How to find a great coach
In the world of martial arts, there are many bad coaches. If you aren't careful in selecting the right one, you could end up spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars before finally relocating to another gym or, even worse, quitting altogether.
In an attempt to save you the trouble I've put together a list of six qualities to look for when starting your search.
Knowledge
Even though this is the most obvious quality to look for, it may not be the easiest to spot. Especially for someone just starting out in their martial arts journey. How are you supposed to tell if someone doesn't know what they are talking about if you don't know what they're talking about?
Questions. If you have questions, they should have answers. Not "because I said so" or some nonsense that makes you more confused than before you asked the question.
Before I continue, let me point out that there is a time and place for questions. If you are getting "because I said so" as an answer because you are Mr./Mrs. Twenty-One Questions, and nobody is getting any work done, that's understandable.
On the other hand, if it is a legitimate question during a demonstration or after class, there is no reason you should not get a clear answer. If it's during class, I would be looking for something clear and concise. Are they getting the point across effectively and efficiently?
Outside of class, when there is more time, I would expect the coach to be able to answer the question in more detail. They do not have to know everything there is to know, but they should have a very firm understanding of the subject that they decide to teach.
Attention to detail
Does this person have an eye for the fine details? This is another scenario where it can be difficult to judge. One dead giveaway for me is silence. If you are working, and your coach is not talking, that, to me, is a red flag.
A great coach should be doing one of two things while you are drilling: finding and correcting flaws in technique, or queuing the specific actions that they want to emphasize. It's not enough to just know what you're talking about. A great coach has to be able to see the minor deficiencies and make adjustments in real-time.
Another common thing to watch out for is cheerleading. I tend to see this in place of silence or when the silence gets too awkward, and they feel like they have to say something. These are things like "keep it up," "good stuff," "let's go," etc.
I am not saying that it is bad to encourage someone, but the goal should be improvement, not motivation. Motivation alone only works for so long. Eventually, you are going to have to see some skill development, or you will lose interest and quit.
The last thing I would watch for is a coach constantly telling you what you are doing wrong rather than what you need to be doing. This just comes from a lack of knowledge. They know enough to know it is not right, but not enough to fix it.
"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." - John Wooden
Honesty and Personal Growth
I'm combining these two because I feel that they tend to go hand in hand. Honesty is a big deal to me. The relationship between coach and student is a unique one. Not in every circumstance, but often, the coach is highly respected by the students.
There's a typically a skill or trait that the coach possess that the student would like to see in themselves. But sometimes, this admiration can cloud our perception and lead us to believe that our coach is all-knowing and all-powerful.
The reality is nobody knows everything. There’s a reason it’s called Ally Kickboxing and not Ally Muay Thai. Clinch is not my forte. Do I know some clinch? Sure, but I am by no means great at it. If any of my students ask me to teach them clinch, I’m honest about my limitations. And if they need more than I can provide, I am always willing to point them in the right direction.
That brings me to the next quality: personal growth. If your coach isn’t learning and growing, how can you expect to? It’s easy for coaches to become complacent and slow down, or even stop developing, once they feel like they’re “good enough”.
The good news is, if you find someone who is honest about their strengths and weaknesses with their students, they’re likely also very honest with themselves and working to improve those deficiencies.
Skin in the Game
Skin in the game in the sense of being a fighter or having fought previously is interesting because some people place the most value on it, and others disregard it completely.
I think it’s important to have a coach that has experience competing, or at the very least, has experience cornering fighters. If you’re a hobbyist and skills that are specific to fighting aren’t important for your personal goals, I don’t think it really matters.
It’s also important to note that not every fighter is a good coach. The two are not mutually exclusive. There are plenty of guys who could fight in front of a huge crowd but couldn’t explain how to tie their shoe to a group of 10 people without stumbling over their words.
You have to be an effective communicator, but if you can do that and you have the experience, that's where a lot of valuable information can be passed along.
“Never trust anyone who doesn’t have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will benefit, and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them.” - Nassim Taleb
Professionalism
Traditional Martial Arts tend to do very well in this aspect, but combat sports coaches and gyms seem to be falling short. I don’t expect every coach to be the perfect role model to young children, but there are a few expectations I would have.
Show up on time. This one is probably the easiest to accomplish, but you’d be surprised how bad coaches are at starting class on time.
Have a plan. If your coach seems like they are winging it or keeps bouncing around from one technique to the next, that’s a bad sign. A structured curriculum is important for the development process and will speed up the process considerably.
The final thing I would recommend is finding a coach that is a neutral character, especially if you're looking for a coach for your kids. What I mean by that is find a coach that does their job to the best of their ability and that’s it.
Too many coaches try to be a role model rather than just focusing on what they're paid to do. A coach's job isn’t to instill a moral compass in your child, it’s to teach them the skill that you are paying for them to learn.
Conclusion
Ultimately it's up to you to decide what qualities you want in a coach. If the goal is to become the best martial artist you can, I think this is a good place to start.