Do you learn more from teaching others or being taught?

[lemon_meringue]

Although I'm nowhere near being able to actually teach properly, I've done "go and show those white belts wrist releases" type teaching lol

Obviously you have to be taught first, but after I have learned the basis of a move from my instructor, I honestly think I learn more showing others how to do things. No matter how inexperienced they are they always have a new perspective on the technique and make you think about different ways of doing it. I find that by helping others learn I improve my own technique immensely. Seeing if you can properly explain and demonstrate to someone else what you have been taught, is a true test of whether or not you understand it and have learnt it well.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Kacey]

It depends on the circumstances. If it's something I've known for a while, then yes, I learn more from teaching; if it's something I'm learning new, then I don't really feel I understand it well enough to teach it to anyone else. But in general, yes, I learn much more from teaching than from being taught - the more people I am exposed to, the more ways I have to find to teach things that work for the student, and that always increases my understanding of the techniques.

 

[mook jong man]

My Sifu told us that each time you teach a technique you are teaching yourself as well because you are ingraining the technique into your own mind.

When you teach the technique always choose the biggest person in the class to demonstrate on so that you put a little bit of pressure on yourself and have to do it correctly .

It also inspires the students because they think if that little guy or lady can do that to a big guy then maybe i can get to that level of skill one day.

 

[arnisador]

As a rule, when teaching you're forced to put things into your own words, and that self-teaching as you integrate material and truly considider how and why you know what you know is a great experience. If you can't explain it to someone else, you don't realy know it (or as we say in science, "Anyone who can't explain what he does to an 11 year old is a fraud.").

 

[Rich Parsons]

As a rule, when teaching you're forced to put things into your own words, and that self-teaching as you integrate material and truly considider how and why you know what you know is a great experience. If you can't explain it to someone else, you don't realy know it (or as we say in science, "Anyone who can't explain what he does to an 11 year old is a fraud.").

I agree with what is said here and by others. In general teaching others one usually learns more. But with everything there are learning curves and return factors. If as Kacey stated you do not know it well yet then teaching it to others may not help you learn much. But if you know it enough to think about it and work it then talking it out and explaining it makes one learn better.

But if you have "taught it" a million times and you no longer are looking at the technique then you might not be learning from it either just repeating it over and over. Yet, if you are always looking to see if one can improve or understand it better, such as the points within the technique where it is too late to do a specific counter gives one insight in to recognizing when one is being countered.

As to explaining it to an 11 year old, this is a great comment. I usually say, if you cannot explain it to senior management then you do not know what you are talking about.

 

[kenpofighter]

I learn a lot from teaching other, but really for me it's the students questions that I learn from.

 

[Rich Parsons]

I learn a lot from teaching other, but really for me it's the students questions that I learn from.

Is it the fact that they question you?

Or is it that you have to explain or teach them the answer to their question?

 

[kidswarrior]

Do you learn more from teaching others or being taught?

Yes.

No, really, to me it's both. But I must say, after a number of years of learning in MA classes, even cross training in two arts simultaneously, I began to notice that as I began teaching, it was delivering huge dividends. As Seneca said: A man, as long as he teaches, learns.

And Arni's point about 11 year olds, which Rich reinforced, is right on the money. That was Richard Feynman's claim to fame. He could take rocket science and make it understandable on the 6:00 news. That is knowing your stuff. Dressing it up in scientific-eez, or education-eez, or whatever-eez, just obfuscates instead of clarifying and promoting understanding.

 

[kenpofighter]

Or is it that you have to explain or teach them the answer to their question?

Sorry for being unclear. It is when I have to explain to them questions that they ask me. There have been times when a student has asked a question and honestly, I had to tell them that I did not know; then get back to them about it later after I had time to figure out the answer for my self.

 

[still learning]

Hello, Each is a learning experiences' ...being taught and teaching the art...

We all need to be taught first before we can learn to teach others...many times as a teacher one sees things from a different point of view.

As a teacher teaches you..you see one way..as your teach it? ....than you may understand a little more....? depends?

The learning nevers stops as students and as teachers.....martial arts is endless in learning....

For those who never taught anything? ....teaching can be fun and enjoyable to share new knowledge to new students...!!

One learns getting paid to teach? .....earning money to teach can be rewarding.......

Aloha ( gas money.....food money...bills money...)

 

[stickarts]

I really can't pick one over the other since I am a student even when i am a teacher.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I love learning new things. The more I learn the more I want to learn.

I will agree with what the others have said about teaching. I know that I still learn each time I teach.

 

[jkembry]

I love learning new things. The more I learn the more I want to learn.

I will agree with what the others have said about teaching. I know that I still learn each time I teach.

I have found the same. At my level (5th kyu), Sensie has me working some with lower belts. I find that in most cases I come away having learned more than I thought I teach.

 

[Sukerkin]

I reckon we may have a universal concensus on this one .

I learn a lot about my art when I have to pass it on to someone else; especially because everyone will always need to have things explained a little differently which means I have to keep coming up with ways to do that .

 

[lemon_meringue]

Anyone who can't explain what he does to an 11 year old is a fraud.

You are absolutely right. People who need to launch into a speech filled with specialist terminology and obscure concepts in order to explain something are mearly regurgitating what they have read or been taught. True understanding comes with being able to make something accessible to everyone, whether in science or the martial arts.

 

[chinto]

well I think its a bit of both.. you learn first, and then perhaps see things that you did not the first time when you teach it. so over time yes more teaching.. or rather perhaps more deeply understand what you learned from teaching it would be more accurate.

 

[shihansmurf]

At this point I learn more from teaching most likely due to the wide array of different viewpoints from my students. They all see things a bit differently and it helps me to get another vantage point on the material.

Mark

 

[tshadowchaser]

I know I have posted else where in thread but I need to say:
If I am learning a new system or even a technique I learn from being taught. After learning what was taught and being able to repeat it correctly with proper body and mind preformance, then I start learning more about it and myslef with theaching.
One must learn befor they teach

 

[MJS]

Although I'm nowhere near being able to actually teach properly, I've done "go and show those white belts wrist releases" type teaching lol

Obviously you have to be taught first, but after I have learned the basis of a move from my instructor, I honestly think I learn more showing others how to do things. No matter how inexperienced they are they always have a new perspective on the technique and make you think about different ways of doing it. I find that by helping others learn I improve my own technique immensely. Seeing if you can properly explain and demonstrate to someone else what you have been taught, is a true test of whether or not you understand it and have learnt it well.

What are your thoughts?

I would have to say that you learn more by teaching. When you're teaching someone something, it really forces you to have a solid understanding of the move. I mean, sure, someone could teach a technique, a kick or punch, and not really know what the heck they're doing, but a good teacher, will know the ins and outs of what they're teaching.

When you teach, people ask you questions about what you're teaching. Why does this happen? Why do we move our foot here? What happens to the body when you strike here? Those are simply examples, yet, those are valid questions, and ones that we need to be able to answer.

 

[kwaichang]

In my case, once you reached Shodan you had the option to take (and pay for) an extended course on teaching techniques and application thereof. After completion you were given a license to teach.
That said, yes I continued to learn by teaching and by learning to verbablize in a way that each student (background in language) would understand.

As Bilbo said: "the road goes ever onward."