Learning from the Inside-Out, or Outside-In?

[bigphatwong]

This has probably been discussed before, but when teaching a complete newbie, do you advocate "rewiring" them from the ground up by training them in a rigid set of prescribed drills and forms to exhaustion, or utilizing their intuitive reflexes and responses by finding what they do naturally and building off that instead (in a way that is consistent with your chosen system)?

My experience has been that the body and mind tend to rebel against being too harshly dictated to, and this can often be seen in children whose parents force them to embrace religion at too early an age. Not to suggest dispensing with style-specific conditioning entirely, but doing so in a way that is ecological and flexible with regards to the individual's physique, temperament and needs.

Do you believe that our natural instincts are wrong no matter what, and must be eradicated in order to replace them with newer and more efficient ones (a "break down and build up" approach)? Or are they the raw material that allow us to understand ourselves and our art?

Just trying to spark some convo.

[johnwang]

I like to use the "outside-in" approach.

- What kind of problems that a newbie will face (a straight punch to the head)?
- How to solve those problems (counter by a front kick to the chest)?
- Why this solution is better than others (because leg is longer than the arm)?
- How to train it with partner (2 men drill)?
- How to polish the skill (correct way to kick)?
- How to enhance it (kick on a heavy bag or tree)?
- How to train when he doesn't have training partner (solo drill or form)?

The solo form (or drills) should be the last thing that taught by using this approach.

[everything]

Depends on your purpose, I guess. if it's to train an army of newbs in very little time, probably go with rigidity.

OTOH, with kids, taking a long view, I think it's better to build basic athleticism through all kinds of sports/play, especially whatever they gravitate to based on their own preferences, and then build on that base and their natural responses. Depends on the individual though. Some kids need more structure.

[JusticeZero]

Give them some form and tools - not horribly detailed, but specific - then start throwing problems at them with guidelines of good way to solve them, and give lab time. You have to lay down a skeleton first, though; too open and you get people improvizing their way right back out of effectiveness.