Pet peeves. Things that push our buttons. We all have them. When I started helping to teach in class, that's when I developed a few teaching pet peeves.
But before I get to those, I'll start off with one of my instructor's pet peeves. His is people not looking him in the eye when he is speaking.
The whole class was reminded of this on Thursday night. I was working on one of my forms in the back of the room while the rest of the class was seated on the floor and working on partner stretches. Mr. G had them stop for a moment so that he could explain some details about the stretch they were going to work on next, so that no one would get hurt. One of the yellow belt students was turned around and talking to another boy. Mr. G stopped class for a moment to reprimand him for not paying attention.
The reason I mention this is because the day before, I discovered one of my own pet peeves. A pet peeve that relates to teaching and martial arts, but it was in a different setting.
There is a 15 year old boy at church who is planning on joining our band. He practiced and played with us that night, but when we were getting ready to leave, I walked over to him to thank him for coming and playing with us that night. I addressed him by name to make sure that I had his attention. He was standing by a table and looking down at something. He said, "Yeah." I said what I had to say, and he responded with, "Yeah. No problem." I don't think he ever glanced my way.
And right then and there I almost went into teacher mode and did what Mr. G did. It bothered me that he didn't even glance at me in acknowledgment that I was talking to him. But I reminded myself that I was not in class, and he was not my student, so I let it go.
Have you ever had an experience as a student or teacher where you had to remind yourself that you weren't in class? What are some of your pet peeves?
5 comments:
Howdy, Ariel...
I totally hear you on this one!
One of my biggest MA pet peeves is folks who show up to train once a week (and once a week only - in other words they do absolutely nothing between classes) and think that the hour and a half they half-step through class will make them better in any aspect of the art. Not saying they need to be Samurai warriors or anything, devoting 8-10 hours a day preparing for "battle," but a little visualization, kata or kihon (basic punches, kicks and stances) goes a long way. You can train anywhere, but it starts with the desire TO train. Please don't come to me for help on your kata when you haven't practiced/learned the itty bit we went over last time. Prepare, that's all I'm sayin'. And it absolutely drives me nuts when my training partners do not.
Felicia, that's a good one! It seems to me that kids are the main offenders for minimal practice time. Maybe that's because we have more of them and it's easier to tell when they've done nothing to prepare for class, but adults do it too.
I don't know how many times I've heard my instructors (or myself) say for a certain student to fix or work on a specific aspect of their technique, and then the same critique is brought up week after week because the student hasn't even tried.
Mine, I've recently discovered, is talking. When I am asked to work one-on-one with a student and that person is more interested in talking about technique than trying it out. I try to listen the first time, in case there's something important going on. But usually, it's just some variation of "I can't." So, then I move on to saying "no, just try it first" because it's so much easier to comment on someone's technique when they are actively doing it. People who say "I can't": probably another pet peeve :)
Hi Ariel, one of my pet peeves is people turning up for class late , sometimes up to 15-20 minutes late and disrupting the class and also people wanting to leave the class early. I tend to feel that as a class we should all start together (with a bow) and all finish together (with a bow) - Funakoshi said 'karate begins and ends with rei', meaning respect. People not respecting the class times also disrespect their sensei and class mates.
Alicia, thanks for stopping by my blog! My instructors have outlawed the use of "can't" in our class. We are not allowed to say it, and if we do, pushups are usually forthcoming. Instead, we have to say something along the lines of "I am not able to do that yet." That is of course after they have tried.
Sue, that is an important one! It bothers me too. I understand occassional lateness/having to leave early due to an emergency or issue, but it should be a rare occurence. As for myself, I can't stand being late. I usually show up to class a half hour early. Not only does that give me time to get there without being rushed, but it also gives me the opportunity to warm up and get loose before class begins.
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