#dojomanagement #instructorinsights #teachingbudo

You’ve followed the “usual route" and after a certain point in your training, you’ve found yourself teaching the Budo that you have learnt.  It may be as an assistant to your own instructor, hosting your own classes or one to ones, even running your own school or dojo, or some other variation entirely.  You've given it a shot, but you realise that teaching just isn't for you.  How can you gracefully transition back into the role of a student?

The first thing to recognise is that you haven’t failed. Don’t let ego start to mess with your mind and cloud your decisions.  Try to keep perspective and put some context around your decision - it would be more harmful to you and your students if you continued performing a role you don’t enjoy.  By deciding not to teach, you are not taking a demotion, either.  You are still an accomplished practitioner and, in fact, the teaching experience has helped you grow, regardless of your next step.  You won’t be “going back” to where you were before; you will be going forward with new knowledge, greater experience (and a much better appreciation of what it takes to stand at the front of the room and hold the responsibility for other people’s development). 

Once you have settled the decision in your own mind, think about the practicalities that you need to deal with and determine your new personal goals for the future.  It is, of course, fundamentally important that your decision shouldn’t detrimentally affect your students so make it a priority to ensure that they are not disadvantaged by your decision.  If necessary, for example, help them find a new teacher, even if that means directing them outside of your existing field of vision. 

Remember that everyone takes different routes to the top of their chosen mountain and it just happens that yours doesn’t involve this particular detour.  Recognise that it has already made you stronger, surround yourself with good people, keep good dialogue going with your own trusted mentors and teachers, and get back to enjoying the climb!