Instructor qualifications

Once a student has reached the Black Sash level they can choose to begin to train towards becoming an Instructor if they wish. Should the Practitioner show an aptitude for Instruction, they may continue down the Instruction pathway detailed below whilst simultaneously further developing their degree level of Black Sash.

Instructor

The Instructor’s job is to teach basic concepts to beginners and take them along the Eternal Revolution Pathway. A Practitioner must be at least a 1 st Degree Black Sash before they become an Instructor. The Instructor is represented by the White Dragon symbol, which denotes the Unknown, as the Instructor is the guide to beginners as they first begin to learn Wing Chun and have no prior knowledge of the pathways ahead.

Senior Instructor

The Senior Instructor is responsible for teaching advanced students and covers the more advanced concepts of Wing Chun. They also teach the Black Medicine Pathway. An Instructor must be at least a 3 rd Degree Black Sash before they become a Senior Instructor. The Senior Instructor is represented by the Green Dragon symbol, which denotes the notion of “to start with skill” as the Senior Instructor guides students at the start of the more advanced pathways of Wing Chun and the beginning of their time as a skilled martial artist.

Coach

The function of the Coach is to advise students on an individual basis as to what they specifically need to do to progress their own Wing Chun. They identify exactly what a student needs to work on at any given time and they guide the student in the most advanced concepts of martial arts. A Senior Instructor must be at least a 5 th Degree Black Sash before they become a Coach. The Coach is represented by the Red Dragon symbol, which denotes the notion of the middle or centre of achievement as Coaches are the focal point of teaching and guide students to the key goal of learning their own personalised style of Wing Chun.

Other roles of note:

Supervisors: As part of the pathway to Brown Sash, all Purple Sash students must train to become Supervisors. This role demos warm up exercises and takes the stretch. Supervisors also act as safety officers whilst the class is in session.

Assistant Instructor: As part of their pathway to Black Sash level, all Brown Sash students must train to become Assistant Instructors in order to develop the key skill of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of others. The Assistant Instructors assist in demos and basic instruction of complete beginners.

Associate Instructors: This is an Instructor who is qualified as part of our association but teaches elsewhere and will teach occasionally at our club as a guest instructor.

Coach: The most experienced and senior Coach in an association holds the title of Head Coach as they set the overall direction of instruction within the clubs.