If not for my instructor, I would never realize how much potential I have.

Every day you change lives. You may not always recognize that, but as an instructor, or a school owner, you are molding the future of your students. It is not the same as waving a magic wand, because that would be easy.  It is the commitment, diligence, and effort for which you strive in your practice and in your teaching that permeates into the lives of your students.

Even if students only attend one class, or do not earn black belts, they have benefited from your wisdom, knowledge and expertise. One day they will look back and think, “If not for my instructor, I would never realize how much potential I have,” or “The day my instructor pushed me to break that mental block was the day I found my self-confidence.”  It does not matter how long they study with you, for you to make that difference in their lives.

When my instructor told me to break boards in my green belt exam, I was not prepared. I had never done it before, and in front of a large audience, it took me three tries. I look back at the experience frequently, whenever I need to overcome a personal barrier. Because he believed in me, and provided me with an opportunity, I saw myself in a whole new way.

One day, a young boy came to one of my classes. He was probably eight years old. He was shy and his eyes were always down. His body language was that of a youngster who lacked confidence and did not believe in himself. It almost made me sad, but I knew then that there was valuable work to be done in his life.

Step by step, over time, he learned new skills. They were not perfect, but they were the steps necessary to make a martial artist. Gradually, I noticed that he started to look up. He learned the forms. His stances were a little short, and he could have used a little more power, but all that aside, he was emerging as a new, hopeful person. He started to believe in himself.

When a student believes in himself, he will carry that with him for a lifetime. Never will he look back, or look down, again. It is because of you.

The fact is, that you constantly remind students of their worth, their potential, and their unique attributes as not just martial artists, but as people.  You allow them the opportunity to become what they never imagined they could be.  Not every student will be a competitor, a black belt, or a star student, but each will recognize his importance and self-worth, and that is probably the most important lesson I think any instructor can ever teach.

I am sure that you forget how valuable you are as an instructor. Like everyone, being a teacher or owning a school can feel like a grind on occasion. Yet, when you step into the school or dojang, you are renewed. You don’t necessarily know why. After all, you’ve been teaching the same kicks, the same forms, movements, breathing exercises, stretches, and flow for years. I can tell you why. It is because you are about to change lives.

It is so easy for you to forget that what seems easy to teach now was perhaps something with which you struggled yourself in earlier years. What appears seamless and effortless to others in your teaching, took a lot of time and effort for you to learn. Behind every instructor is grit, perseverance, creativity, knowledge, and martial art aptitude that took years to bring to fruition. As an instructor, it all comes together when you teach others, yet your students only see the very polished, professional, complete you.

Your value in teaching comes from your own unique experiences and the difficult times  as a student, when you struggled to push through. While you may not think of it often, and your students never really see it, you would never be where you are today, if not for those difficult martial art moments in your past. The years of practice, learning, and physical work, pay off because now you are changing lives.

Students learn so much more from you than skills. They use you as a role model for behavior, positivity, encouragement, and conduct. You are an instructor, a motivator, a friend, a warrior, and a coach. While you are adept at the martial art skills that you teach, it is the occasional high-five, the “Good job!” and the nod of the head as if to say  “Yes!” that exemplifies a martial art spirit and a martial art mindset to your students.

When a student reaches out to you after twenty plus years to say he has never forgotten you, and wants to finish what he started in martial arts way back then, you know that you have done the job. You have changed a life.

It would be great if you could wave a magic wand to become a good instructor because it would be a much quicker process. Instead, you have put in years of effort and hard work as a student yourself. Then, as an instructor, you teach what you know using reason, humility, respect, and knowledge. Your students will look up to you in many ways. They will admire you because you know so much. They will believe in you.

The biggest lesson is two-fold. Your teaching and their learning has a synergy unlike any other.  You will change their lives, and they will change yours.

Andrea F. Harkins, is a writer, motivator, life coach, martial artist, and public speaker. Her book, The Martial Arts Woman, will be published later this year. Andrea is Internationally known for her positivity through martial arts efforts and outreach, and her writing. She is currently a columnist for Martial Arts Illustrated UK, The Martial Arts Guardian (UK), the World Martial Arts Magazine, MASUCCESS, Conflict Manager, The Parrish Village News, and her blog, The Martial Arts Woman.  Contact her through this website’s CONTACT ME page for information on public speaking, autographs, and life coaching.