Teaching

I have been thinking a lot this week about teaching. I absolutely love it! I love teaching anything and everything...as long as I have a passion, a testimony and a full understanding of what I'm teaching. If I have all three of those things, teaching is a sinch. There is nothing to it. I can get in front of a class and teach with confidence, and conviction, and have a good time doing it.

In the past I have taught ashtanga and hatha yoga, african dance, strength training, kick boxing, pilates, Sunday school, orientation at work, kids at school, and of course in multiple areas of the kung fu school; adult classes, kids classes, form seminars, fitness classes, and bootcamp.

I am currently teaching the beginner adult/teen class with Sifu Shipalesky, and Sifu T. Playter. I really enjoy it and continue to learn a lot, even though it is a beginner class with basic curriculum. A lot can be learned from students new to the school. They have a fresh excitement about them with a new sense of energy and eagerness to learn. It is very exciting for me as an instructor to see them learn new concepts about kung fu and about life, and rewarding to stand at the front on promotion day as they receive their next belt.

I have been teaching the beginner class with Sifu Shipalesky for almost 2 years now, if my memory is correct. I love teaching with her because we have gone through the ranks together from day one, and have taught together since orange belt, so many years ago. We know each others teaching style really well, and can often read each other thoughts, so it is easy to know which direction one of us is going when we teach. Teaching along side of her makes me feel comfortable, confident, unified, and things usually run quite smooth.

At work the managers have asked me to get my certification as a lift equipment instructor. This would give me the qualifications to teach other associates how to operate the fork lifts, reach truck and order picker. I think that is very cool and I look forward to it. It's like a new adventure for me, and I LOVE new adventures. New adventures always take my level of growth, confidence and character just a little bit higher, and sometimes quite a bit higher depending on the adventure.

Teaching is always an adventure as well, and the results are the same as any other. It builds confidence, tolerance, character, patience, self awareness, and is always a learning experience in itself. Sometimes I screw up, but I learn from it and move on. It is true what they say about the teacher learning more than the students. As a teacher, I learn more about what I am teaching, but that's not all. As a teacher, I learn more about myself.