Learning is fun
Teaching skills that actually work is without doubt one of the most important benefits you can offer your students. When you teach skills that work you will immediately build credibility and integrity.
Sound like common sense to you? You may also be asking yourself why trainers actually teach skills that don’t work.
One of the reasons they do it is because they think it will generate more business. By making their system appear to be acceptable the purchaser, who in these financial times will be trying to cut costs, may believe that they are buying credible training. They are NOT.
‘Acceptable’ techniques sometimes have a high degree of failure built-in. That means the techniques may be very limited in their effectiveness and usually too complicated to remember. These often prove to be completely ineffective when used under stressful conditions.
The two most important factors that you need as a trainer, which have already been mentioned, are INTEGRITY and CREDIBILITY.
To have INTEGRITY is to have the KNOWLEDGE to know that what you are doing is right. CREDIBILITY is to be believable and worthy of the belief of others. Without those important ingredients you will never gain the RESPECT of those you teach.
How many times have you been on a course where you knew that what the trainer was teaching wouldn’t work? If you have, then you have experienced a trainer lacking in both integrity and credibility. That’s not what you pay for.
You can’t teach anything just on the basis that it works – what you teach has to be ‘Reasonable in the Circumstances’ – understanding what ‘Reasonable Force’ means.
Understanding Reasonable Force!
The main factor behind people teaching the wrong techniques is down to the fact that they do not understand the term “Reasonable Force” and its legal consequences.
As a direct result these trainers are unable to answer questions from delegates about real life situations, to answer the “What ifs“. It is imperative that the trainer fully understands reasonable force and can maintain his/her credibility. I often ask delegates to define reasonable force and am faced with a raft of definitions. To help them understand I offer delegates something from real life that they can relate to, this allows the opportunity for them to reflect upon it and also stimulate paradigm changes in their thinking and understanding.
The ability to be able to communicate the principles of Reasonable Force to your students is possibly one of the most important factors in teaching physical intervention or restraint and indeed any other form of self-defence. This is what establishes your credibility and integrity.
To fully understand “Reasonable Force” you need an understanding of both Criminal and Civil Law. There is a definite need to understand case law precedents and to keep up to date with current legislation. Read current case law in relation to reasonable force issues. There are many cases published that can be found in a good reference library, but it is up to trainers to keep themselves current and competent.
