training
it is unrealistic to think the person is either proficient
in martial arts technique or teaching ability.
Technique
To become skilled in any combative theory/technique
requires months of routine practice by yourself and
with partners. It’s like a woodworker who starts with
rough sand paper and works his way down to a polishing
cloth. This process is required for each technical aspect
that one endeavors to functionalize to the minimum degree
required to demonstrate it well enough to teach it.
Even if you spend the weekend with a pro golfer you
are not qualified to teach golf if that is the totality
of your golfing knowledge.
Conversely, if a person has been training themselves
athletically for a period of time and has been honing
their combative tactics through routine training then
and only then can new tactical approaches be taught
to that person in a relatively short period of time,
with those tactics then being added into the totality
of skills which the person has already developed.
An instructor must, to whatever degree, be able to
embody the particular technique being taught. A good
instructor can dissolve into any technique and demonstrate
it without thinking. A great instructor can functionalize
technique and make it work against resistance.
Teaching Ability
The ability to communicate information is crucial to
an instructor. Just because you have the information
does not mean that you have the ability to make another
person understand and internalize it. Teaching is a
skill in and of itself. Experience, attributes, intuition,
critical analysis, vocabulary, presentation, analogy,
demeanor, body language, persistence, patience and more
must come into play transfer information from one person
to another.
Just because you have a fast jab does not mean that
you can teach someone to punch.
The Individual
I have people come to train at The CSPT from all over
the world. Some of them have a tremendous amount of
experience in various aspects of combat. Some of them
are seeking certification to teach. Within a very short
time it is obvious who the instructor candidates are.
I have certified individuals as Level I instructors
after only eight hours of training but only because
of their prior training, their level of understanding
and their athletic abilities.
On average it takes six months to a year to become
a Level I instructor if a person has no prior training.
It’s all based on the individual and their understanding
and performance.
I currently have thirty three instructors listed on
my web site. It has taken almost five years to get to
that number. Now, not everyone who comes to train wants
to be an instructor (thank goodness) but many do. Quality
control is very important in my organization. The day
an instructorship certificate is given to an individual
that person has demonstrated the level of understanding
and performance required. After that it is up to that
person to maintain their abilities through routine training
at the CSPT or on their own.
What is important in my opinion is that when a person
is certified and another person goes to them for training
the instructor can do his or her job from day one in
the most functional and conscientious manner possible.
Instructor requirements can be found on the INSTRUCTORS
page.
