In all professions and skills, there’s a certain point you reach after many years of work or dedicated training, when thoughts of going it alone come in to your mind.
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Starting a new dojo is exhilarating. A world of possibility awaits, including the possibilities of incredible success…. or catastrophic failure.
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There is never a perfect time to start out on your own. No matter how long you wait, you’ll never be experienced enough, you’ll never have enough capital, and you’ll never have zero risk. There’s always a chance that your dojo will fail….. but there’s also a chance that it will succeed.
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Typically, people stop feeling fulfilled when they aren’t able to do the training they want to do. Often this is because someone else is calling all the shots. Once you have reached a certain level in your training, usually after the first couple of ‘dan grades’, you believe that you can do what they do.
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But before you rush out and start your own dojo, there are a few things you need to be reminded of.
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Firstly, you should be well-practiced in your style, with a good knowledge of your curriculum, and a deeper understanding of the principles involved. No one wants to pay to take instruction from someone who’s not experienced.
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Have experience teaching before you teach… this is vitally important. Teaching classes on your own with the support of your instructor.
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You need to have sufficient instructor training from the style you represent. In many styles, that just means a black belt. In others, that means years of separate teacher training. Just KNOW that teaching is an art, completely unrelated to the martial arts.
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There must also be a means to continue your own training, so you don’t stagnate. Perhaps continuing your training with your own instructor or style.
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Very few new instructors are able to go it totally alone. While you might be the only person making decisions at the top, you’re going to need friends, family members, resources and mentors who can guide you through the toughest decisions, and be there to pick you up when things start to go wrong. You really do need to have a good support system.
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Unfortunately, I see many inexperienced instructors who start their own dojo or school, who have massive ego’s, jump from style to style, and association to association. Have a blackbelt in Taekwondo (no offense), and transfer to Karate, informing everyone of their expanding knowledge and status. They stick rigidly to a curriculum because they don’t have the deeper knowledge to expand upon other concepts and ideas. They try to educate without actually having an ‘understanding’, telling their students this is what you need to achieve your next belt rank. They logon to YouTube, and believe they are extraordinary.
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No one wants an instructor like this…… No one wants to be part of a dojo like this….. A black-belt does NOT make you a teacher. So think carefully before you decide to go it alone. Knowledge is built over-time not overnight.
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