If you stick around in the martial arts world long enough, you'll see many instructors. Some good. Others bad.
Not every martial arts school requires that you learn to effectively teach karate as you move along. Some people become black belts and are suddenly saddled with this responsibility. This is an article with two purposes. It is a collection of tidbits of advice for people who want to be as effective an instructor as possible. It is also a guide for students and their parents of what to look for in an instructor.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE. Don't ask students to do anything that you aren't going to do yourself. Doing what you're asking of them will not only show a good example, but it also will keep you from asking too much of students.
CONSIDER WHAT YOUR STUDENTS NEED. Teaching point sparring only because that happens to be your favorite is doing a disservice to the students. You should choose the activity you're doing with students based on what they need to learn. For beginning instructors this could be difficult. In this case, just plan a diverse set of training activities. If you're covering a bit of everything, nobody will be missing out a great deal.
CONTINUE TO IMPROVE YOUR OWN TRAINING. Too many instructors out there make it to blackbelt and their own training tapers off. If you let your own training end (when it's really just beginning), then you'll be showing your students that your teachings have a glass ceiling that they will one day encounter.
My name is John Opalenik. My students know me as Sensei O. I am a Sandan in Shobayashi-Ryu and have been training for over 20 years.
I am a teacher and a writer in addition to my responsibilities as a Sensei.
Be sure to check previous articles even if you've already read them. I edit the articles to add and include information newly discovered by the author.
*Note* Karate is an art that for many reasons has a lot of information and misinformation out there. While I don't post anything on here unless I get it from a credible source, don't feel argumentative if you have heard information different from what's on here. I in no way consider myself to be anything close to the end-all, be-all of karate knowledge.