If
you read my previous post, you should have figured out what may be the single most
decisive factor in attaining higher degrees of command in the skill related
activities. However, before one gets to the point where they have to deal with
motivation to stay on the course of doing something, they first have to get on
the course in the first place and see it as a path that leads somewhere. There
are various motives that instigate people to try martial/combative training,
and those have been discussed elsewhere on this blog, but the question is: what
can we do as coaches/instructors to help them make those critical early steps?
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| Simple...is not the same as easy |
The
first thing, in my opinion, is to pay attention to the new trainee early on and
acknowledge them as persons – make sure to remember their name, ask them why
they joined your group and what do they expect from it. Their answer(s) may not
be too coherent and precise, but the point here is not to fully understand your
students in one hour. It is rather about them pondering the issue, since it
would, hopefully, make them more attentive and appreciative about the
experience of training. If your club or training group has a nice atmosphere where
people don’t feel like number or plain sources of income, it will help with
developing the sense of belonging and thus make it easier to want to come back
regularly.
Next
in line is the more specific matter of contents of your training sessions. Some
instructors seem to have the approach that strives to take advantage of the
whole instant gratification aspect of the modern society, so they will start
with easily achievable goals and lots of praise and “positive talk”. Now, it
probably helps the novice candidates to not be discouraged with possibly
overwhelming experience of doing something new, or to see it as entirely out of
reach.
However,
I think it does not lead to the favorable perception of the training process as
a path, journey worth undertaking. A lot of people tend to scuff at such early
experiences as “I’m already good at it”, and consequently their recurring
appearances will hang exclusively on the thread of extrinsic motivation and
rewards. Unless your idea as an instructor is to run a diploma mill with belt
exams every couple of months etc, this is obviously not a satisfactory manner
of conducting your training.
Instead,
my experience shows that trainees (at least the type I like to work with)
prefer being challenged in a way that makes them work on accomplishing set
goals. There are two stipulations here, however: 1. they need to see that goal
as desirable/worthy of effort; 2. They need to see it as achievable after all.
Now,
in order for the coach to be able to set proper goals and set adequate demands
from their trainees, they need to develop a level or rapport with those trainees
and get to know their driving forces, which in turn takes us back to treating
them as persons and asking for their feedback. And not just asking, but
actually listening to their comments and ruminations. In combination with
interesting material, god training methodology and desirable training
environment, you will be on the right course to have people joining you for the
journey.
