is it simple?

[Elizium]

Is it me, or are the most simplistic way of moving the most hardest to learn?

I have noticed that when a slightly drawn out technique is done everyone gets it, but just a few small moves and suddenly it is like a brain freeze to everyone.

Has anyone noticed this before when teaching/learning.

 

[Don Roley]

No.

Excuse me. You have actually done me a great service by forcing me to put to words something I have felt on a non-verbal level for a long time. I took a short break to think about what you said and think about how I would put words to it. So if I seem to be lecturing, it is just that I am trying to make verbal something I have experienced, but have not put into concrete terms before.

Simple moves are not easier than more complex moves. They are harder to learn in order to get the same result than more complex moves.

The end of a technique is like the end of a journey. People tend to look at where you end up rather than the path you took to get there.

In complex techniques, you can bring in other things to make it to the end result rather than take the same exact path the teacher showed. The uke ends up thrown the same direction, so people do not tend to pay attention to the fact that there were extra moves thrown in. It kind of reminds me of a statement by Nagato, "It is great that you can throw in things to make something work if you can't make it work like soke showed you, but to get better you have to do the technique exactly as soke showed you."

Ever try to learn another language? I have. There are many, many words you do not know. If you can not use the exact term or idiom, a good learner will pull out other terms and explinations to let people know what they mean even without using the exact term/ idiom. But in order to get a full understanding, you have to use unfamiliar terms, grammer and idioms.

The shorter the example, the less fudge space you have to get by with.

In other words, if you can toss a guy with a long techniue, it may be because you are pulling on your strengths rather than the exact form the teacher showed. You tend to look on the end result and not notice the differences. In short, in simple techniques there is no room to hide these variations. It is not easier to do a long technique correctly, merely esier to hide mistakes and make it end up looking similar.

Did that make sense? Or am I talking like an idiot again?

 

[althaur]

That made perfect sense, Don. Thanks for that explanation. I've noticed the WTF feeling more often with the quick small stuff that is done. The hardest part with the longer stuff is just remembering all the crap that was in there. The short stuff leaves you scratching your head wondering what on Earth was just done.

Josh

 

[Flatlander]

Don, that was a good post. I got it. Good point.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Don nice post.
You explained it well and I have to agree with you.
Simple techniques seem simple till you try to do them as they where shown. Some you may do the first time others take a long time to do correctly in the same simple manner.