Job Description

Martial Arts Instructor

A vast majority of my core beliefs and values come as a result of my time as a mixed martial arts (MMA) instructor. This is far from a typical first job, but it is a position I held proudly throughout my entire high school career. I spent ten years training and putting in the time before the owners asked me to become a member of the teaching staff. Despite now being gone for several years, I still consider my time at the dojo to be a crucial part of my personal identity. 

Everyone on the staff worked under Sensei Robert Duzoglou, founder of both the school and the martial arts style we practiced. I joined as a teaching assistant and received increasing responsibility during my four years there, eventually becoming a core instructor before I had to leave for college. Most of our work centered around supporting the lessons and programs developed in the school. We focused not only on providing our students with combat education, but also on teaching them a well-balanced, peaceful, and healthy way of life. Through this dual strategy, we tried to leave them with a strong mindset that will benefit them for their entire lives. 

Our tasks and duties as MMA instructors can boil down to these three roles:

• Strategist
• Assistant
• Life Coach

The following descriptions will help you imagine what an average day looks like.

Strategist

Developing and executing strategy for our lessons was one of our most important daily roles, and we applied it by doing the following:

• Planning the overall schedule for the progression of new styles and techniques
• Writing daily class plans that built on students’ acquired skills
• Helping create additional summer camps and programs for students to participate in

We accomplished most of this under the watch of Sensei Robert. At the start of the week, he would bring the staff together and review any updates to the long-term schedule, after which we would brainstorm and come up with the best drills and exercises to go over that week’s class topic. For example, we might start a meeting by discussing whether it makes sense to teach judo before covering ground combat, or if we should hold off on takedowns until after we go over striking more in depth. From there we’d review which topics we recently covered in class, and tailor that week’s schedule to build on what the students learned. Finally, the staff members would help plan logistics for any upcoming special events, which can range from an annual holiday party to a Back to School seminar and promotion. Equipped with this new plan, we would then dive into the first lessons for the week. 

Assistant

The dojo would not function without the staff performing the work of an assistant. This is how we embodied an assistant’s job:

• Completing any extra office tasks not yet finished
• Helping set up the necessary equipment to go through the day’s drills
• Cleaning the dojo and repairing anything out of order

While these assignments fell more on the hands of the younger staff members, Sensei Robert expected everyone to put in an effort if any work remained. Typically, those newest to the team were responsible for setting up and cleaning equipment throughout the day, and the seasoned instructors lead the class through the various exercises. The first available staff member would handle random tasks such as replacing a broken light or ceiling panel. In a situation where a number of people are out sick or travelling, I found myself guiding the class through drills, repairing a broken speaker, and signing a family up for lessons all in the same day. 

Life Coach

This was the most unexpected but vitally important part of working as an MMA instructor. We acted as life coaches to our students in the following ways:

• Starting each class with a discussion on how to achieve peace and happiness in life
• Communicating individually with every student to form a bond and act as a mentor
• Getting to know their families and learning the best way for each child to grow

Our dojo’s philosophy emphasized the use of martial arts as nothing more than a tool to achieve success. In the time we had with our students, we tried to show them that any patience, humility, and spiritual resilience they pick up along the way is far more valuable than the combat techniques we could teach. Sensei Robert began his classes with a life lesson surrounding a given topic, and we followed up with casual conversations before and after class to try and guide the students towards a healthy life. There were several situations where a student was having trouble in school or at home, and we had to work closely with both them and their parents for weeks to motivate the child to do well. It was one of our greatest prides that we could have such a positive effect on the lives of those we taught.

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