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Abstract
The purpose of this article is to use self-study methodology to analyze critically the impact of 30 years of non-formal education on my development as a teacher educator. I begin within a particular conception of self-study research and make a case for situating martial arts as non-formal education. The data for this article are presented as a series of episodes, in which I write a short paragraph about each phase in my development as a martial artist and comment on my approach to learning and teaching, where appropriate, during each episode. At the end of the article, I draw several links to self-study literature and to my own understanding of teacher education. In so doing, I demonstrate the value of examining the impact of non-formal education experiences as a teacher educator.
Acknowledgements
With a few exceptions (notably, Shotokan Karate and Kodokan Judo), the curricula of martial arts originating from Asia tend not to be written down. They tend to be passed from master to student through oral instruction and physical correction. To borrow an academic term, they are embodied. I wish to acknowledge the contributions of my past and current martial arts teachers to my thinking about pedagogy and my development as a person. I have tried to represent the traditional knowledge, much of which is centuries old, that they have shared with me in a respectful and scholarly way. Any errors or omissions are my own. I thank them for many hours of patient and careful instruction.