Foreword: The following article was written by Jock Hopson and is published here with his permission. Jock is a legend of British and European Budo, even if I suspect he wouldn't like this label! One of the first Caucasians to ever achieve 7th Dan in Kendo, Iaido and Jodo - all the arts promoted by the ZNKR - and a person whose contributions made European and indeed, worldwide dissemination of these disciplines a reality. While the article was originally written (and kindly revised by its author specifically for this blog - for which I thank him dearly) with Kendo in mind, basically everything in it is applicable and interchangeable to/for Iaido and Jodo. Its contents are dear to my heart and I always strived to achieve being a better Sempai and instructor, when I was teaching Kendo and even more so now, coordinating an amazing group of people studying Iaido here in Singapore. I still sometimes fail, but - sure as hell! - I'll go on trying! Beginners in a Dojo and How to Keep them by Jock Hopson Firstly, not all beginners start Kendo with the same motive: some may enjoy competition & the thought of prizes and medals; some may have an interest in Japanese history and culture, in Zen Buddhism; some are intrigued by swords and weapons; some have come to Kendo through a wish to get fit or to simply belong to a group. Whatever the motives, they are personal and, for that individual, as relevant a reason as any other. Therefore one of the primary objectives is to instruct with an understanding of what the beginner wants from their training. It may be that the beginner has a history of sports at a high level, may be super-fit, the beginner may hold a high dan grade in another martial art or perhaps have no background whatever and may find the simplest of physical demands completely daunting. Be aware of peoples physical abilities, beginners will often overdo their training initially in order to fit in with the group or to “keep up with the others”. To make sure the training is pitched at the correct intensity is the responsibility of the instructor, not of the beginner. While beginners may be children, it is far more likely that at the present time in Europe beginners will be adult learners. The ability to take in new information and respond to it is quite different between adults and children, while adults can often absorb information on an intellectual level quickly it is less certain that they will be able to turn this information into a physical skill as quickly as a child. Adults are far less likely to accept tedious repetitive actions without boredom or loss of interest, therefore instruction should be short, meaningful and varied. Don’t be annoyed if beginners need to ask questions, the mental approach is one way of learning, on the other hand be careful not to fall into the trap of over explanation. The instructor all too often becomes a barrier between the beginner and the discipline by an over- insistence on long winded and verbose explanations of points that are beyond the beginner’s level of comprehension at that particular time. The instructor should be there to facilitate understanding and not to show off his own knowledge. To come to a Dojo for the first time and be confronted by a group of strangers can be extremely daunting. This first contact between the beginner and the Dojo is very important and while I am not suggesting that the instructor interrupts the class to welcome a new beginner, someone from the Dojo should. All too often the instructor and senior grades maintain an aura of lofty exclusivity which is demoralizing to beginners. Be welcoming, be friendly and be natural. All beginners should be treated as part of the Dojo from the first day, try not to allow any clique to form within the group between the old hands and the “time consuming“ beginners. Have a Dojo pack available for each beginner with an idea of the etiquette required in the Dojo, some of the more useful Japanese words that need to be learned. Please remember that in the United Kingdom that that very few instructors, or pupils, are native Japanese language speakers and that shouting at beginners in pidgin Japanese, a language that they probably don’t understand, doesn’t help them, doesn’t impress others, and only serves to confuse and alienate. Do have a scheme of instruction for beginners which follows a logical progression, this scheme can then be followed by an assistant if for some reason you have to have a break as instructor. Don’t throw beginners in at the deep end. One of the reasons we loose so many beginners in the BKA is that instructors do not always ensure the safety of the inexperienced. I have lost count of the times I have seen the self-appointed “dojo hard-man “working over people with just a couple of lessons under their belt, whilst the supposed instructor is enjoying his own practice in another part of the dojo. Remember that these beginners are very often very poorly armored and have no idea how to defend themselves; to let them get bruised and battered while you are “instructing“ is quite inexcusable. Teach to a particular end over a set period, the technical content will have to be re-taught many times, but each time at a level better attuned to the understanding of the beginner at that stage in his/her Kendo career. Teaching skills are not natural for most of us but some things will help an instructor be successful. Firstly, praise doesn’t cost money. Any criticism can always be tempered by praise, “that was really good but why not try...“ works much better than “no don’t do it like that“. Don’t make your approval only dependent on success, beginners who try, but perhaps don’t succeed as easily as others, still need as much encouragement as for those to whom success comes very easily. Respect sincerity of effort even if those with two left feet or an apparent inability to understand the simplest of instructions secretly drive you to distraction. Remember how difficult things seemed when you yourself were a beginner and try to be sympathetic to the problems that your beginners are experiencing, after all, it might be your poor explanations that are the cause of the problem. Here below, on recommendation of the Author, and by him kindly provided, we also attach some interesting and useful pages on the topic of teaching Kendo and indeed any of the ZNKR arts taken from the official "AJKF Manual for Kendo". Thanks again Jock for the help and your great contributions!
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