Become a Karate Teacher

Becoming a karate teacher is a great career goal, especially if you love karate. Depending where you are at in your karate practice, becoming a karate teacher may take some time. But with patience and hard work, you can become a karate teacher and start passing on your love of karate to the next generation.

Steps

Mastering Karate

1. Find a master teacher. Depending on where you live, there may be many karate teachers or very few near you. In rural areas, it may be difficult to find someone proficient enough in this martial art to sufficiently guide you. If you live in a highly populated area, you may have to pick a good teacher from among many. The most important part of this process is to find a teacher that works well to motivate your development and who is capable of teaching you advanced skills.
   • A karate teacher can be called “senpai”, “sensei”, “renshi”, “shihan”, “kyoshi”, or “hanshi”.
   • Senpai is used for anyone who is your senior. Sensei gets used for any teacher.
   • Renshi is a title that is independent of rank, and is commonly used to refer to teachers.
   • Shihan designates an expert teacher, but has little meaning outside of its organizational meaning.
   • Kyoshi is used for a person in the 7th and 8th dan.
   • Hanshi refers to a master teacher, one who instructs instructors. This title means they have attained the 9th or 10th dan.
2. Advance through the ranks. You'll never make it as a karate teacher if you haven't mastered your skill. Anyone can buy a black belt and pretend. It is another thing altogether to earn it. Karate practitioners are considered to be proficient once they've earned a black belt. This is called the 1st dan. It requires a person to be 15 years old and have undergone three years of training.
   • Kyus are the lower levels in karate. These represent students who have not yet attained the first dan. A person who holds a kyu rank is called a mudansha. Kyu rank color belts start with white and end with brown.
   • Dans are the levels of mastery. There are ten. However, only the first 8 are attainable without recognition from an international governing body (there are many, and they correspond to the style of karate you choose). A person who holds the dan rank is called a yudansha. This is commonly what people mean when they say, “I have a black belt in karate.”
3. Practice. You must continually work to hone your skills. If you do not practice, you will not be very good. No one will want to learn karate from a teacher that performs poorly. By practicing regularly, you make sure your skills are sharp for your students.
4. Pick a style of karate. There are some differences between the major styles of karate, however the major difference is the location where they were practiced. Each one is named after a city. There is no way to determine which style of karate is best for any individual. In order to figure out which one you like best, try them all.
   • Shuri-te is from Shuri in Okinawa.
   • Naha-te is from Naha in Okinawa.
   • Tomari-te is from Tomari in Okinawa.
   • Shotokan is practiced more commonly on mainland Japan.

Gaining Relevant Experience

1. Win championships. This will earn you notoriety and titles. There are two major components of typical karate exhibitions: kata and kumitejiai. By competing in one or both of these categories, you will enhance your skills and standing within the community. Find out about championships by contacting dojos in your area.
   • Kata means forms, and is an individual demonstration of karate moves.
   • Kumitejiai is a sparring match. In it two practitioners compete for points.
2. Join an industry association. This can provide you with resources. Seminars and networking, as well as membership information and benefits can aid your quest to become a karate teacher. One downside to many of these organizations is membership fees. However, these are often offset by perks. There are four major styles of karate, each with their own international governing body.
   • Shotokan is the most common style, with two organizations and nearly 1,000 branches. The Japan Karate Association and Shotokan Karate International are the major groups of this style.
   • Wado Ryu's governing body is the JKF Wado Kai.
   • JKF Shito Kai represents the Shito Ryu style.
   • The international organization for the Goju Ryu style is the International Karate-do Goju Kai.
   • The Kyokushin style is organized through the International Karate Organization and Karate-do Daido Juku.
3. Assist a karate teacher. There is no better way to learn how to teach than by learning from another teacher. Apprentice, assist, or student teach under a master you respect. This will help you gain valuable experience working with students, as well as expert advice with any complications or troubles you might encounter. You will have to take initiative and contact these teachers yourself, calling, e-mailing and visiting dojos.
4. Develop as an educator. Before and during your work as a teacher, you will need to develop your skills as a teacher. Teaching draws upon a wide variety of skills, not just combat abilities. You can be the greatest fighter in the history of the world, but if you can't interact well with students, then you won't make a very good teacher.
   • Learn how to communicate with students of all ages. As a karate teacher, it is likely that you will have students who are children and some adult students as well. When speaking with your young students, you will need to put things into simpler terms to help them understand and try to hold their interest by being a little silly sometimes. With your adult students, you will need to develop a friendly rapport and offer direct, yet considerate feedback to help them learn.
   • Practice patience when working with students. Most students will try and fail many times before they succeed, so being a teacher requires a lot of patience. Even if you feel frustrated with your students, try not to let it show.
   • Work on encouraging your students. Students need encouragement to stay motivated enough to stick with karate. Compliment your students when they do a good job and encourage them to keep trying when things get tough.

Getting Students

1. Join a dojo or club. An easy way to get into teaching is to work at a dojo that is established. Make contacts in your area to see if any school has an opening or is willing to rent their space for your lessons. By allying yourself with an established dojo, you may be able to draw upon their experience, as well as their established client base.
2. Offer private lessons. You don't need a dojo to teach other people karate. You can give lessons in your home, in your students' homes, or in the park. Place a listing online, in the newspaper, or put up fliers to inform potential students about your classes.
3. Start a dojo or club. If you have the financial means, you can open your own dojo. This may take some saving, taking out a loan, or building it yourself. This is a lot of work, but at some point, every successful dojo began with very little and worked their way up.
   • Be sure to get registered with your local or national karate organizations.
   • Be careful, as this can be a major investment of time and money.
   • Consider your class demographic. For example, if you are not good with children, think about targeting your classes at adults.

Warnings

• Get over trying to have the biggest trophy in your school, county, city, state or nation. Don't teach status symbols: teach students.
• Don't tear your students down, build them up.

References

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