The best way to learn...is to teach...
Dec 19, 2018 1:30:28 GMT
Post by RufusScorpius on Dec 19, 2018 1:30:28 GMT
I've been practicing katana for close to 30 years now. I started with Kendo, the moved into private instruction in kenjitsu techniques, and for a while I was "ronin" and simply practiced by myself. But that changed about 9 months ago when I actually took on a student.
I found out a few things rather quickly, one is that I'm old and not made of rubber anymore, and the other is that I am a better swordsman than I give myself credit for. It fascinates me to consider that I have always seen myself as a goofy first year learner apprentice third class, no matter how many years I practiced. But now that I have my first student, I can see that I've actually come a long way, and that he looks up to me and marvels at what I can do (which I don't think is that great at all really). Since the latter is more important than the former, it causes me to become better at the craft so I can teach it properly.
I do enjoy teaching. I like the idea of not just passing on knowledge, but helping my student avoid mistakes. Sure, it's possible to learn from a book or youtube video, but that breeds horrible technique that will get you killed in a real fight- not that anybody fights with a sword nowadays, but if you are going to take the time and effort to learn something, then why not learn it properly? I have found that the ONLY way to really learn a martial art is by sparring, lots and lots of sparring. And that is where I have come to understand everything I have learned up to this point- it's where the rubber meets the road and where all the drills and katas start to make sense and flow together. Strength matters to a degree, but with good technique it's possible to overcome the strongest adversary. But I'm twice the age and then some of my student, so I have to rely on a dirty trick every so often- lest the whelp think he can get one over on me
As my first sensei said when I asked him how I could avoid getting hit, he slyly answered "when you get hit enough, you learn how not to get hit". I didn't understand at the time, but now I do. I see the same absence of understanding in the eyes of my student, and I smile with the secure knowledge that he too will eventually understand- after I hit him enough. I wonder if my old sensei was thinking the same things I am thinking now- that learning is not hard (really anybody can do it), it's just a matter of correct practice and having somebody be there to answer questions and connect the dots. And getting hit enough.
So I ramble on a bit, but the bottom line is that by having a student, I am forced to learn more and be better, and practice practice practice.
I found out a few things rather quickly, one is that I'm old and not made of rubber anymore, and the other is that I am a better swordsman than I give myself credit for. It fascinates me to consider that I have always seen myself as a goofy first year learner apprentice third class, no matter how many years I practiced. But now that I have my first student, I can see that I've actually come a long way, and that he looks up to me and marvels at what I can do (which I don't think is that great at all really). Since the latter is more important than the former, it causes me to become better at the craft so I can teach it properly.
I do enjoy teaching. I like the idea of not just passing on knowledge, but helping my student avoid mistakes. Sure, it's possible to learn from a book or youtube video, but that breeds horrible technique that will get you killed in a real fight- not that anybody fights with a sword nowadays, but if you are going to take the time and effort to learn something, then why not learn it properly? I have found that the ONLY way to really learn a martial art is by sparring, lots and lots of sparring. And that is where I have come to understand everything I have learned up to this point- it's where the rubber meets the road and where all the drills and katas start to make sense and flow together. Strength matters to a degree, but with good technique it's possible to overcome the strongest adversary. But I'm twice the age and then some of my student, so I have to rely on a dirty trick every so often- lest the whelp think he can get one over on me
As my first sensei said when I asked him how I could avoid getting hit, he slyly answered "when you get hit enough, you learn how not to get hit". I didn't understand at the time, but now I do. I see the same absence of understanding in the eyes of my student, and I smile with the secure knowledge that he too will eventually understand- after I hit him enough. I wonder if my old sensei was thinking the same things I am thinking now- that learning is not hard (really anybody can do it), it's just a matter of correct practice and having somebody be there to answer questions and connect the dots. And getting hit enough.
So I ramble on a bit, but the bottom line is that by having a student, I am forced to learn more and be better, and practice practice practice.