Optimal feedback for recipient advancement
- Thread starter lansao
- Start date
When you say "sharing their practice", what do you mean?
OP
OP
lansao
Purple Belt
Should have specified with respect to MT. So, let’s say a kid shares a video of himself practicing his kicks, what is the best framework for providing feedback to that person in a way that ultimately simplifies their ability to progress?
I think that's tough to come up with a single answer for. If I show my turning kicks, after you stop laughing, you might want to give feedback in a different manner than you would if Anarax did (I'm assuming his are not equally laughable). And that's just the difference based on skill in a single area. It would be different again if you were talking to someone relatively new to MA who was in a style that did turning kicks relatively early - I have more base of knowledge (and probably ability to learn solo) than most new students.
I think the short answer is to address the most important issues for their level with the least detail that would be useful. That given them something specific to work on at their own level. Some folks can deliver that kind of information entirely in words (that probably requires some common experience and vocabulary to work from). In most cases, I think some demo/teaching videos - your own or linked from YouTube - will make any descriptions and advice much more effective.
Of course, all that goes out the window in a forum like this, because if you and I watch the same video, we might see different issues, and have different opinions about which are the most important to address. Then 5 other people chime in with variations on each of those points. So they end up getting a bunch of information that has no common direction, rather than a select bit of advice to work from.
Did I answer the question? And did I make sense?
I think the short answer is to address the most important issues for their level with the least detail that would be useful. That given them something specific to work on at their own level. Some folks can deliver that kind of information entirely in words (that probably requires some common experience and vocabulary to work from). In most cases, I think some demo/teaching videos - your own or linked from YouTube - will make any descriptions and advice much more effective.
Of course, all that goes out the window in a forum like this, because if you and I watch the same video, we might see different issues, and have different opinions about which are the most important to address. Then 5 other people chime in with variations on each of those points. So they end up getting a bunch of information that has no common direction, rather than a select bit of advice to work from.
Did I answer the question? And did I make sense?
OP
OP
lansao
Purple Belt
Absolutely. The framework I use in general is to find what they’re doing right and highlight that first. Then choose a single thing for them to work on.
Got it. Now I see where you're going - and I'm not sleepy. Let me clarify a bit what I was trying to get to last night.
If I'm looking at a student's kicks - mine or someone else's - I'm looking for two things: what's working, and what's broken. I use the second term purposefully, because I'm not concerned with what's "wrong" unless it's broken. If someone brings me a funky kick that's fast, has a good structure, and delivers power to target, they can keep using that funky kick. Mind you, that's unlikely - good form has come to be seen as good form for mostly functional reasons. So, whatever's working, I want to reinforce it and make sure I'm not giving suggestions that take that away. There's no sense in them having to re-learn something they're already doing well. I might or might not point those things out to them - that depends upon the student's needs and where they are in their progression. If it's someone working toward BB and I've advised them recently, I'm probably not going to be repeating everything I saw that's good. But I do want to make sure they know what's functional (whether I tell them so this time or not) so they don't go and mess that up. Then I'll get them to work trying to fix what's broken. I try to pick only one thing, though I might try two or three fixes before I settle on something that seems to work for them.
