3 Teaching Strategies: Do You Dictate, W&S, or Nudge?
Date: October 8, 2011Author: Matthew ApsokarduCategories: Discussion,Featured,TrainingTags: Instruction, Karate, MasterSkip to commentsImagine the most boring class you had in high school or college. The teacher's droning probably made you itchy to escape the intellectual prison they called a classroom.Now imagine the best class you had in high school or college. The impact of that instructor has probably lasted well beyond your school days.Teaching a martial art is a rare gift and responsibility, one that has an amazing amount of freedom. In the public education system there are layers of governing boards and protocols to funnel what can be taught and how it can be transmitted. In the martial arts world, the possibilities are much more varied.Sure, most martial art organizations have criteria for what it takes to advance in ranking…but are there guidelines for how that knowledge should be transmitted? Unlikely.It's possible of course to try and perfectly mimic your instructor's style, but that's rarely attainable (or even desirable). Personal experience, talent level, intellectual capacity, and philosophical beliefs will flavor everything you do in a unique way.Therefore it's wise to examine your own teaching methods and decide for yourself how you might best help your students. Consider the following three strategies for imparting a martial art:DICTATEBeing a full-on dictator is bad…but sometimes dictating is good! Dictating refers to the act of instructing students in a very specific and structured manner. The teacher tells the student where to step, where to block, how to balance, what degree angle to turn, etc etc. Dictating is a powerful tool, especially in the early phases of a young martial artist's career as he/she tries desperately to adjust to the rigors of training.The weakness of dictation is a lack of creativity. Students are so busy trying to fit into the structure of class while avoiding technical mistakes that they rarely engage in critical thinking. Toying with technique, trial and error, and big-picture contemplation is not on the to-do checklist.Of course, giving specific advice has been around since one caveman taught another how to sharpen a stick; there's no question regarding the value of detail transmission. However, modern teaching has taken dictation to a high extreme, resulting in formalized classes filled with one-way information and strict regimentation. A lot of that can be attributed to military influence.When military men first arrived in eastern countries and learned martial arts, they often integrated the material they learned with the military methods they had been molded in. They did so for purely practical reasons. The stakes were/are very high in military and law enforcement work. Following orders with precision saves lives while creating higher probability of success for an entire unit.The west wasn't alone in their military intentions; eastern countries like Japan and even Okinawa began teaching martial arts in larger group settings for the purpose of crafting young men into resilient, obedient soldiers. Strong dictation was a natural evolution of teaching style.WAIT AND SEEPerhaps the diametric opposite of dictating is the 'wait and see' approach. W&S involves demonstrating technique, kata, etc while offering no breakdown or explanation. The instructor performs and the students must watch and gather what they can. Discussion is not a big part of W&S.W&S has been the method of choice for centuries in many of the eastern koryu arts. Due to the influence of Confucianism, eastern philosophy enforces the idea of quiet obedience and attendance when being instructed. W&S does not require the instructor to hold a student's hand through every detail.The strength of W&S lies in it's focus and range of possibilities. When learning in W&S style there is no spoon feeding of information, and going on mental 'cruise control' is a very quick way to fall behind and eventually wash out. Furthermore, interpretation of what a student sees an instructor do can be highly varied. Since there is no specific guidance, the student is left to his/her own experience and critical thinking in order to determine how to achieve the same skill level as the instructor. W&S also has the benefit of being able to transcend language barrier.The weakness of W&S lies in it's roadblocks and time frame. If a student gets stuck and lacks understanding, they can find themselves in 'learning quicksand'. Even if they do eventually struggle their way through a problem, it may have taken years longer than was needed. A few pieces of wisdom from an experienced instructor could have reframed perspective and fixed a wayward path, but with W&S there can be a lack of active course correction.Another weakness of W&S is organizational. When an instructor allows students to interpret the art for themselves, each student will naturally come to different conclusions. When the senior instructor is not present, or has passed away, the result is chaotic and often results in massive splintering among students.NUDGENudging is perhaps a middle ground of the previous two methods and involves monitoring a student's progress noninvasively, interjecting from time to time in order to enhance growth and understanding.A nudge is not as concrete as dictation; if the instructor fixes the angle of a student's stance, that is a dictated correction. If on the other hand he/she asks the student why the angle of a stance might be better increased or decreased, that is a nudge toward understanding.Nudging is a powerful tool, especially when instructing higher level students. Advanced martial artists can become stagnant and bored if they only receive dictated training year after year. That is why challenging them to draw their own conclusions and guiding them to their own level of higher understanding is so essential.The problem with nudging is twofold: difficulty and structure. Students can become impatient and annoyed with a teacher who nudges all the time because they feel a simple straight answer would be a quicker solution to their needs. Furthermore, teaching in a nudge style can be extremely tricky. It's very easy to fall into a 'false philosopher' mode where the instructor simply projects student's questions back onto them without providing any real insight. For example:"Sensei, what does this technique mean? I can't put it to any good use.""My student, what do you think it means? Once you know that, you'll have your answer."This exchange sounds wise and zen-like, but it doesn't provide any nudging.The other difficulty is in structure. Instructors must navigate the complicated tapestry of tradition and ego. In some ways, it is an instructor's duty to pass along a style exactly as it was handed to him/her (best done through dictation). Meanwhile, the more students look exactly like the instructor, the better pleased the instructor will be due to subtle ego (since I know what I am doing, the students should look like me!). Thus, nudging requires a careful relaxing of those rules in order to let students find their own path to higher effectiveness.How does an instructor maintain the integrity of a tradition while helping students explore their own path? That's the difficulty in nudging.A Proper MixtureI don't believe any one of the methods above is superior to the others. In fact, I think most good instructors find a mixture of all three with plenty of other tactics mixed in. A skilled instructor will observe what each individual needs on a case-by-case, day-by-day basis. In fact, teaching strategy can change in mid-class (or even mid-sentence).The key, I think, is to recognize the tools available as a teacher and use them to their highest effect. Knowing when to take the reigns and when to loosen them is critical in helping students achieve that rare but essential goal of self actualization. Only then can a martial art start to grow into ikigai.
Date: December 4, 2011Author: Charlie WildishCategories: Featured,Karate,TechniquesTags:Skip to commentsThe "corkscrew" punch where we rotate the fist at the end of the punch is unique to Oriental martial arts.Twisting the fist is something that we all know about and take for granted. And why shouldn't we, we've been doing it since our very first class in Karate/Tae Kwon Do/most styles of Kung Fu . The reason that I write about it here, is because I believe that it is something that though deeply ingrained into us, is still not done quite right by a good many people.It may sound a bit strange to question something so basic, but bare with me. Although many will be doing what I describe below, a good many others will not be.Why not? Because people will rotate the fist to get it into it's correct finishing position, but not think about how the rest of the arm is moving to get it there!It would be more correct to say that you should "twist your forearm". The fist is actually incapable of rotating on its own, it is only capable of moving up and down in a waving/hinged motion when isolated from any other arm movement.Try this little exercise. Perform any linear punch, then just freeze for a second with the arm in the extended punch position (no snap back). Now keep check if the crease of your elbow joint (where it folds) is pointing upwards or inwards. If you are not sure, then being very careful not to move the upper arm at all, bend the elbow. It the fist rises up then the crease of the elbow joint is facing up. If the fist moves inward (parallel to the floor) then the crease of the elbow is pointing inwards.So why should you care about that?Like the fist, the elbow is incapable of rotating itself, it is a hinge joint rather than a ball joint. From the starting position with the fist at the hip, the crease of the elbow joint points forward. As the arm is extended forward (without rotating), the elbow crease should end up pointing upwards.For the elbow to rotate (so that the elbow crease points inward), you actually have to rotate the arm in the shoulder socket. To be a bit more technical, you rotate the humerus bone in the ball socket at the shoulder.This is something that you shouldn't be doing. Firstly it is an unnecessary movement of the shoulder joint and as we progress, we should be looking to take out all unnecessary movements. Secondly, it creates a small jarring feeling at the elbow, so it is not good for the long term health of either shoulder or elbow joint. Furthermore, it's a less efficient punching technique, so it is less effective if you really need it.Try standing in front of a mirror with you arm and shoulders exposed. Now extend your arm in front of you and towards the mirror. Don't worry about making a fist or any technique, just relax. Now rotate the whole arm several times at the shoulder joint. You will notice when you look closely that upper arm actually moves very slightly away from the body when you rotate the arm so that the elbow crease points inwards rather than upwards. Linear techniques are based on having the body weight behind them, so anything that takes the strike sideways away from the body will weaken that technique.Granted, this is a very slight outward movement, but as you get more advanced, so it become more about fine detail.It also effects your muscular alignments too. The shoulder and lateral muscles (underneath the arm pits) act as shock absorbers and maintain the body structure when you strike a target and receive a reaction force from the impact. Rotating the humerus outward in the shoulder socket slightly stretches those muscles making them less efficient at absorbing that reaction force.Furthermore, when you punch, you use your triceps to extend your arm. The triceps work more efficiently with the crease of the elbow facing upwards. Don't believe me? Ask anyone who does weight training, or look up "triceps curls" on Youtube.The bones of the forearm (the ulna and radius) are much smaller and they can rotate around each other. There is not a big ball in socket rotation required as with rotating the humerus in the shoulder socket.If you are not used to doing it this way, it may feel awkward at first and you may not be able to fully rotate the fist all the way over. Stick with it, your forearm muscles will become more flexible and it will become easier. You'll find when you get used to it that the whole punch is much smoother than when you rotate the shoulder joint.There is an argument that the bone alignment is weaker when the ulna and radius are rotated about each other. However, the idea when punching is that you actually make contact with the target before rotating the forearm (when the fist is still palm up). So the point of impact is when these bones are still in a strong alignment. You only rotate the forearm after contact has been made so that the rotational energy is added to forward impact to the punch, giving it a very penetrating "corkscrew effect".This forearm rotation comes into many other techniques too, such as at the very end of Soto Uke (Outside Block), Uchi Uke (Inside Block) and others. With these blocks, the rotation of the fist at the end of the technique cannot be supported by the rotation of the shoulder joint because of the arm being bent and the elbow joint being lower than the fist. Practicing for maximum forearm rotation in the punches will help maximise the forearm rotation in these other techniques too, making them more powerful, even with smaller movements. It helps to give a small "whip" on the the end of these other techniques.