Wednesday, September 18, 2013

John Christiansen--3rd Degree Black Belt Test

August 10, 2013

Once again, I am testing for a belt promotion and am faced with a prime opportunity to evaluate both my achievements and goals in my practice of Tae-Kwon-Do.The most significant development since my last test is the opportunity I have had to instruct. For the last two years I have held Tae-Kwon-Do lessons at Cornell College. I've taught numerous sporadic students who have come and gone, and one student who has really stuck with it; he is currently a high blue belt and is eager to advance further. If all goes well, he should be -able to test for temporaryblack belt before we graduate.

Through teaching, I have become more aware of the technical nuances of Tae-Kwon-Do. Because of a need to teach and correct details that I previous took for granted orlearned through mimicry and repetition; I have had to exercise detailed perception and articulation of technique.

Regularly demonstrating for others also tends to make one more conscious of their own technical strengths and weaknesses. This provides me with both motivation and capacity to improve my own technique as weir as my students'. I see my own mistakes with more clarity and am better able to formulate sources and solutions, just as I would for a student, after spending time as an instructor. By laying out such information for my students, I have better organized it in my own mind. I have been often told that brown belts and above are their own instructor, and I now realize how important teaching others is to developing this capacity.

Teaching can also shed light on the mental aspects of Tae-Kwon-Do. The importance of concentrating through frustration: the crucial role of confidence: the discipline to improve technique through rigorous and regular practice. Not only does instructing demonstrate once again these principles' importance, but seeing their students' development in these areas also puts the instructor's own struggles and resulting development in prospective.

Of course, after only two short years, I still have much to learn about teaching. One of the main issues I have been trying to improve is the balance between demonstration and explanation; I tend to be a little too heavy on explanation. It is also hard to know what to expect from different students at different belt levels. At its core, teaching is a skill and, like many other aspects of Tae-Kwon-Do, it must be honed through practice. That is why I plan to continue to teach during my time at Cornell, and hope to have the opportunity to continue in the unforeseen future.

Of course, teaching Tae-Kwon-Do is also about helping others improve, not only in bestowing the technical aspects of the art but also giving them the same opportunity for self-improvement that I have enjoyed. To tnat end, I have founded a martial arts interest group at Cornell. Meant not exclusively for Tae-Kwon-Do, I hope to use this club not only as a vehicle for my own teaching but also to encourage
my fellow college community, both potential students and instructors to want further practice the martial arts.