Excellence in Action
Life leading a busy dojo is never boring. Just yesterday I observed a lil’ dragon coming in all smiles and announcing to the whole room (in full voice) how their day went. I watched big kids hanging out and making positive friendships in between classes on the patio and saw adults coming out of comfort zones and cheering for one another as they did it. These are just some of the extra and sweet experiences we get to have at our studio. It truly is beautiful to witness.
But my most favorite thing to see is excellence in action - it’s one of the KC’s core values. We encourage all students to train their very best on the mat and to take it a step further by also living their best lives outside the dojo too. In order to make this happen, it takes leadership and a strong team of excellence example-setters. Our black belt instructors, not only have many years of study in martial arts, but also train weekly on pedagogy and how to be engaging with students, masters of motivation and effective leaders. In order to reflect together on our learning-teaching-learning process, they’re currently reading the book “The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork” and are using the synergy of the group to discover how to best bring that to the students of KC’s through massive team action. “Leaders are readers,” I like to say.
The work of training our instructor/coaches to be excellent on the mat (and in life), so they in turn can teach others to do so, is an incredible honor. I see the hard work. I see the growth. And I see how it positively shapes our community.
Excellence doesn’t come all at once, it’s a practice put into small actions completed over time, with intention and know-how. I love to just listen to a class from the lobby to hear a new and quiet instructor in training, all of a sudden, find their strong teacher voice while leading the stretch. Or to see a more experienced instructor explaining a technique and commanding the focus with a group of students. When these wins happen on the mat for our instructors, we celebrate them in our Friday training meetings like they've won the super bowl.
You see, in order to foster excellence in ALL we do - martial arts practice, coaching, behaviors and life skills, school, work, etc. - we need to celebrate and have gratitude along the way. Small victories, as they say. This is what builds the habit. It’s why we have our Student of the Day and Student of the Month Awards at KC's. We celebrate the good stuff, so students keep the motivation to do it again and again. That is the cycle of practicing excellence in action. It’s a journey of commitment and effort, not a destination, and our team is happy to be on it, right there, beside you.
Karen Conover, Head Instructor
KC's Family Tae Kwon Do
