Hello all. I have two main questions I hope someone can help me with.
1) What, exactly, is a Coach Instructor? I see that they are practitioners who have not yet achieved Assistant Instructor rank in their respective discipline, but what does it mean? Can they run a class/club/school as official YMAA (provisional or otherwise)? Can they award ranks? And, if so, up to what rank (up to their own, one less than their own, etc)?
2) What is the best way to train on my own and become a Coach Instructor? I trained at YMAA Boston back in 1999 and really miss the excellent quality and flow of the training. Never got a rank, but I still practice the first 3 tan tui and occasionally Lian Bu Quan (I have decades of regular training in karate and systems, so that helps with remembering and applying the Shaolin I remember). I have Master Yang's Shaolin Kung Fu book as well as Comprehensive Apps of Shaolin Chin Na. However, looking at the rank requirements (still have my curriculum book), there are items I don't recall and don't know how to relearn on my own (the White Crane partner form, the partner sparring exercises, for instance).
So, what would the best path be to studying on my own (I'm in Northern Virginia) so that I can make trips to seminars/training (likely in Boston) once or twice a year in order to clean up my techniques/form and test for rank? And, along with that, work on being a Coach Instructor so that I can create my own training partners down here.
Thanks in advance,
Dan Santillo