Quality Control and Honesty

[Doc Stier]

From my experience, an instructor who's been around the block can usually tell right away whether a student has a skeptical attitude toward his skill, and resolves the issue quickly by dishing out a "convincing" amout of whup-ass to make a believer out of the student.

Tell it, C.J., tell it. Old Chinese saying: "One picture worth thousand words".



Doc

[bailewen]

You must run through teachers really fast.



S

No pun intended? . .

[shawnsegler]

Who can say? It's a mystery.

Cousin Shawn is always representin' some kind of complex double meanin' crazy talk.

It is known.

S

[Chanchu]

I don't think I want to do that- try out my instructor out- I am certain it would be a painful experiance (for me) I have seen people try to sucker punch him while he is doing rote instruction of S/D moves it was not a good thing... one other guy tried to resist a joint lock in rote instruction and reverse it lock or throw the teacher- he ended up laying on a concrete floor like a shamu gasping for air for a very long time.
I thought the class was done and that shamu would be in the hospital for a long time..
Lucky baby shamu was revived and swam away back out to sea...

No, no I really I don't think that would be a good idea ...

A better thing to do would be to say sifu how about if I attack you? what will you do? umm nah another bad idea...

[shawnsegler]

I like what happened to clyman...

S- or better yet BK

[DeusTrismegistus]

Well it is an interesting dilemna that we train for self defense and fighting but we can't train in a completely realistic way. So whether its knife defense or anything else how do you know that what you are learning is functional? I know I will sometimes get to a point where I wonder myself. It seems like whenever this happens there is usually something that happens to me that conforms that what I am learning is working. A lot of times it has been from a new classmate who makes things a little too real while sparring, and I have to protect myself, and him, from injuries while trying to keep doing what I am supposed to do. Its been a while since this has happened but whenever it has its let me know that if someone was really coming after me, I would be ok.

My teacher never does the whole punch me with "xxx" or hit me with "xxx" thing either. He says hit me and then shows what he wants to show, doesn't matter what is thrown at him.

Without real experience I think there will always be a little wonder if the stuff you are learning works, which is personally why I want to compete in san shou and more shuai jiao. But where I learn we don't do rehearsed drills, we don't learn applications. We learn in a unrehearsed environment. If you never train to use something without the rehearsal and pre arranged patterns, then I can only think the doubt over your ability to use what you know would be much worse.

[Ian]

There is more than one way to skin a cat, and *your instructor* doesn't know them all.

Nor do you.

I covered this in my first post.

If you go to a bar, do you try to stab random people, and then ask to study with the person who kicks your ass?

Sorry, what? I wrote "do you ever randomly attack your instructor with a training knife."


Thanks for the replies guys, but I'm out of this topic.

There were two parts to my original post.

The first was about testing your instructor.

The second was about questioning your instructor's wisdom and your own internalized biases.

A lot of you have focused exclusively on the first part and misinterpreted it as a recommendation to cheap shot your instructor at all times. This idea is ridiculous. I don't go into a CQB or force-on-force training scenario with a loaded gun and plan to shoot my instructor in the head.

It's also interesting to see that people are quicker to criticize rather than suggest alternatives and offer solutions.

[DeusTrismegistus]

There is more than one way to skin a cat, and *your instructor* doesn't know them all.

Nor do you.

I covered this in my first post.

If you go to a bar, do you try to stab random people, and then ask to study with the person who kicks your ass?

Sorry, what? I wrote "do you ever randomly attack your instructor with a training knife."


Thanks for the replies guys, but I'm out of this topic.

There were two parts to my original post.

The first was about testing your instructor.

The second was about questioning your instructor's wisdom and your own internalized biases.

A lot of you have focused exclusively on the first part and misinterpreted it as a recommendation to cheap shot your instructor at all times. This idea is ridiculous. I don't go into a CQB or force-on-force training scenario with a loaded gun and plan to shoot my instructor in the head.

It's also interesting to see that people are quicker to criticize rather than suggest alternatives and offer solutions.

Welcome to the internet.

[Ian]

Why thank you

Whenever I post something MA-related, I'm always surprised to find that I share something in common with perhaps 10% of you guys. Oh well. On with the show!

(Agree with your post btw.)

[Darthwing Teorist]

Hehehe! It's OK. At the time I did think that it was similar to the Pink Panther thing, like Interloper said.

[Buddy]

Sounds like a real good way to get an arm broken...at the least.

[D_Glenn]

.

[Aged Tiger]

Ok,

I've been watching this thread degrade quickly... *shawn*.... too funny

Besides, don't you go through at least 15 teachers a week? I do.....

Ian,

If I may be so bold, it seems that you have some underlying trust issues, either with past teachers, or the systems you have been training in. While "testing out" your teacher is ok in the manner you mentioned, (given it has been discussed previously, so as not to cause you permenant physical damage), I have to agree that faith and plain hard work have to come in to play at some point.

May I ask how long you have stayed with each of the mentioned teachers/styles? If it has been less than several years, the "Bruce Lee Sydrome" is coming to mind. i.e. Try out a school for a few weeks or months, can't do it well, can't fight well, "this guy sucks", move on to another school.

Not saying that is the case, just going by what I'm seeing here, but if that is truly your feeling, you have a REALLY LOOOOONNNNNGGGG road ahead......

My 2.3245433245 cents worth,

Chas

[Muad'dib]

Ian, maybe you would get better responses if you took the time to write your posts more carefully, because your comments prior to saying "I'm out of here" are not reflective of your actual posts. The internet does not promote psychic mind reading. Perhaps you share more than you think with the people here, but you simply can't put your martial posts in sufficiently clear terms. When you get responses you didn't expect from a poorly written post, you blame others. This is not the way.

BTW, not that Genki Sudo is a renowned knife defender, but he is at least a well known MMA guy, who was once stabbed walking down the street in Shibuya, and none of his skills did him any help.

And finally, I stand by my belief that your method of "testing", at least as described, is actually intellectual dishonesty, UNLESS you at least take the time to develop reasonable skill by the standard of the system before attempting to "try it out". Trying to do any martial art move "immediately" is a damn good way to fail, no matter what. Hell, I can show you how to shoot a life saver with a bow at 50 yards, walk you throw it, the stance, the draw, the release, etc. If you try it yourself though without practicing it, you will fail. (Actually, its a while since I could do that. I'd fail too. Does not mean it's not possible though.) That's really the part about your post I thought questionable, as you could tell if you read my own poorly worded post. Rather, much like the people you complain about here, you also read the respondents posts selectively. I can't say I am willing to be overly upset about your issues.