Compassion, patience, infectious enthusiasm, reliability, organisation, integrity and an analytical mind to begin with and then teacher training. At OSMA we may invite a student as young as 10 to begin our teacher training programme if we see the above character traits. When assisting in class, they bolster our great student/teacher ratios still further and help to give even more attention to each student. These young apprentices do not lead the class, they learn slowly and progressively. A three year old child in the foundation programme does not need a 4th Dan instructor throughout the duration of the class. They need a smiling assistant to tie their belt (again) and show them the way to the toilet. In this way we are giving even better value to the programme and investing in the character education of our young apprentices, as well as in the future of our school.