I found this old blog that I wrote about five years ago when we launched the Caio Terra Academy at our old location in Rockwall. As I reread it, it’s funny that as much as things have changed, one thing has stayed the same – One Team. One Family.
“My Philosophy on Teaching” – September 28, 2013
We received our new mats this weekend and are about to open back up in the original location I started at back in 2005. As we were unrolling them, making sure everything lined up and (of course) having to get the first roll in on them, I couldn’t help but get nostalgic.
When I began teaching, I was a purple belt and had a little knowledge to go along with it. My game at the type consisted of a lot of spider guard and what came to be known as the one-legged X-guard, and I worked a lot of leg attacks off of the sweeps I had. Anyway, I knew that I wanted more time on the mat and teaching what I knew seemed to be the next logical step.
I had never really taught anyone anything before, so as the students were learning what I taught, I was learning how to teach. It was a fun process to go through, one of self-discovery and a lot of trial and error. Through this, I realized early on that everyone that came on the mat ultimately wanted one thing by the time class was over. They wanted to have enjoyed themselves.
They wanted to have the sensation of a job well done. They wanted to laugh. To sweat. To face a challenge and overcome it. They wanted to look back at the end of a hard training session and be able to say to themselves “My body wanted to quit, but my heart wouldn’t let me.”
That was when I knew that my job as an Instructor was to create an atmosphere and culture that fosters that for the students.
It’s incredibly easy to walk into a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school and be intimidated. I’ve walked into academies all over the country, and you can see cauliflower ears, taped fingers, and sweaty mats from all of the hard training. You’ll feel like you’re about to go swimming with sharks, but then you remember…all of those sharks used to be minnows.
People start training for all kinds of reasons…self defense, fitness, make friends, etc. The reason that they keep training is because it is fun.
Oss!