Mastering the Art: A Martial Arts Instructor's Insights on Skills, Achievements, and Teaching Style

We recently sat down to chat with XFactor Sports Center General Manager and martial arts instructor, Coach Outmane Tabakkouyat, who shared a few insights on important skills for students, achievements, teaching style, certification, and more. 

Coach Outmane is dedicated to providing high-quality martial arts instruction exclusively to students in the extracurricular activities program at Compass International School.
At XFactor Sports Center, Coach Outmane and his team of expert instructors offer a variety of martial arts classes, including karate, taekwondo, and kickboxing. With a focus on discipline, respect, and self-defence, Coach Outmane's classes provide a fun and safe environment for students to learn and grow.

1. What do you think is the most important skill for a martial arts student to learn?

The most important skills in martial arts are developing discipline, confidence and consistency in training. Students need to develop consistency and discipline to ensure that they can be focused and learn the necessary skills required to master the arts but it is also important to help build their confidence and self-worth to ensure that they reach their full potential.

2. You recently received an achievement award. Can you tell us more about this achievement? 

The award that we received was first place ranking for the 2023 Qatar Karate National Championship in both male and female categories. This included the highest number of medals which were 10 gold, 7 silver and 12 bronze. Another significant achievement for Xfactor was that the team entered the competition as a solo entity, whereas other all other clubs had partnered up with each other ie in pairs or threes.

3. What are your favourite aspects of teaching martial arts? 

When you teach new skills to students, you are sharing with them your own expertise and techniques to help them better themselves in their everyday lives , for example confidence building, overcoming their fears and performing in public. I don't see this as just a job, because for me, when I see my students prospering and receiving feedback from their parents about how their children have developed, I know that I am delivering the best outcomes for them. 

4. Are you certified or licensed in any martial arts styles? 

We are certified by both the Qatar Karate Federation as well as the World Karate Federation, without which you are not certified to teach in Qatar. The style of karate that we teach is called Shotokan, one of the oldest and most traditional forms of martial arts. I am a certified 4th Dan black belt karate expert and continue to work on moving up the ranks.

5. How would you describe your teaching style? 

My teaching style is a blend of being assertive but nurturing with my students. We have a very professional teacher-student relationship but I am also trained to recognise and adapt training where some students need to be given additional support, whether they are finding training challenging or need more because they are excelling. I teach mixed abilities to allow the students to learn from or support each other and build that team rapport in classes, which works very well.

6. What is your experience with group instruction? 

I have been teaching classes professionally for approximately 13 years now and I have been able to deliver to different ages and different abilities.

7. What makes you stand out from other martial arts instructors?

My dedication to my students, passion to be the best and a great love for the sport, continually developing even myself to ensure that my skills and knowledge are up to date and learning from my mentors. I have a responsibility to ensure I get the best from my students and that I work hard to get them to those levels, all of which I take very seriously and this is evident in all our wins.

8. Which martial arts styles do you most enjoy teaching, and why?

As mentioned, my expertise is Shotokan and this is also a well-developed and popular discipline going back hundreds of years.

9. How have you improved your skills over the past few years? 

As mentioned, I am a 4th Dan in Karate, which requires constant training and learning to work your way up the ranks and getting to this level is no mean feat. I am always developing my skills, training and learning from the best karate experts not just in Qatar but internationally. I, alongside my students regularly participate in national and international competitions and the dedication and training that goes into these are intense and require a lot of commitment, which I always ensure for everyone.

10. What advice would you give to beginners? 

My advice would be that students need to think about what they want to achieve from learning martial arts and to stay committed, even if sometimes it may seem challenging and daunting. Commitment, giving their all in training and continuous learning even outside of the classroom are the things that will help them achieve their goals. Some students join to learn self-defence, to keep fit and some join to be part of competitions and excel that way so every student is different but the commitment to learning is key.