The Assistant's Place in the Class

Every class at Cloud Forest has one person in charge. In this course we call that person the head instructor. It may be Sifu Johnson or another instructor who leads that class. The head instructor decides what is taught, in what order, how hard the class works, who partners with whom and when the class stops. School policy sits above all of this: the rules on safety, on children, on photos, on communication with families and on how incidents are handled.

You are there to make the head instructor's plan work better. The formal Apprenticeship describes how teaching is learned at Cloud Forest: apprentices learn to teach by teaching, on the floor, corrected by the person who taught them. Being corrected in front of students is a normal part of that training, and every apprentice goes through it.

This course teaches you how to assist and how to lead a segment of class when you are asked to. It does not teach techniques, forms or rank requirements. Those come from your instructors, in the order they choose. Completing this course does not give you instructor standing, rank or permission to teach on your own. Those decisions belong to Sifu Johnson.

Before you take any group on your own, finish Module 3 and lessons 4.4 and 4.5.

The head instructor will tell you which of these apply in a given class:

• Set up and check the space before students arrive.
• Greet students and families by name and help new students find their place.
• Watch a group, a line or a pair and keep them working on the drill the head instructor set.
• Give short, approved corrections on material the head instructor has already taught.
• Demonstrate when asked.
• Take a small group while the head instructor works with another group in the same room.
• Notice who is hurt, tired, upset or missing and tell the head instructor.
• Help close the class: equipment away, students handed back to parents, notes passed on.

Some decisions are never yours unless the head instructor hands one to you for a specific moment:

• Changing the plan, adding material or teaching something you learned elsewhere.
• Deciding that an injured student can keep training.
• Disciplining a student beyond the class routine, such as sending a child out or speaking to a parent about behavior.
• Making promises to families about rank, testing, schedule or price.
• Talking about another student's progress, health or family with anyone.

If you are unsure whether something is yours, ask. A quick "Do you want me to handle that, or should I bring them to you?" protects the student and protects you.

The formal Apprenticeship is for adults, by interview. Some younger students help with classes at the head instructor's invitation, and this course applies to you too. There is one difference that matters. You never count as an adult for supervision, and you are never left in charge of children or teenagers. If the head instructor steps out and you would be the oldest person in the room, say so and wait for an adult.

Daniel, 19, has been invited to assist with a Tuesday kids class. Before class he asks the head instructor three questions: "What is the plan tonight? Which group do you want me with? Is there anything I should not correct?" The head instructor says the class will work on stances and a line drill, that Daniel should watch the back line, and that he should not correct hand position yet because she will introduce a change next week.

During the drill, a boy in Daniel's line keeps his hands low. Daniel wants to fix it. He remembers the instruction, leaves the hands alone and gives the boy an approved cue about his feet instead. After class he tells the head instructor, "Two kids in the back line kept dropping their hands. I left it because of next week." She thanks him and tells him what she will say next week, so he can repeat the same words.

Had Daniel corrected the hands his own way, the children would have heard two versions of the same point within a week.

Before your next class as an assistant, write down the questions you will ask the head instructor. Include at least: tonight's plan, your position or group, what you may correct, what you must not correct, and any student the head instructor wants you to watch for safety reasons. Ask them. Afterward, write one sentence on each answer.

Expected result: a short list of five or more questions with the head instructor's answers next to them, kept in your notebook. If any answer was "ask me in the moment," note that too.

• Cloud Forest Martial Arts Institute, The Apprenticeship program page: https://traincloudforest.com/programs/apprenticeship
• Cloud Forest Martial Arts Institute, Institute Apprenticeship: https://traincloudforest.com/apprenticeship