In my regular life I’m a Math teacher. I teach everything from Geometry to Calculus, and I’ve been doing it for 20 years. I’ve used a LOT of different techniques to teach. I’ve used Skill and Drill, Intellectual Scavenger Hunts, Puzzles & Games. I’ve used cooperative learning; Think, Pair, Share, Shoulder Partners, Group Projects. You name it, I’ve utilized it.
And nothing, NOTHING, works as well as having a student teach a skill to another student. It is, hands down, the best way to ensure that a student has mastered something.
About two weeks ago we were going through the X guard series and Ray asked each of the purple belts to pick one of the techniques and teach it. Each of them did so (though the purple belt I was working with wanted to take a few minutes and practice it on me first). It was really helpful for the students in the class to learn the techniques from the purple belts AND Ray, and it was super helpful for the purple belts to teach these techniques.
In kids class Ray will often pair off the less advanced students with the more advanced students, and ask the older kids to help the younger ones. It’s really adorable. And here’s the thing —- the older ones learn what they thought they knew, but didn’t actually know when they have to teach it to someone else. That’s why teaching someone else is so powerful.
So, if you really want to know a technique, if you really and truly want to master a throw, or a submission, pretend you’re teaching it to someone else. You’ll be surprised what you don’t know, and you’ll learn it better than you ever thought you could.
Give it a shot.
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