A good teacher is a good teacher

What a unique environment is created when a student enters a martial arts school with an accomplished teacher. The student will be in awe of the teachers ability; a student will even go to great length to try get the teacher to reveal his secret, what made him so good and so powerful in his art. Yet all along the teacher has done nothing more than what he asks his student to do and that is to follow in the steps he himself followed and assuring his students he will reach the same place with diligence and hard work.

Have the same student apprentice with master craftsmen like a master woodworker, gardener, builder and the student will not have this mindset of a secrets hiding some place but will know that it will take hard work and following his teachers instructions and he will also reach the same level. A good teacher is a good teacher treat your time with a marital arts teacher as an apprenticeship working to a goal of becoming the teacher that passes on the art completely.

Do not be in awe of your teachers ability this will set you back many years, instead be aware of certain truths, your teacher was just like you the day he/she started, he/she is still learning and exploring. Be content in your own accomplishments, listen to your teachers instructions and follow them closely, don’t doubt your ability to obtain what you are seeking, work hard. Follow these things and soon you will be on your way to being a peer to your instructor rather than forever the wide eyed in awe student, then you will gain a true closeness and respect that is mutual.