My greatest concern for Vovinam Hoa Lu is developing the next generation of Vovinam. This summer, our center has been striving to develop our next generation by getting them involved as much as possible.

Many of them lack the experience as assistant instructors or as leaders. One of the main problems is the lack of motivation shown by current instructors. To be a teacher, I think an essential element is to have one who is passionate about teaching and one who loves and cares for the welfare of their students. Moreover, this year has been a trying year for our school in that another Vovinam center has opened within close proximity to our area. The new school threatens to take away from our student population unless we somehow prove that we have not only a better facility, but better teachers as well. This makes me anxious about the quality and quantity of our assistant instructors. Therefore, I have been adamant in training the next generation of Vovinam instructors and in preparing them to teach future generations.

With this in mind, I have been trying to record the methods of teaching in a systematic way by observing instructors at present. My goal is not to establish a group of generic instructors. I believe that the uniqueness of an instructor should be preserved. The system will merely be a guideline to provide options and ideas for students so that they will be better prepared and qualified to become competent instructors. These methods should not be the sole resource that instructors rely on when teaching because an integral part of training requires the instructor to be aware of the ability and readiness of his or her students.

As with any type of class we must recognize the level of our students. Before teaching a complex technique, the instructor must verify that the class has attained adequate mastery of the basic techniques. For example, teaching attack form number 13. It is imperative that the student learns the back kick. When many students are promoted to dark blue belt, the back kick is learned for the first time. It will take many repetitions in order to perfect the back kick. An important point to take into consideration is that it is never too late to fix a student. One instructor may have neglected to perfect a basic technique, but it doesn’t mean that it is impossible for the student to go back and relearn it. It may take longer, but it is achievable. They say that an old dog can’t learn new tricks but an old dog can change his ways provided with enough practice and attention.

Once the student has developed a strong foundation of basics, it is much easier for the instructor to teach higher level techniques. Here is where a variety of methods can be used to instruct students. With physical activities such as martial arts, the most common method of instruction is to lead by example. This requires a physical demonstration of skill by the instructor. For example, when teaching a beginner student how to punch an instructor cannot just stand in front of the class and bark out instructions. This method is especially practical when showing new, more complex techniques such as a leg technique or self defense.

The next concern for instructors aside from the physical aspect of the technique is getting the student to actually learn and be able to recall it when necessary. In psychology, the learning process emphasizes the conditioning of the learner. A stimulus is presented that will evoke a conditioned response from the learner. Research conducted by Edward Thorndike in 1898 demonstrates instrumental conditioning. The experiment involved a hungry cat that was locked inside a cage with food on the other side. By pressing a lever inside the cage, the cat would be released and able to eat the food. Through random tries, the cat learned to press the lever each time it was locked in the cage. This is an example of positive reinforcement which acts like a reward system. The cat was rewarded each time it pressed the lever. In the context of martial arts, positive reinforcement is most commonly used with young children. If the children behave during class, then they will be rewarded with ice cream or a treat. Positive reinforcement will keep the students interested, but they will always be expecting a reward after accomplishing a technique. Therefore, this cannot be used all the time and only on special occasions. Positive reinforcement can also be a compliment or encouraging words. Opposing this method is negative reinforcement. With Thorndike’s experiment, if the cat pressed the wrong lever than it would receive a mild shock. This negative reinforcement punishes the cat for pressing the incorrect lever. In martial arts, the instructor reinforces what the student has learned by using punishment as the alternative. For example, if a student does not remember their form the instructor will punish with 10 jumps and push ups. This may not work well for students who become nervous at the thought of punishment. Instructors should take into account these factors when choosing the particular type of reinforcement to use.

Another significant detail when teaching is that instructors must understand that there are many types of students. Some students learn better by listening to instructions, others require a visual aid. Especially in martial arts when practicing our attack forms and forms, the student must imagine that there is a person there to attack unlike in self defense or dual practices where a partner is present. To deal with visual learners, instructors use props. For example, a difficult technique to teach such as the sweepchop or an elbow can be overcome by adding a prop such as a standing dummy or a vertical punching bag. Another type of learner is the technical learner. This student needs to understand the technicalities of the technique such as the purpose of each movement or the practicality of the technique in real combat. The instructor should be able to explain thoroughly the techniques and therefore must be well versed and knowledgeable of what he or she is teaching. For example, for the self defense technique grabbing the hair in front, instructors should know the point of grabbing and using your thumb to hold down the pressure point on the opponent’s hand.

The purpose of classifying teaching methods and sharing ideas is to promote class variety. New and creative ways of teaching will keep students interested and motivated to continue training and to strive for improvement. It is also crucial to realize that different techniques require different methods of instruction and that sometimes one specific method is more efficient than another. Instructors must also emphasize that reviewing old techniques is just as important as learning new techniques. Presently, it feels that many young instructors forget the common goal of teaching. We must remember that the objective is to develop the next generation of Vovinam youth. Therefore, it is not about having the best class, but about spreading Vovinam as accurately and thoroughly as possible. As a student and a teacher, Vovinam disciples must always keep an open mind receptive to criticism and suggestions and should not take offense easily. As in the 10^th principle of Vovinam, we must always review ourselves for improvement. This goes for both learning and teaching.

Some people are not natural born leaders, just as some students cannot naturally become great instructors. However, many times all it takes to become a great instructor is a lot of experience. Therefore, shadowing current instructors, assisting, or even teaching a single student is a great way to gain some experience. Most importantly, the quality of a student comes from not only his own skill and motivation but also from the quality of the teacher. Any good student can become great through a good teacher.

Võ Tường Vi (Copy Vovinam Hoa Lư -Texas)