"Building a better tomorrow, By starting today"

Welcome to the TMAA Instructors Section

INSTRUCTORS COORDINATOR
EXECUTIVE INSTRUCTORS COUNCIL

Jacob A Fisher
KTO, DCSA, IMA

Executive Summary

The Instructor Training and Certification Program (ITCP) was established by TMAA in 1998 as an internal curriculum and academic based medium for the development and certification of qualified, capable, and well trained instructors. In 2000, recognizing the lack of formalized instructor training, continuing education, and certification opportunities within the general martial arts community at large we opened up our internal curriculum to external membership.

As instructor responsibilities extend far beyond the obvious requirements of knowing their own unique martial discipline, the TMAA ITCP is designed to provide information, instruction, reference materials, knowledge, and certification in all disciplinary extrinsic areas whilst leaving all disciplinary intrinsic matters to the individual club, instructor, or association.  As such the ITCP focuses much attention in six major areas of academic research:

• Core Lessons
Information on the theory, concepts, techniques, and methods of teaching, maintaining discipline, imparting information, developing class lesson plans, etc.

• General Lessons
Information on generalized subjects such as diet, cross training, sports massage, injury prevention and treatment, etc.

• Humanities Lessons
Philosophical and literary perceptions of the martial arts and its study such as the theory and practice of martial arts, contemporary martial arts literature, martial arts ethics and moral codes of conduct, etc.

• Social Science Lessons
Social and economic factors that may influence the teaching or learning environment, theories and concepts such as basic psychology, sociology of participation, organizational behavior, etc.

• Business & Organizational Lessons
Information on generalized business and organizational topics such as management theory, critical thinking, basic accounting, handling consumer complaints, quality management and productivity, etc.

• Art & Program Lessons
Lessons which relate specifically to the martial discipline of your choice such as basic language skills, calligraphy, customs & cultural influences, cultural protocols, etc.

 
Introduction

Triangle Martial Arts Association (TMAA) is a non-profit diversity based teaching and accreditation organization that has provided programs and certification since 1998. It was founded in San Francisco, California following the murder of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard with the intent of providing quality and affordable martial arts and self-defense training to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning community of San Francisco and beyond. This initial charter was quickly expanded to include other commonly disenfranchised and overlooked communities such as the elderly, disabled, inner-city youth, low income, and so on.

In addition to providing full promotional martial arts programs and outreach efforts, TMAA established a curriculum to facilitate the training, education, and certification of those who would teach martial arts to others. TMAA dedicates a significant amount of its expertise and resources to deliver much needed and valuable educational and training services to new and existing martial arts teachers and instructors in ways which recognize and compliment their maturity, rank, experience, and personal and professional responsibilities.

TMAA also maintains a continuing education program (CEP) to assist past graduates in maintaining a high level of current knowledge and expertise and provides continuing certification for those meeting our CEP standards. CEP classes and seminars are conducted through a number of accessible mediums including classroom instruction, written papers, CD ROM, and on-line resources.

TMAA recognized the diversity and breadth of knowledge necessary to effectively function as a teacher or instructor of martial arts in the modern business word, and our programs are designed to reflect this diversity and offer students the greatest opportunity to meet their own unique needs, satisfy the needs of their organization, and meet the needs of their local community.

Program materials are always maintained and updated to ensure the latest information is available to enrolled students and new lesson plans are added as new pertinent material becomes available or pertinent.

Instructor of Martial Arts Certification Programs

Assistant Instructor of Martial Arts (color belts)
Senior Assistant Instructor of Martial Arts (color belts)
Associate Instructor of Martial Arts
Instructor of Martial Arts
Senior Instructor of Martial Arts
Master Instructor of Martial Arts
Professor of Martial Arts

Related Certification Programs

Emergency Medical Trained Certification
Referee Certification
Martial Arts Coach Certification
Diet & Nutrition Certification
Sports Injury Treatment Certification
First Aid & CPR Certification (through ARC)
Weapons Coach Certification
 

 
 
Profile of a Typical Triangle Martial Arts Association
Instructor Training & Certification Program Student

Information captured during our Student Registration Surveys and website information resources confirm that students who are interested, and participate in the TMAA Instructor Training & Certification Program (ITCP) are looking for quality academic, research, and training programs which will assist them in continuing their own personal development as well as benefiting their organizations and students.

School owners and organizational directors often wish to provide an educational and training opportunity to their staff of instructors which is readily accessible, well researched and presented, current, effective, and beneficial, but have little time to produce such materials or programs themselves. TMAAs ITCP is a useful tool to supplement their own internal instructor training programs, and in some cases supplants internal programs.

Individual instructors wish to participate in the ITCP to increase their own knowledge and understanding of the role they play within their school or organization.  The learning process is offered in a number of useful mediums, and progress may be made at their own pace, where and when they have time to do so. They want to be able to coordinate their academic and professional responsibilities.
Also important to TMAA ITCP students is the fact that the TMAA faculty are practitioners themselves with real world experience, and many presently run their own schools or organizations whilst devoting time to the ITCP.

TMAA ITCP students often want to put what they learn to immediate use in their school or organizational environment, and they want to be able to complete their coursework in a more relaxed timeframe than is possible through many internal instructor training programs. Most TMAA ITCP students are at a point in their martial arts careers where the academic work necessary to obtain TMAA instructor certification can offer immediate results.

According to demographic data compiled from the Student Registration Survey, students who participate in TMAA ITCP are typically:

• In their mid 20s to late 30s
• Have been teaching or instructing martial arts classes for about 5 years
• Have had little or no formal instruction on how to teach
• Teach classes of approximately 15 to 20 students at a time

 
A Perspective

TMAA ITCP for a real education

TMAA ITCP is totally dedicated to the principal that the provision of quality, credible, and legitimate academic and educational opportunities to persons involved in the teaching of martial arts, and their subsequent testing and certification as instructors is a worthwhile and worthy endeavor. TMAA ITCP is dedicated to the principal that all students are provided equal opportunity without favor or prejudice. TMAA ITCP commits all of its resources and energy to the delivery of career oriented educations services to new instructors, mid-career instructors, and mature instructors alike.

Using experienced and credible faculty, proven academic practices, and an innovative instructional delivery system which combine to provide students of the ITCP with all of the benefits of contemporary study without the traditional shortcomings, TMAA is an ideal forum for schools and organizations to use, as well as individual instructors wishing to increase their knowledge and understanding.

A unique combination of quality and convenience

TMAA ITCP has created a unique educational and certification opportunity for new and existing martial arts instructors where few existed before. Every program is completely planned with students progressing logically from one lesson to the next until they complete the course and are ready to sit the certification examination. Study may be completed at home, in the office, at one of our class locations, or on the web, allowing the student to progress at their own pace and according to their own schedule.
Traditional academic schedules are eliminated and in-school programs are supplanted by allowing greater flexibility whilst maintaining credible progress assessment and certification.

Professionally oriented courses taught by business professionals

Every course within the TMAA ITCP curriculum is taught by someone who actually works as a martial arts instructor, school owner, or organization director. These faculty members know what it's like to get their hands dirty, to meet payroll, to attract and retain new students, to negotiate contracts, to secure advertising. What they bring to the course lessons, lectures, and classes is the ability to translate and transfer theory into practice - the ability to provide real world insight and experience.

 
 
A Measurable Difference

Oversight and management of ITCP
 

TMAA Instructors Executive Council Board of Promotions & Certification administers and analyzes the ITCP using numerous tests, surveys, and performance measurements. From assessing student academic achievement to determining customer satisfaction the Board of Promotions & Certification is the intelligence center for information collected from students, faculty, staff, and corporate partners. 

The Board of Promotions & Certification regularly reports to the TMAA Instructors Executive Council which is responsible for supervision, maintenance, monitoring, and performance measurements for all instructional activities within TMAA as a whole.

The Instructors Executive Council in turn reports to the TMAA Board of Directors on an annual basis.

Academic achievement

From its beginnings, TMAA ITCP has stressed the importance of ensuring the quality of its academic programs, first by establishing measurable student outcomes for each course and then by rigorously monitoring student progress against those outcomes. A critical part of that process is the administration of graduate retention and continuing education activities assessments. These assessments are used to assess the impact of the ITCP on graduates mastery of subject matter as well as to collect empirical data on the course materials usefulness to the graduate. This helps to discover gaps or weaknesses in the ITC program allowing us to mitigate or correct them for future course attendees.

We also administer and analyze entry and exit assessments of students to determine whether or not our program continues to meet the needs of our customers.

Academic quality management

As with any quality conscious organization, TMAA ITCP never stops asking its customers to help us identify strengths and weaknesses in both our products and services. At the end of every course, students and faculty are asked to complete "satisfaction" surveys. These surveys measure critical processes and activities that contribute to the quality of the educational experience and the core materials used and, ultimately, help us to modify our approach to provide the most effective and useful materials possible.

Recognition and monitoring

TMAA ITCP is recognized and credited by the United Martial Arts Clubs of America.
 

 
ITCP Costs

Student Registration

Each student enrolled in the TMAA ITCP must be registered with TMAA before being allowed to participate in the program.  Students who are already a member of a TMAA club, or who already have TMAA membership may register free of charge. 

Minimum Registration Requirements

TMAA ITCP curriculum requires that students have access to an appropriate martial arts teaching environment on a regular basis for completion of course activities and assignments. Some assignments may involve interviewing personnel, discussing operating systems, reviewing company documents, conducting class exercises etc.

ITCP Course Costs

Each course lesson provides a certain number of credits toward certification at $3 per credit, thus the costs of certification are maintained at a very affordable rate.  Each certification course is split into different lesson plans, and these may be enrolled into individually, or as a complete course with the requisite course fee being due upon registration. 

ITCP Certification Exam Costs

Certification is completed through written and practical examinations performed at national test sites by certified TMAA ITCP examiners.  Certification exams cost $50 per student.

ITCP Certification Exam Requirements

All candidates applying for ITCP examination must:
• be an active TMAA member in good standing
• be registered with TMAA ITCP for the examination course
• have completed the course credit requirements
• have completed all pre-requisite certification or course credit requirements
• have their instructors recommendation (where appropriate)

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