| Teamwork |

Taekwondo is was not just concerned with the development of combat skills, it is also concerned with the development of character and community. A woman touring a mental institution was surprised to find only three guards watching over 100 dangerous patients. She asked the guards why they were not afraid of the patients overpowering them. They said, "Lunatics never unite!" A group working as a team may accomplish much more than each person in the group working individually.
To build teamwork in a group of Taekwondo students:
Insure each student knows he or she is a part of a team
Insure all students know they are required to help other students
Structure classes to foster communication and interaction Make each student interdependent
Curtail misplaced internal competition and prevent future competition
Create a common goal with rewards that may be achieved by working together
Identify the rewards for working against each other and remove them
Create or identify common threats
Reward on the basis of how people contribute to the group as a whole
Reward for giving help to each other
Stimulate frequent interaction between students Do not allow groups or individuals to become withdrawn and isolated from each other
Build teamwork with pride and recognition. Coach Bear Bryant said,
"If anything goes bad, I did it.
If anything goes semi-good, we did it
If anything goes real good, you did it."
Use the "most important words" in communicating with students
Six most important words, "I admit I made a mistake"
Five most important words, "You did a good job"
Four most important words, "What is your opinion"
Three most important words, "Let's work together"
Two most important words, "Thank you"
Single most important word, "We"
Many people think tactful, polite communications is nothing but a lot of hot air, but as Marshall Fock once said, "There is nothing but air in a tire, but is makes riding in a car very smooth and pleasant."
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