Hit Harder, You Hit Like a?
If I had a dollar for each time I heard a self-defence instructor yelling or screaming at the students to hit harder, I would have a few bucks.
Before people jump down my back, I understand that for most, the attempt is to motivate. Still, often without knowing it, the instructor may have the opposite effect, particularly when a client is singled out in a class or a private lesson.
The generic approach of yelling is motivating to many. Still, in teaching self-defence, you need to be very careful and understand that while you might have twenty students, twenty individuals have different life experiences that may include abuse over a short period or many years.
One client may interpret that simply as hit harder, and they do, whereas another may hear it as they are weak, vulnerable, and not strong enough, according to the “expert” teaching them. They may have listened to this their whole life and heard it as another confirmation of their weakness.
I am not saying it is easy, but it is critical to listen, watch, and understand as fully as possible how your clients perform and not jump to simply yelling at them, thinking you are a master of motivation.
This is a simplistic post, but there are many more levels to it that are important to consider.