Eight Stages - Instructor Tools

It is down to the individual to train effectively and efficiently.  The instructor can facilitate and challenge the student through the process.  If you have not already, please read the other pages in the Eight Stages section before continuing here.  

Challenge your status quo:  Time spent training in martial arts is not (more the majority anyway) mandatory.  If we choose to consume our time training (teaching or studying), then we need that training to be as valuable the time spent.  We would not purposefully try and make our training less valuable.  We do not knowingly try to make mistakes and train erroneously.  But do we just train the way we have always trained, or are we trying each and every class to train better?  This is not a plea to break tradition, rather a reminder that goal of a martial arts school is to develop martial arts students.  Honour the tradition and lineage of your art/style/system but not necessarily the methods use to train it.  Training methodology was often an afterthought to the proficient martial artist who focuses purely on the material they are trying to transfer to their student.  Just because your training was a certain way does not make it the best way.

Lead by example:  Any good instructor is also a student.  As you complete your own training, do it the same way your want your students to.  Just remember that you have more experience and developed skills.  Try to imagine, knowing what you know now, how best to master any given, single skill from scratch.