Four Levels of Evaluation: Getting Even More out of Martial Arts

The late Joon Rhee once said there is no such thing as an advanced technique, only advanced applications of basic techniques. Thinking back to when I first heard him say that in an interview, I am also reminded an instructional pioneer named Don Kirkpatrick.  Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation are not only easy to understand, but they are also easy to use, and the results can improve training for everyone in your school(s).

Now, I could start piling on a bunch of academic terms that would please my old professors, but they might put you to sleep before you finish this essay. So, I’m not going to do that.  Instead, we’re going to tackle the four levels in a way that hits home with you: Math and the training mat.

The first level is about engaging your students. As teachers, you need to know what they know and gauge their interest in the lesson right away. When I was a little boy, I didn’t know what the word addition meant at first, but I did understand what candy bars were. That’s how I was hooked into learning to add and subtract.  My teacher knew how to get us interested and keep us in the lesson as we stepped through it together. Think about the first technique you might teach on a given night. The words mae keage geri might mean nothing to your students at first, but if you show them what that kick can do spectacularly, they will immediately associate the new language with the rush they felt watching you demonstrate.

Level two in Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model is made up of building blocks and their repetition. After addition and subtraction, there is multiplication and division. Before long, your students begin to see that multiplying is just another form of adding. In turn, they also begin to see that division is yet another form of subtraction. Do you remember what it was like for you as an elementary school student? Now, think about how you learned the martial arts in the beginning vs. how your curriculum and lesson plans are structured now: are they stacked with all the necessary pieces your students need to move forward?

At the third level, your students are putting their basics into standardized applications.  Forms, one-step sparring drills, and sparring combinations can be like word problems in Math. This is where your students learn to put the basics together and solve the problems of self-defense.  I must admit that I didn’t enjoy doing word problems in school, but they did set me up for success in college as well as my professional life. Have you ever met a student who didn’t enjoy forms or one-step sparring as much as you did? It’s totally o.k. if they don’t; of course, each of us gets a personalized experience when it comes to training. We all like what we like, and it’s not easy to persuade us otherwise.

Don Kirk Patrick’s Fourth Level of Evaluation is that all-important test: checking readiness for whatever shows up, not only outside of your training facility, but outside of your curriculum, for the most part.  Preparing students for “real-world” word problems that weren’t in the book, so to speak, is arguably the toughest test. This is where students recognize that the situation is missing some of the key information their teachers taught them to look for (at the last level) to use to solve the problem(s) at hand. This is where strategies and practical concepts can empower students to flow with the danger(s) they face. Successful identification of the openings and opportunities to use the best techniques for the situation is not easy, and it doesn’t always happen right away either.

This ability to recognize and instinctively respond comes with time, your encouragement, and your active involvement on the floor.  Your empathy with students will help generate more trust from them as they journey through the fourth level of evaluation. They need to know that you more than understand that answers are not always clear.  Regardless, your students are never alone. They have you, their families, their friends, and themselves. You believe in them, and they are learning to believe in themselves. At first glance, Don Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation might seem too obvious to some; if you already think you’re there, then consider them as a healthy gauge you can use to calibrate your content.  Alas, if this framework is new to you, then please enjoy as you explore the possibilities.