Yes! This is going to be one of Those articles. You know I hate to sound like a broken record. I've been doing various martial arts my entire life and I truly believe in it and that it can help people. I think martial arts like karate,jujitsu,fma,etc. can change many lives in a positive way. Please understand before you read on that this is an individual problem that has nothing to do with any particular art. There's good and bad in everything like everything else it usually depends on the instructor.
Many years ago these techniques and concepts were used on the battlefield by ancient warriors. These warriors used this stuff everyday and they knew what they were doing because of it. If something wasn't working properly then it would be modified because lives would be lost if it wasn't the best that it could be.
In many circles this has been lost in dojo training. Instructors today are not the warriors of yesterday. Some of the guys i know of have never been in a fight in their lives. All they do is teach a curriculum that was handed down to them by some other guy that it was handed to. Going back generations none of the people may have ever had to use any of these techniques or tactics. A lot of the old tactics were designed to combat someone with a weapon or for some other scenario other than for what they are being taught. This can be very dangerous for a potential student.
I'm very aware that a lot of people do martial arts for exercise or for self confidence or some other reason other than self defense. However, I believe if your teaching a martial art that it is still implied that your gonna teach someone how to defend themselves. To think otherwise is very ignorant. I've seen instructors across this country that basically just phone it in. They aren't trying to help anyone they are more concerned with walking around looking important instead of actually being important and this frustrates me to know end. You know i saw a book the other day called Weapons of Karate. Talk about not giving a damn. For those that do not know karate is a word from Okinawa meaning "empty hand". Weapons that were taught to them was actually a separate art called Kobudo or Kobu-jutsu. You would think an author would know this...but they don't. It's honestly gotten that bad.
If your an instructor please understand me when i say to you that in this day and age your responsibility is not to some grandmaster that you may never meet. Your responsibility is to the people that come to you for help. They put their blind faith in you and you should strive everyday to make sure that you earned it. Every technique that you teach should always be tested under stress before you teach it. This is called pressure testing. Pretty much any technique will work on a compliant person that is standing still when nothing is on the line. That however isn't gonna be the way it is if one of your students gets attacked. I think every instructor owes it to their students to pressure test techniques. When you see a technique you should ask the same questions of it even if it works. Here are some examples:
Did the technique work?
What would make that technique fail or what would the counter be?
Is there a different technique that would be higher percentage?
Does this technique require a student to be a certain size or gender?
How long would it take a student to become proficient at this technique?
Should it be higher or lower in the overall curriculum based on training time?
What situations or scenarios would this apply?
What are the concepts that drive the technique so my students can understand it better and possibly modify it if need be?
These are a few of the questions that you should be asking simply because it should matter to you. Pressure testing can be done safely! One way to induce the stress is to have a student stand with there back to the attacker in class and have them turn around and the person attack them as they turn around. Another way is to use a whistle in class so you have the attacks happen randomly when you blow the whistle and know one gets to know when it happens. These are just a couple ways to induce real stress in a controlled environment. This will tell you right away if that technique is gonna work. If it doesn't work then toss it. Let your students know your testing the techniques. At least they know your not gonna teach some bogus thing on purpose and that your putting them first. I still have students that contact me today that i taught when they were children just to say how much they've been helped by the training. That means more to me than anything. I made sure they always knew that their safety came first and that they are what mattered not some outdated logic. I think as instructors you owe this to your students. Potential students if your going to a dojo to study make sure you ask these questions so you don't get stuck with a paper tiger just going through the motions. Make sure they pressure test. Sure you may not be on a battlefield everyday but the world is getting more violent everyday. You don't gamble with your life betting on someone who is just going through the motions. Make sure they pressure test. Thanks
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