It can’t be repeated enough: this workshop is the beginning of something new.
After you recover from this intensive, you can pick it right back up and continue, whether your purpose is to simply maintain your fitness, continue learning and become a leader in the community, or anything in between. But particularly if you think you’ll be performing and will need stage combat in your next gig, or if you’d like to continue to study stage combat in any manner, don’t let this be your only contact with it until your formal opportunity. Let this art form be something you pick up every week — maybe even every day! — bringing you joy and feeding your curiosity all year round.
This is doubly true for new teachers and teacher candidates. It can be tempting to funnel all of your energy into seeking teaching and apprenticing opportunities, but don’t forget to attend classes strictly as a student. Study with as many people as possible. Everyone approaches this work differently, and every student requires a different approach. You strengthen your teaching skills with every class you take. Even classes that are in other disciplines and skills entirely: nothing like taking a class in something completely new to you to remind you how overwhelming knowing nothing can be. Develop your sympathy for your students by being one yourself as often as possible.
It sounds cliché, but it’s utterly true: you learn from your students. Every surprise should bring you joy. Every strength you see in them should inspire you to develop your own skills further. Every weakness you see should remind you that this can be challenging and terrifying work, and we should all approach every day with the mind of a beginner. Your love for this craft and the desire to share that with others has led you to this particular course of study. Maintain your hunger for learning and you’ll bring the fullness of your unique perspective to your teaching.
What is comes down to for everyone, no matter what depth of involvement you want this or any other art form to have in your life, approach it with the beginners mind: curiosity, desire to learn and persistence. Have full confidence that that will propel you into a successful future, growing and developing all the way.