MATA Martial Arts Instructor Certification Course Content

1 The Principles of an Authoritative Instructor
1: Four Keys to Giving Clear Directions
2: Setting And Maintaining a Standard for Conduct
3: No Competition
4: No Rescues
5: False Praise
6: Name Question or Question Name?

2 How Students Learn-The Science of Teaching
1: The Three Stages Of Learning
2: Skill Explanations and Demonstrations
3: Other Factors for Demonstrating
4: Perfect Practice
5: What to Teach and When to Teach It
6: Class Structure
7: Teaching for Transfer
8: Feedback

3 Curriculum Design
1 - Value Delivery
2 - Managing Expectations
3 - The Pyramid of Rank
4 - Defining What You Want for Your Students
5 - Less is Best

4 How to Increase Student Retention
1: The Dungeon Dojo
2: People Are Busy
3: Why Students Get Bored

5 Principles of a Good Warm-Up
1: What Is "Warming Up"?
2: Purpose of Warming Up
3: Stretching
4: Calisthenics
5: Customizing Warm-Ups
6: Warm-Up Guidelines

6 How to Teach Calisthenics Safely
1: Warm-Up Phase of Class and Calisthenics
2: Specificity and Progressive Overload
3: Safety Issues in Calisthenics

7 Proper Execution of Flexibility Exercises
1: What is Flexibility?
2: Factors Limiting Flexibility
3: Types of Stretching
4: Stretching Guidelines
5: Flexibility Exercises

8 How to Conduct Cool Downs Safely
1: What Is a Cool-Down?
2: Modifications
3 Cool-Down Guidelines

9 How to Avoid Over-Training
Introduction: General Adaptation Syndrome
1: The Three Stages Of The General Adaptation Syndrome
2: Training Principles

10 How to Avoid Injury When Teaching Kicks
1: Kicking Injuries
2: Training Methods to Minimize Injury
3 Advanced Kicking Techniques

11 How to Teach Sparring
1: Limited Sparring Drills
2: Graduating to Head Contact

12 Teaching According to Age Groups
1: How Children Process Information
2: Specific Age Groups: Preschoolers (Ages 4-6)
3: School Age (Ages 7-12)
4: Adolescent (Ages 13-17)
5: Adults (Ages 18+)
6: Piaget's Stages Of Cognitive Development
7: Kohlberg's Stages Of Moral Development

13 How to Create a Healthy Martial Arts Hierarchy
1: Pitfalls and Abuses
2: Evaluating the Reasons for Hierarchy
3: Why Hierarchy?
4: The Problem with Superficial Responses
5: Tradition, Accomplishment and Functionality Revisited
6: A Healthy Hierarchy
7: Order and Safety.

14 The Importance Of Motivation And Charisma
1: The Law of Attraction
2: The Power of Purpose
3: The Power of Self-Confidence
4: The Power of Enthusiasm
5: The Power of Excellence
6: The Power of Preparation
7: The Power of Self-Reliance
8: The Power of Image
9: The Power of Character
10: The Power of Self-Discipline
11: The Power of Extraordinary Performance

15 Praise, Discipline, and Class Control
1: What Is Discipline?
2: What Is the Role of Discipline?
3: Key Elements for Encouraging Discipline
4: Using Praise and Reward to Encourage Discipline
5: Using Reinforcement Effectively
6: The Difference Between Praise and Encouragement
7: Encouraging Disciplined Behavior
8 What to Do
9 Four Keys to Giving Clear Directions
10: Helping Students Internalize Discipline
11: What Is Punishment?
12: How Effective Is Punishment?
13: When Is Punishment Useful?
14: Forms of Punishment

16 How to Teach Life Skills
1: Be a Role Model
2: The Difference between Showing and Telling
3: The Mistake of Telling the Wrong Stories
4: How to Teach Life Skills
5: Formulating Character-Trait s
6: Teaching Character Traits to Adults
7: Is It Even My Job?
8: The Case for Morality

17 Teaching Children With ADHD
1: ADHD Definition
2: Symptoms of ADHD
3: Diagnosis and Treatment
4: Teaching Strategies

18 Working with Parents
1: Establishing the Relationship
2: Responding to Questions
3: Gathering Relevant Information
4: Responding to Problem Behaviors
5: Maintaining the Relationship
6: The Rarely Seen Parents
7: The Highly Involved Parents
8: Concerns about Belt-Rank Promotion

19 How to Teach Self-Defense Safely
1 - Considerations for Student Safety
2 - The Rules of Engagement
3 - Equipment Safety
4 - Dealing with Personalities
5 - The Word for Stop!

20–An Overview of Law
1: The Five Elements of the Law of Self Defense
2 - Your Right to Self-Defense
3: Defense of Others
4: Defense of Property
5: Illegal Defense
6: Violent Crimes
7: Murder and Manslaughter
8: Criminal Procedure
9: Civil Law: Contract
10: Torts
11: Battery
12: Assault
13: Wrongful Death

21 Avoid Negligence and Liability
1: Avoiding Accidents
2: Some Common Training-Area Dangers
3: Safety of the Training Equipment
4: Safety of the Training Techniques
5: The Best Defense Is a Good Defense
6: What If It Really Is Your Fault?

22 Using Assistant Instructors
1: The $25,000 Volunteers
2: Defending Against the State
3: Use of Black Belts
4: Owner Liability for Instructor Conduct
5: Leaving Minors in Charge
6: Protecting the Students
7: Proper Use of Student Instructors