In my life long participation in organized sports, whether as a participant or as a coach, I have experienced and learned a lot from all types of people. But never in my life have I experienced what I experience on a day to day basis in the gym where I work and train, Unit 2 Fitness. Now I use Unit 2 not as a gym I put exclusively in this category but only merely as an example. I have friends who teach and train at gyms all over the country and this is nation wide problem that exists. Unit 2 is just where I see it daily bc I am there daily.
What is this problem? Well read the damn title! "Beginners coaching beginners" So much on a consistent basis do I see brand new "students" coaching and directing other beginners. Seriously?! You just f-ing started! What the hell did you learn so quickly that enables you to direct another individual in the sport you just started? What qualifies you as a beginner? Well let's see... Maybe it is you are the one paying for the instruction! Maybe it is the fact that you are not the damn instructor but the one receiving the instruction! Hell, I know a huge clue... How about you are taking a class that is titled as a f-ing beginners class! And if you are reading this and feeling pretty damn cocky bc you are allowed to take the advanced classes well wipe the damn smile off your face and realize that this is still a class and you are not the teacher; you are still a damn student!
All of you have seen this and probably experienced this in some form or fashion. Maybe you are the one that has taken a few classes a week for a year and suddenly you are an expert, or maybe you are the one who is receiving the instruction from someone who most likely started after or around the same time as you. If the latter is the case then the next time you are receiving this bullshit instruction tell them to shut the hell up and refer your question/problem to the actual instructor. And if you know you are one of these people who like to coach when you are still the one needing the coaching then shut the hell up and let the people learn from who they are paying their hard earned money to learn from. But if you aren't sure then come find me at the gym and I will tell you if you need to shut the hell up or not.
If you are reading this and don't believe this is a problem then your next day at Unit 2 find any of the other "paid INSTRUCTORS" and ask them. Ask them their opinion and if they see it in the gym and if they see it in you. They will tell you. But be careful you may not like what you hear.
preeeach!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteI actually had a 150-ish pound white belt recently give me some "tips" about how to make my hip bump sweep more effective. He had seen me trying it on a 200 pounder with difficulty and thought I could use some helpful pointers.
The next time I trained with him, the hip-bump was the only sweep I used. After being swept 5 or 6 times, I think he got the message.
Dolph, the next time completely stop rolling and ask him how long he has been training and when he goes to answer just respond immediately with "It doesn't matter how long you've been training! Now shut up and take this ass whoopin!"
ReplyDelete