Many karate instructors are of the belief that they are the *only* instructor who can teach at their school. They believe that nobody can do as good a job as them, therefore they are very reluctant to let anyone else teach.

This is the classic “technician” mindset that Michael Gerber, author of The E-myth, describes.

I know I used to suffer from this belief, and for years I wouldn’t let anyone else teach either. That was until I started teaching 25 classes per week. After a while I became so physically, emotionally and mentally drained as my own teaching standard declined. Teaching 5 hours per day, one class after the other, I soon realized that I had to take a seat as the passenger and let others take the wheel every now and again.

When I first let go of the reigns, I was very critical of the way my students were teaching my classes. After all they’d never really learned to teach, they’d just modelled the way I taught as best they could. And without the thousands of hours of “flight time”, how could I possibly expect them to teach to the same standard right away?

It’s a catch 22.

Just about all of us want our students to be great instructors one day, but if we don’t let them try and fail like we did, how can they ever become better?

Take a step to the side and let some of your students impart with the knowledge that they’ve gained. You’ll appreciate the time off and feel more energized when you do teach. Your new instructors will be delighted with the opportunity, and your students will enjoy a different spin on class.

As I write this blog from the other side of the world, I have every faith in my assistants running my school while I’m away. That’s because a few years ago I started helping them develop their teaching skills, and now they relish the opportunity and I know they’re more than competent.

Where will you be in a couple of years? Will you be the only instructor clutching to your power? Or will you support and nurture your students’ growth?