Walk the Walk

“What you are thunders so loudly, I can’t hear what you’re saying!”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

As teachers of the Martial Arts, I think we all agree that it is never enough to preach about something that we do not practice (“Talking the walk, without walking the walk”). Everything that we preach about would be meaningless, if we were not living examples of it.

Would it make sense if, in your teaching, you encourage your students to do their best with everything they do, while you flunk every class at school? How about when we stress the importance of practicing before class, while we just sit around and joke with each other? And how can we possibly teach others self-discipline and patience, if we get upset or angry when a student in the class isn’t paying attention?

The best teachers in the world are those who preach the least. The results of a study once conducted showed that attitudes and feelings are communicated 7% by words, 38% by voice inflection and 55% by non-verbal communication.

For instance, how we dress can go a long way. We expect those around us to always be doing our best. What better way to reflect that than to make sure we look our best. While we are on that subject, how about the state of the dojo around us?

Who we are says so much. Our great example inspires confidence and commands respect. When we add this to indomitable enthusiasm and never-ending courtesy, it makes a complete package.

Remember, it is the first impressions that people will remember the most. The second a student walks through those doors, they are ready for their first impression of us! So, let’s have ours be second to none!

I could not find the original author for this, but always loved it.

No written word nor spoken plea

Can teach our youth what they should be.

Nor all the books on all the shelves.

It’s what the teachers are themselves.