By Master Milad
The short answer
Yes. At Endurance, it already has. Some of the people teaching on our floor today started on these mats as students. The path runs student, helper, Leadership Team, paid instructor and, for a few, master. Your first class is free. Book it
They started where your child is
That isn’t a sales line. Senior instructors on our floor right now started here as students, and one of them is a master who runs one of our schools today. Others came up the same way and now teach the next group every week.
They aren’t the only ones. Plenty of others came up through our classes, taught with us for years, then moved on to whatever came next. That counts too.
Step one: student
Every career here starts the same way. A white belt in the back row who can’t remember which foot goes forward.
Nobody walks in as an instructor. The students who go furthest aren’t always the most talented. They’re the ones who keep showing up.
Step two: helper
Long before any title, there’s helping. A higher belt shows a new student where to stand. Holds a target for a partner. Picks up the pads after class without being asked.
Nobody hands out a badge for it. We notice anyway.
Step three: the Leadership Team
Leadership Team is one of our clubs. It’s free, and it’s by invitation: when an instructor sees a student is ready, they’ll ask. Leaders learn to speak up in front of a group, set the example and run a small group of younger students. Then they help in real classes. (How does taekwondo teach kids to lead?)
Step four: paid instructor
A teen who knows the material, teaches well and shows up every time can be hired as a paid instructor while still in high school. That’s real responsibility, a real reference letter and a line on a university application that stands out.
Every instructor on our floor is a black belt first. But a black belt doesn’t make you a teacher, so we train that part too.
Step five: a career
For some, it doesn’t stop at a part-time job. We have full-time instructors, head instructors who lead the teaching at a school, and program directors who run one. The full-time roles come with benefits. There’s a real ladder, and it’s open to the people who grew up here. (Careers at Endurance)
Then there’s master. That’s the long game: years of training and years of teaching, earned and never given. The master we mentioned up top walked that whole road, starting as a white belt.
What it teaches, even if they never teach
Most students won’t become instructors. That’s fine. Teaching a younger student a front kick teaches patience, clear words and responsibility for someone else. Those go with them into any job.
What you can do at home
Ask who they helped today. Notice it when they teach a little brother or sister something from class. And if your teen says they want to teach one day, take it seriously. Tell their instructor.
So, can it be a career?
Yes. We’ve watched it happen, and the proof is teaching on our floor this week.
Come see where it starts. Your child’s first class is free.
About the author. Master Milad Bahrami opened Endurance in Port Moody in 2014, and today it’s three schools: Port Moody, Burnaby and Port Coquitlam. Read his story
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