That’s What I Like About You
Posted on | April 15, 2010 | 1 Comment
As you know, a martial arts teacher can have a very influential role in a student’s life. Therefore, it is very important that we use our influence for the betterment of our students and that our messages are always positive and uplifting. Here’s a technique that is fun and can have some amazing results. We use it primarily with our junior students, but with a little imagination the concept can be applied to people of all ages.
It goes like this: Imagine that a young student approaches you and says he has a band-aid on his finger and doesn’t think he can do push ups today, you say: “That’s what I like about you, Sam! You can train hard and do push ups even when you have a bandage on your finger.” It works with practically every excuse from just being tired, to having missed a month of classes and everything in between. I can’t tell you how many times I have successfully used this strategy and it never ceases to amaze me.
This method works wonders! Here are some of the reasons this works so well:
- It gives the student a new way to think about how they view themselves. You’re literally putting new words into their heads for them to use later.
- Rather than being disappointed or criticizing, you are turning the situation into a challenge for the student to perform at a higher level, even though they feel they are facing a difficulty. You’re showing them that they can overcome obstacles and still function.
- Your students then start thinking this way even before they come to see you at class: “I’m not really motivated to go to class today, but my instructor expects me there because he knows I train even when I’m tired.”
So, instead of falling prey to sympathizing with or agreeing to someone’s diminished view of themselves, be sure to build up their confidence by always sharing with them, “That’s what I like about you!”
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About Dave Kovar
Mr. Kovar has been teaching Martial Arts professionally since 1978. Dave is a multi-style Black Belt who has been committed to ever-improving his Martial Arts skills. He updates this blog to provide tips and insights to martial arts instructors around the country. To learn more, click here.
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April 16th, 2010 @ 10:43 pm
I used that one in class today before I even read this post. A student of mine said he had cuts on his legs from crashing on his bike. He looked like he was going to sit and baby them on the side.
I said, those are nice cuts, I used to have those all the time when I was younger too. That shows me your a tough young guy that can take anything. I told him to show the other guys how to do some real good pushups.
He was tearing it up showing off how tough he was and instead of laying on the ground, showed how he was stronger than anyone else in the class.