You Play a Critical Role in Your Krav Maga Training

Whether you train Krav Maga, or any other fighting system, or even any other non-combat oriented sport for that matter, understanding the role of the instructor in your training is very important.  First of all the role of the instructor(s) is to produce an atmosphere conducive to learning.  This includes ensuring a safe and friendly working environment, proper training equipment and clear instructions to facilitate the training.  Equally important is for the instructor to be knowledgeable and be able to show and communicate the material in a clear manner, and even more so, be able to understand and explain the nuances behind the material being taught. 

Other characteristics an instructor should exhibit is to be able to get the best out of the students.  Whether it’s through a bit of motivation and encouragement or by applying a bit of pressure on the student to perform better, the instructor should always have the best interests of the students in mind.  Creativity is another important trait an instructor should exhibit.  Although repetition is the key to improvement, creating creative, diverse and yet relevant drills to maintain the interest of the students is an important consideration. 

Lastly the instructor should be able to spot mistakes.  This is an important point.  Everyone makes mistakes while learning.  The instructor should spot and correct the mistakes appropriate to the level of the student.  Therefore, the more experienced student may get a very minor adjustment from time to time, while a novice gets corrected more regularly since his mistakes are more frequent and more prevalent.  The instructor should be good at prioritizing the errors and not overwhelm the beginner with too many different feedbacks at once. 

However, a very important point to understand, is although the instructor should spot and address the mistakes of the students, the instructor should not be expected to fix these mistakes.  In fact it’s up to the student to fix the mistakes pointed out by the trainer.  A good instructor can pinpoint the root of the mistakes and give suggestions on how to overcome the errors, but the instructor cannot do the work needed to fix the mistakes.  This is up to the student to do, and given that each person works within the scope of his or her own body, the type of work needed to overcome the errors is unique to the trainee.        

The instructor is your guide and coach, but ultimately it’s up to the student to invest into their training on and off the mats.  So, learn how to learn by taking the initiative on the feedback we give you, and experiment with different ways of doing the technique until it works for you.  In fact learning how to learn and working on your mistakes is more important than seeing a bunch of different techniques in class.  Because at the end of the day, it’s not how many techniques you’ve seen that will matter, but rather how well you can perform them when your instructor is not hovering over you and narrating your every step, especially in a system like Krav Maga, where the purpose is your own safety and that of your loved ones.