Teachers in the 10th Planet System
We have so many talented instructors in this system. We're really blessed to have so many teachers who really care about learning how to teach in an effective way and in giving their knowledge and their hearts to the students they teach.
In the last several weeks I've had the privilege of being able to learn from Brent Littell, Chris Herzog, and Derek Stewart. All 3 guys are excellent teachers who have studied how to effectively communicate and who share a passion for the martial arts and how it can change lives.
Brent did a seminar here in Decatur and did an outstanding job of communicating the importance of basics to our students. He is an experienced instructor and is very professional. He also has a talent of being able to help fine tune whatever technique you present him with because of his deep understanding of the "basics" and the underlying fundamentals and principals of jiu jitsu. He made one seemingly small adjustment and gave one small tip during a private lesson that have elevated my survival, escapes, and overall movement ten-fold in the brief time I have been applying these things. Many thanks, Brent.
I've had the opportunity to train with Herzog on several occasions. He's been to Decatur several times, and a few of us from Decatur just spent a week in Rochester learning from him and his students. While Chris has a very wide ranging game, he brings a very specialized skill set to the table with his leg lock game (something that has personally changed my game dramatically over the course of the last year) and his Judo background. Beyond that, he has spent an enormous of amount of effort in researching how to become an effective teacher and coach and how to bring the most out of his students, which is evident once you step on the mat with them. He has some Blue Belts and Purple Belts at his gym that are absolutely fantastic not only for the belt level but also for the level above them. Herzog doesn't have a Black Belt from Eddie yet, but I gotta believe it can't be too far away. On top of that he's a great guy, and his wife is an awesome cook :)
Tonight, Derek Stewart stopped in to our place while he was passing through. I learned some very good material from him from some positions that I don't play often. But the thing I took the most away from him tonight was during a very brief exchange he had with one of the white belts. Derek was demonstrating an X Guard sweep and was using one of our less experienced players as his partner. As Derek was teaching, the white belt would fall over or react the wrong way, etc... Rather than simply picking a new partner to demonstrate on, Derek took the time to make a few small corrections to the white belt's base, posture, reactions, etc... That was an excellent lesson for me as an instructor, and an excellent learning moment for our white belt, I'm sure. Thanks for that Derek.
I just wanted to take a moment to publicly commend these gentlemen and thank them for the hard work and the heart they put into teaching. It has made a difference in who knows how many lives. Thanks, fellas :)
