This training tips video is about being a teacher. One of the very best ways to learn is to teach others. To teach them, and to explain a complicated issue in the most simple and easy to understand way, will prove to yourself and others that you truly understand your subject.

It is for students at any level, not only people who run a club. You do not need a black belt to start teaching what you know.

Why Teaching Speeds Up Learning

When you only practise a technique, you can get away with a fuzzy understanding. Your body might do it well enough without you really knowing why. The moment you have to explain it to someone else, the gaps show up straight away.

You find out which parts you cannot put into words. You notice details you skipped. You are forced to break the technique into steps and decide which one matters most. That process sharpens your own skill.

Simple Is Harder Than Complicated

Anyone can make a subject sound complicated. It takes real understanding to make it simple. If you can explain why a strike works, where the power comes from, or why balance comes first in a few clear sentences, you know it. If you cannot, you have found something to work on.

What Teaching Gives You

  • A clearer understanding of the principles behind techniques
  • Better attention to detail in your own training
  • The ability to spot mistakes, including your own
  • Confidence that your knowledge holds up when questioned
  • A training partner who improves alongside you

How To Start

Pick one technique you know well. Teach it to a friend or training partner. Explain the feet, the hands, the angle and why it works. Watch what they do and correct one thing at a time. Then ask yourself which questions you struggled to answer, and go back and study them. Keep it simple and keep it safe, with low power and good control.

Take It Further

If you want to go further and teach seriously, the PPDT International Instructor Course is built to give you the material to teach the whole system to others. For learning directly from me, see Private Mentoring.