Aliveness boils down to learning in context. Martial arts is unique among adult activities in that it's the only thing a grown up will allege expertise in without ever having applied in context.
The concept centers around learning with resistance. Introduction, isolation and integration. This just happens to correspond to the first three stages of learning under Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension and Application.
In other words, he's really just pointing out that we should teach Martial Arts the way we teach... pretty much every thing except martial arts.
I like golf as an analogy. Knowledge/Introduction level training in golf would be equivalent to learning the rules. Learning about golf... the theory... the vocabulary. What each club does. Introduction or Knowledge level understanding is superficial. It can sound impressive to someone with no knowledge, but in application, it's easily exposed in application. In other words, someone can know everything there is to know about golf, but if they've never swung a club, it's going to be clear that their understanding is theoretical.
Knowledge level learning is marked by the ability to recite knowledge, to list things, to identify.
Isolation corresponds directly to the comprehension level of learning. Comprehension learning takes theoretical knowledge deeper... closer to application. So, where a knowledge level learner could list or recite information, a comprehension level learner can explain something. They are still not at the point where they're transferring understanding to actual performance... this transfer, in fact, is the biggest challenge that professional trainers face, but they're getting close.
In the sport of golf, this would be like learning to hit a golf ball on the driving range. Conditions are always perfect. You're learning in a vacuum. No bad lies. No rough. And if you make a bad shot, you aren't required to recover.
In MA, this is like a targeted drill. We've been shown a technique and have gone through it without resistance. Now we're drilling that technique in isolation against some increasing resistance.
Application. As I said before, this is where most adult training fails (in business), but it's the easiest to get to, really. It's doing something, measured by applying a technique in context, computing something, or producing a result. The result will depend on the desired outcome. This would be actually going out on the golf course and playing a round of golf. It could be executing techniques while sparring. It could be defending oneself in combat.
Application isn't expertise. It's the beginning's of competence. Beyond application are other layers of learning. Analysis and then Synthesis. Analysis level learning IS competence. It's functional ability. Synthesis is expertise (in simple terms).
So, here's the big problem and where conflict comes up in Martial Arts. If we continue the golf analogy, many martial arts stop at comprehension, but call it synthesis. If my goal is to be a golfer, I must play golf. So, I'm going to learn golf under a traditional martial arts model. I go to the driving range and meet up with my golf sensei. He gets me going with some drills that are designed to teach my muscles the motion of a golf swing. I don't get to hold the golf club yet, but I'm learning the vocabulary of golf. I am learning theory. After my introduction, I get to the real meat of my golf lessons. I'm at the driving range, driver in hand, and I'm learning the grip... the swing. I don't get to hit a ball yet, but I'm practicing my golf kata... countless repitition until my form is perfect.
I'm anxious, but my sensei assures me that my swing is coming along well. My form is shaping up, and when I do hit the ball (which is after I get my 1st dan), I will be ready to BEGIN my journey in golf. In the meantime, we talk a lot about strategy. If you're on the golf course (which I've still never seen), there are dangers. ANYTHING could happen and you have to be ready. So, we talk a lot about being ready. What if my ball goes into the rough? What if a ninja jumps out and steals my ball?
A year or two has elapsed and I have a terrific golf swing. I'm a black belt now, and in a big ceremony, my sensei presents to me my first golf ball. So, I set up to hit this ball. I can't wait. Wiff... wha? I missed? How can that be?
"It's okay, Steve. This happens to everyone. Black belt isn't the end of your journey. It's just the beginning. You'll get it. Just keep practicing, and I'll help you."
I'm reinvigorated, so I begin training in earnest. I hit golf balls like crazy... I pull out every club in my bag, and hit hundreds... no thousands... of balls with each club. I still practice my golf swing kata dilligently, but now I'm doing it. I'm swinging the club, and my balls fly straight and true.
One day, I ask my instructor, "Sensei... it's been 5 years. Shouldn't I... play a round of golf? You played rounds of golf for years."
"NO! That's the LAST thing you want to do. Anything could happen on the golf course. Your technique will degrade. It will be a free for all. What would happen to your perfect swing if you have to hit off of a 30 degree hill? What if you had a deep lie in a sand trap? You're not ready... but. You are one of my best students, and I wanted to talk to you about an opportunity. I need help, and I'd like for you to start teaching the new guys how to swing the club. In fact, I'd like for you to open your own driving range. You'd be affiliated with me, but you'd be your own sensei."
"Wow. I'm in! Awesome." And so, I start teaching a new crop of people. I've never applied my knowledge. It's comprehension level only, but I'm teaching from a position of expertise. When challenged, I can hit the ball well on the range, and if asked about playing a round on a golf course, I tell my students what my teacher told me. "No. That's the LAST thing you want to do. It will ruin your swing. My teacher played golf for years, and if anyone knows what it will do, it's him." I might or might not mention that I've never done it myself... but either way, I'm implying personal expertise by proxy through my instructor's expertise. I have comprehension level skills that are easily exposed on a golf course, but I'm presenting as someone who has synthesis level expertise and am careful to avoid putting myself in a position where I will be required to demonstrate this expertise.
Then, eventually, I give out some black belts and these guys open their own driving ranges, and they're two generations removed from playing golf. Their students become the third generation....
I've said many times that the techniques we learn have less to do with ability than how we train. If you're learning ninjutsu at a school that integrates techniques against pressure so that, as much as you possibly can, you're applying your craft against resistance, you're going to be well ahead of someone who doesn't.
The reason sports come up often is in sports, this is all self apparent.
