Physical appearance and your martial arts teacher

[MasterKiller]

Your example isn't really relevant. The football coaches you talk about aren't teaching their players from scratch. When a football coach says I want you to hit that guy low, the player doesn't say can you demonstrate the technique one more time.

If someone said they were a football coach you wouldn't assume that they must be a great player in order to coach. But if someone says they are a martial arts instructor you would have to assume that they must be a great martial artist in order to teach.

Get real.

[Chief Fox]

Get real.

Hmm, "get real". I don't get it. Did my response not make sense or am I full of sh!t?

[Hau Tien]

In my experience, an instructor's weight has very little to do with their skill. I've known absolutely amazing martial arts instructors carrying around more than a little extra weight, and I've known crappy martial arts instructors that are lean and buff.

Take a look at http://www.emptyflower.com/video.html and you'll see "Master Zhang". Obviously carrying around some extra weight... does it seem to affect his ability? I don't think it does, but that's just my opinion.

So... to answer the question... No, I don't allow an instructor's weight to cloud my impression of them prior to seeing how that person can move.

Another point to make is that you shouldn't do the same thing to a potential opponent (in tournament or on the street) either. It could lead to an unpleasant surprise

[red5angel]

In my experience, an instructor's weight has very little to do with their skill

as a generalization I would have to disagree. While I would allow for the fact that some overweight instructors can show some really good skill, there are quite a few others that are lazy and use their attainment of rank as the prop to hold their credibility up.

[Reggie1]

Did my response not make sense or am I full of sh!t?

I'd have to pick the latter

How is teaching martial arts different than coaching sports? Coaches demonstrate technique all the time. If they're too old, they still know exactly what the technique looks like.

[PangQuan]

You have to look at the actual definition of the words;



Coach: (Sports) A person who trains or directs athletes or athletic teams.

Instructor: n : a person whose occupation is teaching [syn: teacher]

So a coach is not an instructor, they are very similar roles but a coach does not have to be able to perform what he coaches. He only needs to be able to acurately create visualization of what he intends. Of course a coach who can teach is the best kind of coach. It is not a requirement. Many jymnastics coaches cannot do a backhand spring or a back flip, but they can coach you with verbal explanations as to how you can achieve your goals. Often coaches will use a physical example steming from a more experienced practitioner.

[PangQuan]

example

Lamaz (spelling) coaches can be men. Even though a man will never actually be personally involved in bearing a child, they can however coach you through the labor process.

But they cannot teach you how to breast feed. They are physically incapable of teaching this skill through experience.

[MasterKiller]

You have to look at the actual definition of the words;



Coach: (Sports) A person who trains or directs athletes or athletic teams.

Instructor: n : a person whose occupation is teaching [syn: teacher]

So a coach is not an instructor, they are very similar roles but a coach does not have to be able to perform what he coaches. He only needs to be able to acurately create visualization of what he intends. Of course a coach who can teach is the best kind of coach. It is not a requirement. Many jymnastics coaches cannot do a backhand spring or a back flip, but they can coach you with verbal explanations as to how you can achieve your goals. Often coaches will use a physical example steming from a more experienced practitioner.

Main Entry: 1coach
Pronunciation: 'kOch
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
b : one who instructs or trains a performer or a team of performers; specifically : one who instructs players in the fundamentals of a competitive sport and directs team strategy <football coach>

Main Entry: in·struc·tor
Pronunciation: in-'str&k-t&r
Function: noun
: one that instructs : TEACHER;

Main Entry: teach·er
Pronunciation: 'tE-ch&r
Function: noun
1 : one that teaches; especially : one whose occupation is to instruct

But they cannot teach you how to breast feed. They are physically incapable of teaching this skill through experience.

Bullsh1t. Are you saying a male doctor cannot teach a woman how to breastfeed?

[PangQuan]

Ok so there seems to be a few different reference points available to us. This is a very broad term used for coach.

I guess there are different uses of this word. I have met coaches who cant play the game but can develop winning teams. How can one explain this? They cannot perform the sport but can coach it.

[PangQuan]

I got it.

No where does it specify in any deffinition that a coach MUST be able to perform what is being taught. So this would imply that coach has a very long list of sub-catigories.

[PangQuan]

Bullsh1t. Are you saying a male doctor cannot teach a woman how to breastfeed?

hehe, not through actual physical experience, no. Through coaching yes. but not through experienced based Instruction. Thus my stipulation of "through experience"

[Chief Fox]

I'd have to pick the latter

How is teaching martial arts different than coaching sports? Coaches demonstrate technique all the time. If they're too old, they still know exactly what the technique looks like.

I've had some time to think about this and I've decided that I'm going to do a complete 180°. An overweight or even obese instructor/teacher/coach could be a great teacher. Technically they wouldn't have to demonstrate at all if their teaching methods were strong enough. So maybe I'm a little pedjudice against overweight people. For that I apologize. Just one more thing for me to work on.

So I WAS full of sh!t in my earlier post!

[Ford Prefect]

I bet Cus D'Amato got in there and showed Tyson exactly how to bob, weave, and work the heavy bag...

[PaiLumDreamer]

Thanks for answering the general question.

My instructor isnt obese...he just has a few extra pounds. He reminds me of a bear, actually. Something I wouldnt want to get in the way of.

He can perform what he teaches :P

In the rare case that he cant (acrobatics...hes a big guy, so he has more trouble making a flashy technique look nice.) he can still explain it so that I can. He can adjust if I do it wrong, etc.

Just to clarify.

[Reggie1]

I've had some time to think about this and I've decided that I'm going to do a complete 180°. An overweight or even obese instructor/teacher/coach could be a great teacher. Technically they wouldn't have to demonstrate at all if their teaching methods were strong enough. So maybe I'm a little pedjudice against overweight people. For that I apologize. Just one more thing for me to work on.

So I WAS full of sh!t in my earlier post!

I do the same things. We had a very overweight guest sifu in from out of town a while back for a seminar. Once I saw him, I decided to skip the seminar. My first thought was that he was one of those guys who is 'all show and no go'. Might have been that he had a disease or injury and just got overweight. I doubt his being overweight affected his ability to teach, but I'm the type of person who prefers to learn from people who will 'get dirty' with you. But that's a personal preference and not a judgement of whether it is right or wrong.