For Focus’ Sake!
Rene Ritchie, May 11th, 2008
I demonstrate a movement for the group to work on. They break up into pairs to try it out. And they end up doing anything but.
Sure, they may go through the motions once or twice, but inevitably, they want to immediately know how to counter the move they just learned, and how to counter the counter, and “what-if” this and “yeah-but” that. They want to do everything but train the move.
Bottom line, though, if you don’t train the move, if you don’t get it as right as possible, if you don’t put in the time to make it yours, then it will suck and anything will counter it, and anything will counter the just-as-sucky counter. “What-if” nothing and “yeah-but” never.
Do the move. Train it. Just the move. Do it with focus and with intent, and with conscious repetition. Make it yours. Own it. And then move on to the next thing, whether that’s complement or counter.
Time is limited. In an hour you could train one move for 60 minutes or ten moves for just 6 minutes each. And your teacher’s attention will be limited to, by time and others in the class. If your teacher is there, if that resource is available to you, then use it. Work on what you’re given to work on, explore it, question it, test it, and when you have trouble you can’t solve on your own, ask your teacher — about that one move, that one thing you have chance of getting in your limited time and with your teacher’s limited attention.
Don’t mess around. Don’t get distracted. And for Sifu’s sake don’t try and “teach” something else to your partner when you should be both be learning.
People these days!
When I used to assist in my old School this really use to annoy me. Some people just don’t get it (hard work). They get bored after trying the technique just a few times, and think they have it. Then they want a new technique, to ‘add to their repertoire’. Hmmm
It’s often these same people that don’t last long as they just want fast food Kung Fu and if they have to wait too long fopr the goodies, they’ll eventually leave… this is a good thing in a large school IMO. Not so much in smaller groups.
It’s frustrating if everyone at the school is like this but luckily, it was never too many people at the same time. My simple solution was to say “Cool, you’ve got it already? That’s great… SHOW ME… Do it on me!”
When I’d effortlessly nullified their pathetic attempt at applying said technique, I’d break it back down and explain why they hadn’t made it work. I’d make sure that they could perform it on me effectively before I’d let them train something else that lesson.
As for the ‘wannabee instructors’, who so diligently massage their egos with their ‘advice’ giving; get everyone to stop training and ask that person to perform it on you in front of everyone else. If they do it well, explain why to the others, if they didn’t, again explain why… The end result is also good. They’ll either re-hash what you just said and help the process smoothly, next time helping out or just shut up as they no longer can pull off that ‘false air of authority’.
Peace
Shen
“Less talking - more training”
(meaning NO talking, JUST training) and a hard handclap usually worked quite well on me when I got out of line…