If you have been around the mats for a while you will have been exposed to different instructors and their different teaching styles.
Some are great and gel with your style of learning and some…well…less so. An impressive list of titles is no guarantee that the black belt is a good instructor nor is a younger age an indicator that they do not have valuable information to share.
There are some characteristics of a good instructor and others of a bad instructor. Since the majority of instructors are teaching because they love jiu-jitsu, perhaps it is more fair to say “ineffective” than “bad” as most really do want to share their information and help you improve.
That said let’s take a look at some habits of good versus bad instructor.
A good instructor teaches the techniques that are best for the student’s level in the class.
A bad instructor teaches positions that they are interested in, even if the level is too advanced for the students.
A good instructor provides balanced instruction for a complete jiu-jitsu, covering takedowns, self defense, and basic techniques to equip the students with solid fundamentals.
A bad instructor teaches only the positions that they prefer in their own game and may completely ignore standup or basic techniques as they are bored of teaching basics.
A good instructor pays attention to each student and is actively engaged with the class.
A bad instructor shows favorites and ignores other students outside of their inner circle. They have their face in their phone or they are talking and joking with senior students during the class.
A good instructor admits that they are not an expert in every position and encourages students to learn from multiple sources.
A bad instructor does not like to admit when they don’t know something and discourages students from learning from different sources.
A good instructor is positive, encouraging, pushes you and catches you doing something right! They acknowledge small victories.
A bad instructor focuses on what went wrong and only seems to notice the mistakes you’ve mad. Most of the coaching is negative criticism.
A good instructor understands that every student has different needs, capacities, and reasons for training.
A bad instructor focuses too much on the “pecking order” and shows preferential treatment to certain people and ignores less serious students.
A good instructor teaches jiu-jitsu out of a love of the art and a genuine desire to help others enrich their own lives. They exhibit humility and service.
A bad instructor teaches jiu-jitsu primarily for financial gain and as a way to finance their own lifestyle without truly caring about the progress of the paying students. They want to be important and the center of attention.
A good instructor talks positively and focuses on building up their own academy and students to be the best possible level.
A bad instructor trash talks and disparages other instructors and schools to try and make themselves look better.
What behavior do you feel ?
