Look for an Instructor that:

• Starts and ends class with a formal salutation and requires traditional courtesies during class.
• Starts each class with a warm-up before beginning stretching and strength exercises, and ends each class with a cool down.
• Uses medically correct exercises and does not blindly use inappropriate exercises learned from others; they investigate the purpose and effect of each exercise and discard any that are useless or potentially harmful. Overexertion or injury will slow a student's progress.
• Encourages students to do warm-up, stretching, and conditioning exercises outside class hours as part of their daily routine. Also, stresses to students that it is their responsibility to maintain themselves in top physical condition.
• Maintains order, encourages team spirit, and ensures all students participate during exercises.
• Maintains discipline during class, but is not overbearing.
• Breaks down and explains proper technique. If students correctly understand the importance of technique, it makes it easier for them to understand why they must execute moves in the prescribed manner.
• Encourages students to ask questions and always answers them to the best of his/her knowledge. A good instructor who cannot respond immediately, will tell the student and then obtain the information to share with the rest of the class.
• Teaches the best technique that he or she knows but does not overload students with excessive detail and allows adequate class time for students to practice new techniques.
• Makes each class an enjoyable event for students. Good instructors appreciate the emotional thrill that students experience when they do things that they had previously thought they were incapable of doing.
• Encourages students to help each other learn and pairs senior belts with junior belts to reinforce proper technique and behaviour.
• Always employs positive reinforcement when teaching, and praises good performance. When students do a technique incorrectly, good instructors avoid finding faults and explain how to make improvements. Criticism, if necessary, is private and fully explained. Undesirable behaviour is unacceptable because it is discourteous, wastes other students' time, makes it difficult for others to learn, and may result in injuries to others and to themselves.
• Never ridicules or embarrasses students under any circumstances because it can destroy their self-confidence. Building self-confidence and self-esteem in each student is essential to producing excellent martial artists.