I received an email last week from the woman critiquing my coming novel, The Arrow Catcher. She thankfully gave it a very positive review. But she also found I had repeatedly made a few grammatical errors and taught me the rules so I hopefully won’t make them again.
It reminded me of something I hadn’t told her before, that English had been my very worst subject throughout high school and into college. The only thing that had prevented me from failing every class was a vivid imagination that I applied to the written assignments.
After getting out of the army, I enrolled at a local junior college. I had come to the realization somewhere along the line that, to become successful at most things in life, a person had to be skilled at writing and speaking. I was inadequate at both.
To correct this situation, one of the first classes I registered for was remedial English (aka bonehead English). I followed up with a slew of English and creative writing classes, at least one every quarter or semester I attended college. To get me over my fear of public speaking and help me become more proficient at it, I took many classes in speech and drama along the way. I even forced myself to act in a few college productions.
I mention this in a martial arts blog because these two are also important skills for martial arts instructors to possess. If you want to be successful in promoting and teaching your martial art, it helps significantly if you can write and speak well.
Writing skills enable you to write press releases to get you and your school’s name into your local press. It also enables you to write articles for one of the many martial arts publications, which can help establish you as a recognized martial arts expert in your area, and not merely a self-recognized one as are so many within our field. It also enables you to write more enticing and effective brochures and promotional materials for your school.
Your ability to logically organize your thoughts and present them verbally in an effective manner can make you a better instructor. It can also enhance your demonstrations and presentations and attract more students to your school.
Anyway, give this some thought and determine if your speaking and writing skills are adequate to advance yourself and your school. If not, improve them. You don’t have to enroll in college or adult education classes. (These are generally best but often meet at times most martial arts instructors are on the floor, teaching their students.) There are many educational opportunities available today via self-help books, YouTube videos, and online courses.
I always try to end each day a better, more knowledgeable person than I was when the day began. I generally do this by reading something that will expand my knowledge of the martial arts or related subjects. I recommend every serious martial artist does the same.
I have had hundreds of articles and monthly columns published in the major martial arts publications over the years. In a coming post, I will go over some things that can help you get your articles published and discuss some mistakes I made along the way. (I’ve posted the cover photo for one of these problematic articles that was written about me by someone else.)
Thanks again for reading my ramblings.
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