“Why can’t they just do it?”, he asked.
“What the heck is wrong with them? I don’t get it!”.
I could tell his frustration was getting the better of him.
“I told them how to do it, but those morons just can’t seem to get it right!”
Hmmm…
I pondered Peter’s question.
Clearly he was irritated by his students’ lack of ability. And from what I could tell Peter was reasonably sound in his knowledge. As a black belt he appeared to understand and apply his own technique, and seemed quite good technically.
Yet his frustration was getting the better of him and the result was that his students would quit after a short time… yet he couldn’t establish why that was the case.
Unfortunately Peter’s situation is all too common amongst martial arts instructors… present company excluded of course.
😉
When I recounted this story recently, it got me thinking about something I learned years ago that helped me, and I want to share it with you too.
It’s this:
“Assume your students are bright, and you’ll get 10 times the results!”
– Blair Singer
It’s true.
When I took Blair’s advice it made class so much more enjoyable for both me as a teacher and also for my students. I’ll say it again…
Assume your students are bright, and you’ll get 10 times the results.
You and I can apply this any time we start to feel our frustration creeping in. And if Peter (wherever he is now) could apply this concept he would also see an almost INSTANT change in performance for himself and his students.
But why? How does this produce better results?
Post your answers below!