I was teaching class this week and found myself unable to completely get across certain things to my students:
- Why you need to turn your hip completely into that kick, even if you hit plenty hard without it.
- Why you should always come back to the on guard position in training.
- Why hitting hard is not the most important thing and pursuing only that limits your other skills.
- Why it’s vital they follow procedure when training and not get creative before they have more experience.
The list goes on and on. Each of those points requires a long explanation to do it justice when they ask “Why?” But class is not the place for that. So as a teacher, I try to condense the most important keys to answer the question and still get the point across. But that inevitably always leaves out so much. And too often, the student still doesn’t get it.
How do I know? When I spot him doing the exact same error five minutes later instead of practicing what I explicitly told him to. Not all students are that way but many are. It isn’t “fun” to drill in a correction until the error goes away. Sparring and hitting the bag is cooler. But it’s through that error that they’ll get tagged by the opponent who spots it. And then all the other cool stuff will be useless.
It isn’t as simple as that, but I’m making it simple to get the point across: many times, you’re better off just doing what the teacher says instead of asking an explanation. Not always, obviously. But most often, you need to follow the advice and not ignore it or simply gloss over it.
I’m not a big fan of the old Chinese teaching method of “Shut up and do it because I tell you to” but it does offer some benefits in this specific area. If a teacher gave you advice on how to do things, you did it until he said otherwise. This is a powerful teaching method. Flawed, potentially dangerous, but it works. Here’s a good example, from my failing memory so don’t sue me if I get the details wrong:
Kenji Tokitsu once wrote about how one of his sword teachers told him to hit a car tire with his bokken, 500 times each day. And so he did for years on end. His teacher never asked about or mentioned the exercise again, though. So after several years, Kenji stopped doing that exercise.
The next time he saw his teacher, they had just started training when the old man asked “Have you stopped practicing on the tire?”. Kenji had to admit he had done exactly that. With further training apparently useless, his teacher ended the class right away and told him to resume practice.
I always liked that story, even though I thought it was exaggerated when I first read it twenty years ago. Today, I can honestly say I get it. I’m no grand master or anything like that, but I can tell which students practiced the exercises I advised them to do at home. And those who didn’t.
Anyway, this rambling came about after Thursday’s class combined with hearing this song again yesterday. It’s a great one, with loads of great advice. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:
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John W. Zimmer says
Cool video – I’ve always thought that one should hire kids while they know everything. :)
As for the what if’s… as you say they will pay for errors over the long haul. I used to take the what if’s and make examples out of them a little bit and then explain the reasons if they still cared. For instance in your example I would have given them a body bag and let them feel the difference between kicks.
Or in your other example made them punch themselves out on a bag and then sparred them for one minute, tagging them 50 times… to drill in the point.
In the end – all of that took effort so mostly I’d fall back on because I told you so :)
Wim says
@John:
I used to do things like that but a lot of them still don’t get it then. They think it’s because I’m stronger/better/more experienced, whatever. They don’t want to see that I only advanced because I did things a certain way. These days, I’m also leaning more and more to the old Chinese way myself. :-)
John W. Zimmer says
Cool video – I’ve always thought that one should hire kids while they know everything. :)
As for the what if’s… as you say they will pay for errors over the long haul. I used to take the what if’s and make examples out of them a little bit and then explain the reasons if they still cared. For instance in your example I would have given them a body bag and let them feel the difference between kicks.
Or in your other example made them punch themselves out on a bag and then sparred them for one minute, tagging them 50 times… to drill in the point.
In the end – all of that took effort so mostly I’d fall back on because I told you so :)
Wim says
@John:
I used to do things like that but a lot of them still don’t get it then. They think it’s because I’m stronger/better/more experienced, whatever. They don’t want to see that I only advanced because I did things a certain way. These days, I’m also leaning more and more to the old Chinese way myself. :-)
Danny Young says
I feel your and frustration pain. Unfortunately, so many have preconceived “ideas” about what is being taught, and what they “think” they should learn, so it falls on deaf ears. I have taught Spiritual matters, Building Codes, Martial arts for many years, and this is a common problem with people no matter what is being taught. Frankly, they don’t really believe you know what you are talking about, so it gets discarded, even though you have years and years of experience they don’t have. I have learned to look for the teachable, and don’t worry about the others. Getting off my soap box…..
Wim says
@Danny:
I’m not really frustrated about this, more saddened. I accepted a long time ago that very few people take their training as serious as I do. And that’s OK. It’s just sad to see talented students perform below their capabilities or see them give up because things don’t advance fast enough. So I do like you do, focus on those who actually want to learn.
In the end, I’m not the one limiting their progress, they are. If they want to learn, first thing to accept is to listen to the teacher. That’s the biggest hurdle for those students.
Danny Young says
I feel your and frustration pain. Unfortunately, so many have preconceived “ideas” about what is being taught, and what they “think” they should learn, so it falls on deaf ears. I have taught Spiritual matters, Building Codes, Martial arts for many years, and this is a common problem with people no matter what is being taught. Frankly, they don’t really believe you know what you are talking about, so it gets discarded, even though you have years and years of experience they don’t have. I have learned to look for the teachable, and don’t worry about the others. Getting off my soap box…..
Wim says
@Danny:
I’m not really frustrated about this, more saddened. I accepted a long time ago that very few people take their training as serious as I do. And that’s OK. It’s just sad to see talented students perform below their capabilities or see them give up because things don’t advance fast enough. So I do like you do, focus on those who actually want to learn.
In the end, I’m not the one limiting their progress, they are. If they want to learn, first thing to accept is to listen to the teacher. That’s the biggest hurdle for those students.
Danny Young says
Pain and frustration……..UGH!
Danny Young says
Pain and frustration……..UGH!
Danny Young says
It is so sad, and I agree with you. What a waste………
Danny Young says
It is so sad, and I agree with you. What a waste………
TheMartialArtsReporter says
Hey Wim,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Advice and youth wasted on the young.
Now, we can say that, too.
When the student is ready …..
So many quotes, but I date myself.
Keep up the great work.
Wim says
My pleasure, glad to hear you enjoyed it.
TheMartialArtsReporter says
Hey Wim,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Advice and youth wasted on the young.
Now, we can say that, too.
When the student is ready …..
So many quotes, but I date myself.
Keep up the great work.
Wim says
My pleasure, glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Weyland Billingsley says
Too much talk and not enough listen. Too much emphasis on rights and not earning privilege. Parents spoil their children and protect them too much. I had one parent who never took a class or came to their 17 year old’s practice lecture me on why he shouldn’t be mentored by one of my instructors because he was too demanding. I thought it was just what the kid needed to become an excellent student.