"Progress is the key to motivation."
I have been teaching martial arts for about a dozen years. I celebrated my 14th training anniversary with a lesson with my new master, Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee. As a teacher by nature, I am proud of my ability to teach what I love so much to any age. As most of us do, we sometimes doubt our abilities when working with other people. Every teacher has those moments of whether or not they are making a difference or if they are getting through.
But one thing is for sure. The joy and excitement a teacher gets when they see their students improving is such a wonderful feeling. The greatest teachers I have ever had are the ones who give it their all, who understand how their students work and could cater to those needs, and are themselves. They are also the ones who teach everything they know to pass down to whomever they teach.
Academically, I had some phenomenal teacher. Mike Sheridan was the most brilliant scholar I have ever known and prepared me like no one else for college. Donna TenHoeve made my grammar in Spanish better than my English grammar. Cindy Verost gave me such joy in learning music and understanding the work behind creating such beauty and her way to coming down to a students level while holding professionalism. Dottie Filipek was always an advocate for the students and would lead by example and go above and beyond which inspired and motivated. My personal mentor, Professor Sargese is a master educator who inspires and is loved by all who come into her class and goes the extra mile to getting her students to fully grasp the lessons and use the skills they possess.
Through martial arts, I have always come across the best of the best. Master DeJesus absolutely loves what he does and it shows not only when he teaches but when he makes contact with people. He is constantly learning to innovating to make his students better all the time. Master Bardatsos has always made champions and isn't afraid to be honest and work someone hard. Master Balon is a brilliant man who knows his material inside and out for any situation, circumstance, and no detail is unimportant. And of course there is my new master, Sifu (Master) Yee, who brings altogether the essence of the lesson in every way you can possibly learn to through understanding, qi, history, application, and feel on physical, mental, and spiritual planes.
And I will always give credit to my old master. A lot of lessons he taught me, the ways he would teach, systems and thought processes pertaining to martial arts training, structuring, all those roots had led me to being sure I would be the most well rounded martial artist I could become and to continue teaching that way. I can never take that away from him.
I have taken something from each of these people. In some way there are a lot of similarities that are important to me. And a lot of ways there are things I still learn from each. And there are also a lot of unique things about each that I take with me and call my own as well. They all have a part in making me the teacher I have become, and am still becoming.
I had a very stressful summer. But there is one thing that has kept my spirits high and brings great joy in my life. When I see the progress my students make. It reminds me why I do what I do every day. I have a little boy named Theodoris who is a little Greek boy. He is as cute as can be at the age of seven. About a month ago we were doing a private lesson and I was blown away by him. I would always correct his stances, trying to make him bend lower, be louder, ask questions. Well in this lesson before he went on vacation, I didn't have to say one thing about his stances, his kicks improved tremendously, and he was so loud in his kias, the effort was amazing. And when I acknowledged it, his smile of how proud he was of himself was priceless!
I have a set of twins Samantha and Danielle. They are so funny together becasue they are the true essence of TWINS. They talk, breath, laugh IN SYNC! They are little joy bubbles. They'll be testing for advance level rank this month. I used to push them a lot in their technique. They put in so much effort this summer, I am astounded by their improvement. A very good friend of theirs named Megan is one belt behind. She used to have a lot of balance issues which affected her technique. I do my best not to overwhelm her with drills, but I work a lot with her in each class. I had a lesson with her recently, and I looked at her and said "Where did THIS come from!?" She just had this big smile on her face. Her kicks had such control, her movement and positioning improved greatly, her stances, her questions (so I know how she is thinking) were impressive, I couldn't have been more proud.
I have a little Polish boy named Tomasz who comes to EVERY CLASS OF EVERY DAY that he can take. And it shows in his performance. He is dedicated, he is focused, and he takes his training VERY seriously at the age of seven! I see myself when I was that age doing the same thing! But it is above all, FUN for him to do. Two of my brown belt twins Bethany and Taylor, who I've been training since they were little girls, have absolutely transformed! I don't know if it's because they're in teen and adult classes now, or they have Black Belt test in their sights, but all I can saw about them is WOW!
I can't forget my adults! Ara is such a supportive, encouraging asset to my school. He doesn't care if he is with other adult students, the teens, or even the little kids. He is a part of the family as much as any one else and his support and energy shows. His enthusiasm is contagious, and it motivates ME as his master. He loves sparring now. And he was lucky enough in his earlier ranks to have a lot of one on one classes with me. I remember how he moved even FIVE months ago to what he is doing today! One word: PROUD. In fact, last night Robert and I taught a sparring class and it was a very nice turnout. We sparred in class for at least a good hour. I was really happy with the effort each one put in. They helped each other, encouraged each other, made all the right mistakes, made all the right learning curves, it was magnificent!
But I can't help but have a special place in my heart for young Alyssa. I remember her coming in two years ago. She always loved her training and I knew it meant something to her. She has had her ups and downs. She had an injured knee for along time, but she kept up and had a great attitude. I would always bust her chops, however, on her technique. I needed more effort in her stances, kick higher, kia louder. I KNEW she had this ball of energy inside of her that just needs to come out! She has so much potential and can do so much, she doesn't even know it! And I know it's my job to get her to see that.
One day in class Alyssa came in and I didn't even recognize her. No no, she looked the same. But her ATTITUDE was completely different. I couldn't believe how high she was kicking, I couldn't believe how strong she was, I couldn't believe how low her stances were, and above all I couldn't believe how loud she was. I looked at her and I said "Who are you!? Who is this person!?" She looked at me and I smiled and said to her "I am so proud! You keep it up, girl. That's true girl power and YOU got it!"
So I guess when you go through really stressful times, people say to you count your blessings. So I guess what I can say is this blog is about counting my blessings. I am blessed to have and had such phenomenal teachers in my life who I have taken something from each one and who played crucial roles in the teacher I have become. But I am even more blessed to have the students that I have, who are wonderful and make me so proud. And it makes me feel so good to see them not only making progress but being so INTO their training as well!
Yours in service,
MASTER TRENTO
But one thing is for sure. The joy and excitement a teacher gets when they see their students improving is such a wonderful feeling. The greatest teachers I have ever had are the ones who give it their all, who understand how their students work and could cater to those needs, and are themselves. They are also the ones who teach everything they know to pass down to whomever they teach.
Academically, I had some phenomenal teacher. Mike Sheridan was the most brilliant scholar I have ever known and prepared me like no one else for college. Donna TenHoeve made my grammar in Spanish better than my English grammar. Cindy Verost gave me such joy in learning music and understanding the work behind creating such beauty and her way to coming down to a students level while holding professionalism. Dottie Filipek was always an advocate for the students and would lead by example and go above and beyond which inspired and motivated. My personal mentor, Professor Sargese is a master educator who inspires and is loved by all who come into her class and goes the extra mile to getting her students to fully grasp the lessons and use the skills they possess.
Through martial arts, I have always come across the best of the best. Master DeJesus absolutely loves what he does and it shows not only when he teaches but when he makes contact with people. He is constantly learning to innovating to make his students better all the time. Master Bardatsos has always made champions and isn't afraid to be honest and work someone hard. Master Balon is a brilliant man who knows his material inside and out for any situation, circumstance, and no detail is unimportant. And of course there is my new master, Sifu (Master) Yee, who brings altogether the essence of the lesson in every way you can possibly learn to through understanding, qi, history, application, and feel on physical, mental, and spiritual planes.
And I will always give credit to my old master. A lot of lessons he taught me, the ways he would teach, systems and thought processes pertaining to martial arts training, structuring, all those roots had led me to being sure I would be the most well rounded martial artist I could become and to continue teaching that way. I can never take that away from him.
I have taken something from each of these people. In some way there are a lot of similarities that are important to me. And a lot of ways there are things I still learn from each. And there are also a lot of unique things about each that I take with me and call my own as well. They all have a part in making me the teacher I have become, and am still becoming.
I had a very stressful summer. But there is one thing that has kept my spirits high and brings great joy in my life. When I see the progress my students make. It reminds me why I do what I do every day. I have a little boy named Theodoris who is a little Greek boy. He is as cute as can be at the age of seven. About a month ago we were doing a private lesson and I was blown away by him. I would always correct his stances, trying to make him bend lower, be louder, ask questions. Well in this lesson before he went on vacation, I didn't have to say one thing about his stances, his kicks improved tremendously, and he was so loud in his kias, the effort was amazing. And when I acknowledged it, his smile of how proud he was of himself was priceless!
I have a set of twins Samantha and Danielle. They are so funny together becasue they are the true essence of TWINS. They talk, breath, laugh IN SYNC! They are little joy bubbles. They'll be testing for advance level rank this month. I used to push them a lot in their technique. They put in so much effort this summer, I am astounded by their improvement. A very good friend of theirs named Megan is one belt behind. She used to have a lot of balance issues which affected her technique. I do my best not to overwhelm her with drills, but I work a lot with her in each class. I had a lesson with her recently, and I looked at her and said "Where did THIS come from!?" She just had this big smile on her face. Her kicks had such control, her movement and positioning improved greatly, her stances, her questions (so I know how she is thinking) were impressive, I couldn't have been more proud.
I have a little Polish boy named Tomasz who comes to EVERY CLASS OF EVERY DAY that he can take. And it shows in his performance. He is dedicated, he is focused, and he takes his training VERY seriously at the age of seven! I see myself when I was that age doing the same thing! But it is above all, FUN for him to do. Two of my brown belt twins Bethany and Taylor, who I've been training since they were little girls, have absolutely transformed! I don't know if it's because they're in teen and adult classes now, or they have Black Belt test in their sights, but all I can saw about them is WOW!
I can't forget my adults! Ara is such a supportive, encouraging asset to my school. He doesn't care if he is with other adult students, the teens, or even the little kids. He is a part of the family as much as any one else and his support and energy shows. His enthusiasm is contagious, and it motivates ME as his master. He loves sparring now. And he was lucky enough in his earlier ranks to have a lot of one on one classes with me. I remember how he moved even FIVE months ago to what he is doing today! One word: PROUD. In fact, last night Robert and I taught a sparring class and it was a very nice turnout. We sparred in class for at least a good hour. I was really happy with the effort each one put in. They helped each other, encouraged each other, made all the right mistakes, made all the right learning curves, it was magnificent!
But I can't help but have a special place in my heart for young Alyssa. I remember her coming in two years ago. She always loved her training and I knew it meant something to her. She has had her ups and downs. She had an injured knee for along time, but she kept up and had a great attitude. I would always bust her chops, however, on her technique. I needed more effort in her stances, kick higher, kia louder. I KNEW she had this ball of energy inside of her that just needs to come out! She has so much potential and can do so much, she doesn't even know it! And I know it's my job to get her to see that.
One day in class Alyssa came in and I didn't even recognize her. No no, she looked the same. But her ATTITUDE was completely different. I couldn't believe how high she was kicking, I couldn't believe how strong she was, I couldn't believe how low her stances were, and above all I couldn't believe how loud she was. I looked at her and I said "Who are you!? Who is this person!?" She looked at me and I smiled and said to her "I am so proud! You keep it up, girl. That's true girl power and YOU got it!"
So I guess when you go through really stressful times, people say to you count your blessings. So I guess what I can say is this blog is about counting my blessings. I am blessed to have and had such phenomenal teachers in my life who I have taken something from each one and who played crucial roles in the teacher I have become. But I am even more blessed to have the students that I have, who are wonderful and make me so proud. And it makes me feel so good to see them not only making progress but being so INTO their training as well!
Yours in service,
MASTER TRENTO
No comments:
Post a Comment