Teaching Tips

Lady Lissa Underhill, Lord Lorenzo Gorla, Don Pascual Del Mar and Mistress Alys Mackyntosh

(from posts found on the Drills & Skills Yahoo group)

Do I know enough to teach?

While you are still learning it's hard to adlib and explain the reasons why things work, which is what inevitably winds up being asked. But remember, you can always push that question up to someone who can answer. Don't ever be afraid to say "I don't know, I will have to get back to you on that" and then ask someone and get back to the person who asked you.

You will gain confidence in what you do as time goes by. Until then, remember that you can't really screw someone up by telling them what you see. You may go down a couple of blind alleys trying to figure out what to do with what you see, but you'll both learn more in the process.

Another first step towards learning how to teach is watching experienced fencers and asking them why they do some of the things they do. Some of them won't be able to tell you. But the ones who can tell you will give you some insight into what works and what doesn't (albeit for different body types).

Where do I start?

Fundamentals, such as footwork and a proper stance should come first. Keep things simple at the start.

1. Tell them
   * Explain what the move is and what purpose it has.
2. Show them
   * Demonstrate the movement. Break the movement down into easy digestible pieces, and show each element piece by piece.
3. Tell them what you just showed them
   * Repetition is the key to understanding...
4. Practice
   * Have them practice each piece of the movement, then put the movement together as they show proficiency with each piece of the movement

   * When showing someone a new move for the first time it is also important do have them do the move as slowly as possible, until they can do it perfectly.

   * Sometimes it helps to call out each step in the movement in the beginning (ex. extend, lunge, recover)

5. Advanced Practice
   * Once they have mastered the move, you can gradually pick up the speed while continuing to make sure they are doing the technique correctly.

   Always remember to:

   * Watch everything they do closely. Watch for distance, how their arm moves, their footwork so you can help them and prevent bad habits from forming.

   * Listen to everything they have to say. Be re-assuring. For every negative, reassure with a positive. Flow like water.

   * Remember to go back and review skills you have already taught, and always continue to make sure that the fundamentals are still being emphasized.

If you help a new fencer up front and teach them good habits and can find that line between correcting them and overloading them with information then their skill level will increase all the more rapidly and they will be pushing you more and more.

Teaching Drills

One of the hardest parts about teaching drills is to let your natural defensive nature down, and allow the student to strike you. You are putting a lot of faith in them to properly calibrate, as well as setting yourself up to be in what I call "teacher mode" which for me at times is very very very very very difficult to get out of even when it comes time to step into a tourney and want to kick butt. Once you become capable of getting past that built up training to stop someone from hitting you, you now have 70% of the way to being an effective teacher.

Now you need to learn how to get the person to react the way you want with the least amount of instruction, I have found it's easier for people to "get it" if they come to the realization themselves. If you spoon feed them everything, then they get used to it, and will want and in some cases NEED for you to do it the whole way. So trying to get into their mind and think like they would be, or quide them to think the way you want to teach them is what makes up about another 20%

The final 10% is understanding. Understanding that there is always an option on how to progress and that you may not get them to do exactly what you wanted out of the gate, but getting them thinking and into SOMETHING is a step in the right direction.

How to tell someone when I see something they are doing wrong?

What you can do initially is tell someone "I saw this . . . and I think it is having this effect on your fencing" or "I saw this . . . and the next time we see [experienced fencer], let's ask him/her what that means." Start with factual observations and work with the person to figure out what to do with what you're seeing. This is good for new teachers, as well as for the experienced teacher who doesn't want to come on too strong with someone they've never taught before.

Also, remember that sometime people are simply in the mood to play. If you sense that the person you are working with does not want instruction, just playing is ok too. However, always feel free to ask is they want instruction or advice. Most people will not say no.

What can I do if someone doesn't like drills?

Not everyone wants to and enjoys doing drills as a means to get better. However, there are a lot of things that you can be sneaky teacher and give to a student through "training sessions" or lessons that don't have to be about drilling. You can have them "look for openings" a much more free form sparring where the teacher gives blatant openings in the beginning. You just need to get the student to recognize that this is practice, and not some "trick." Work also on getting the new fencer to learn to spot the right and wrong times to attack, when to step left, right, move away, get in, etc.

How do I teach when free bouting?

When doing free bouting with a new fencer work on taking the skills you showed them in drills and working specifically on those skills with them will serve two purposes. It will help you reinforce the drills, and it shows them that the drills work.

Do I teach everyone the same.

Developing an unique style of swordplay is important in fencing. It's understanding this and being willing to modify things to work for someone that they will appreciate the most, but start off with the same basics and then you can modify as things unfold.

Also, remember that not everyone learns the same way. Some people learn by being shown what to do, some by being told, some by doing the action themselves, some by understanding the meaning behind the action, and finally most people learn with some combination of the above methods. Its important to figure out how the person you are teaching learns and then adjust to their learning style. It also helps to know how you learn best. People automatically teach using the method that they are most comfortable with, so it make take some effort to learn to teach a different way.