On Not Being an Actual Ninja

Last week, I posted a link on our dojang Facebook to Kipoom. They are a Taekwondo team in Korea that posts absurdly high quality and professional videos of poomsae online.

I felt a little self conscious. It's good for my students to have that resource and have inspiration to practice at home. But I see how it could make them think less of me and why maybe some instructors would not do it to avoid breaking the illusion that they are the ultimate authority on the art.

Teaching martial arts can be a tricky thing. The title, "Master" is tinged with the mythical nature of kung fu movies where people casually backflip to dodge a punch and easily jump on top of buildings, so it feels like you're a lie when you cannot do those crazy things. That's why some modern Taekwondo instructors go by "Coach" instead of "Master."

The respect factor is important to my job, though. "Master" sounds more impressive than "Coach". Students are in awe when you give off that mysterious vibe that implies that you are more than meets the eye. Even if you don't actively build that facade, people make one for you! They make wild assumptions when they know little of martial arts other than when they see in movies or read in books.

This doesn't sit quite right with me, because part of my mission is to show that ordinary people can benefit from Taekwondo, even if you don't ever acquire the ability to punch through a brick wall or leap across buildings.

People get discouraged when a goal is too high, and I can absolutely emphathize. Watching those poomsae videos makes me wonder if I'll ever be able to achieve that level of crispness and balance in the execution of my movements. There are so many excuses - I'm busy managing the dojang, so I have no time to train, or that I'm too tired from teaching, or that I started getting serious about Taekwondo far too late in life.

While my students' concerns are slightly different, they still have the same basic ingredients. They also worry about failure, or whether they can really kick as high as me, like, ever. Good martial arts instructors set small goals (such as earning belt stripes) and emphasize the successes students make over time. Paired with the different belt levels, which serve as physical reminders of their efforts, students discover inner strength to accomplish what they set their minds to doing. Realizing their instructors also face similar challenges serves to show them that their task is not insurmountable.

So, back to my initial concern: If you show your students someone better than you, does that mean they will think less of you?

I've decided that it doesn't, so long as you also show that, just like them, you are always trying to improve and learn. Stay humble, and by being that example, your students will also be motivated by your humility.

#poomsae #taekwondo