As an instructor,
I am watching our students and making sure they are proud of what they have just achieved and having as much fun learning as feasibly possible. I am encouraging team effort and am incredibly proud when they help each other through the techniques and angst that naturally come with sparring. Equally important, I am constantly watching for opportunities to help them get better…stronger…defensively, and offensively smarter…and I welcome ideas that help me be a better instructor.
As a small business owner,
I am watching the parents and it is a total bonus that they too are having a great time watching these triumphant moments unfold before their eyes. I am welcoming the whole crew…the parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents, and any other guest they bring to our home. Equally important, I am adapting to ensure our parents’…better yet… family’s are having the most welcoming experience as possible…as if it were their first day with us.
If showing up is the best our students can do that day, then my job is to make sure they know we are a safe place…a supportive and non-judgmental place. If their best didn’t get them a “win”, then my role is to help them through the disappointment and appreciate all the great moments that surround them. If frustration is consuming them, my duty is to care for the whole child and support ALL their needs.
This is what drives us…what fuels our passion. These most special moments with our IMA Community. No moment is ever too small and each moment means the absolute world to us. Each is special and critical to the foundation of which we’ve built our martial arts school…our business…our community. Each…a moment that we forever will cherish.
Live your moment!
-uncle jon and auntie jana