Sensei's Assignment

I wonder what kind of teacher I will be. What exactly defines a good teacher? Recently I have come to the conclusion that, although I enjoy interacting with kids, teaching a group of them martial arts is not for me. I am a bit torn on this subject however. I see the benefit of taking up the martial arts as a youth, but I want to teach people who are already motivated to truly learn a traditional martial art. Not just in class because they are forced to attend out of a suspected responsibility or parent.

The reason I have come to this conclusion is because of a recent class my Sensei assigned me. I am in charge of teaching and organizing a conditioning class that my Sensei has titled “The Black Belt Club”. The gist of the class is that through cardio, calisthenics, kihon (Basics in JMA), stretching, assigned research on Karate or Japanese culture that our Dojo would develop strong and well informed black belts. Now I suggested that the Dojo have a class like this in the future and the Sensei suggested I teach it now. Teaching this class has brought upon me a few obstacles. I have had to learn how to adjust my expectations for each student. This skill will prove useful when I am a Sensei, but I have had a great deal of difficulty maintaining constant order and continuity of materials due to the variety of my expectations. Out of respect (many of the younger ones look up to me) the kids listen and do what I ask. Still they do as kids do. They have fun, forget some rules, and everything gets out of control. Horseplay often breaks out and I have to stop it several times during each class. Maybe I should just realize kids are kids, and their attention span does not lend itself to traditional training methods.

I do not want to be a jerk, and this class has given many of the kid’s confidence and pride in their abilities. Still I wonder if not teaching kids because I do not want to deal with the hassles are a selfish or possibly neglectful act. The assignment from Sensei has helped me appreciate being a student, and enjoy the experience of being a pupil and learning from a master while having the opportunity. Still it has left me feeling that I will teach only teenagers and older, because I want self motivated people interested in learning things the proper way in my Dojo. Yet I have no Dojo, no students, and no issues of the sort, so maybe I will just still my mind for now, and be a diligent student for my Sensei.