Sure, but this isn't rocket science.
Sean
You wouldn't know it with the amount of jargon that Mr. Parker came up with.
Sure, but this isn't rocket science.
Sean
You wouldn't know it with the amount of jargon that Mr. Parker came up with.
It was and is a good business plan. Some find this a negative, however without a good business plan there is no school. Business requires a compromise to be successful. The Martial Arts has never been a good business endeavor, and you cannot teach the true in-depth material in a commercial environment because clientele won't support it. It is what it is.
Sure, but this isn't rocket science.
Sean
OK, so after they stand in a horse learning to hammer to the corner of the imaginary box, for a few minutes, they get to do it on a body. Its a contact art; and contact should be part of your base. As for walking and running, most people that walk in the door understand how to step forward or back; so, after learning brief method of execution set, they get real bodies with real attacks. You can call the method of execution set our base, but, I still contend that all the yellow belt material is the base. And how long should we make them stand there and do a three move set before experiencing a body? We are talking a matter of hours here, not months or years.Sure, to someone who a) already has a prior martial arts background or b) someone who is above average, and is very quick to pick things up. But, the average Joe, someone new to the arts, never doing stuff like this before, is usually, in my experience, pretty uncoordinated.
Walking and running isn't rocket science either. Yet we learn to walk before we run.![]()
OK, so after they stand in a horse learning to hammer to the corner of the imaginary box, for a few minutes, they get to do it on a body. Its a contact art; and contact should be part of your base. As for walking and running, most people that walk in the door understand how to step forward or back; so, after learning brief method of execution set, they get real bodies with real attacks. You can call the method of execution set our base, but, I still contend that all the yellow belt material is the base. And how long should we make them stand there and do a three move set before experiencing a body? We are talking a matter of hours here, not months or years.
Sean
OK, so after they stand in a horse learning to hammer to the corner of the imaginary box, for a few minutes, they get to do it on a body. Its a contact art; and contact should be part of your base. As for walking and running, most people that walk in the door understand how to step forward or back; so, after learning brief method of execution set, they get real bodies with real attacks. You can call the method of execution set our base, but, I still contend that all the yellow belt material is the base. And how long should we make them stand there and do a three move set before experiencing a body? We are talking a matter of hours here, not months or years.
Sean
We wnat our students to use what they learn the minute they walk out the door, not six months. How? Teach broader generalized principles. Instant contact is a must.IIRC, Doc made a post (I'll have to try and find it) in which he was talking about how long it takes someone in his school, to advance, as far as techniques go. I got the impression from that post, that the student in his school, doesnt move forward until things are perfect or damn close to it.
So going on that, your post here, would disagree with that line of teaching.
Sure, I would, after they got used to the basic movement of the strike, have them hit a target, ie:focus mit, but no, on the first day, they would not move on to techniques. Sorry, as I said, unless we're talking about the above adverage person, there is no way someone with no prior training, is going to, with any amount of effectiveness, be able to do a tech. Most intro lessons that I would teach were 30min. 9 times out of 10, I'd teach a few simple punches, blocks, and kics, and you could see that their head was spinning. Besides, whats the rush? The basics are the foundation, IMHO, and if they suck, then nothing else they do will matter because that will suck too.
Same thing applies to grappling. Position before submission....because if your position sucks, so will your techniques.
We wnat our students to use what they learn the minute they walk out the door, not six months. How? Teach broader generalized principles. Instant contact is a must.
sean
We wnat our students to use what they learn the minute they walk out the door, not six months. How? Teach broader generalized principles. Instant contact is a must.
sean
I can understand avoiding complex material, but the simple stuff is pretty simple.I'll actually disagree with this. Expecting or intending for students to be able to use the material immediately is misguided, in my opinion.
We need to establish the foundation. That starts with stances and footwork. Then fundamental blocks and deflections, striking with the upper limbs, and striking with the lower limbs. More complex combinations come later. If the foundation is deficient, nothing else matters. build a house on a sand dune, and it will fall down when the wind blows. Build it on granite, it will stand forever.
I understand the quick-use sentiment, and to some degree I think there is room for it in the big picture. But making this a major emphasis can harm the student's development in the long run.
A lot of things do not pay quick dividends, but give a huge payout later on if they are developed properly. This takes time. If it is done right, the ultimate level of development will be much higher.
If most attention is given to the quick-use ideas, then the foundation is ignored, or not given the attention it needs. The ultimate level of skill will be much lower, down the road. Then, all kinds of bad habits need to be corrected before this handicap can be overcome.
If someone needs or wants self-defense right now, they should go buy a gun and learn how to use it, and get a valid conceal-carry permit. Even that takes some time and effort to develop proficiency. Nothing is instant and immediate.
Martial arts are not an answer to quick self-defense. Kenpo is a body of knowledge with a skillset that takes time to develop. It is not a quick-fix, tho I think a lot of people try to use it as such. I think it's unreasonable to expect useful skills quickly, in kenpo or any martial art. I'd say that a dedicated student with a reasonable level of natural ability could begin to be effective with kenpo skills after six months. Sooner than that, I think is unreasonable. And this assumes the student is dedicated in training. If not, and if natural ability is lacking, it could be much much longer.
Now, I know that we all have stories of the student who had one lesson and successfully defended herself against an attacker the next day. Sure, that happens. There are always exceptions to the rule. But I don't think you can present this as the norm or what is to be expected. Most people won't be able to pull it off, and there is no sense in lying to them about it.
Drill the fundamentals. Build the foundation. Everything else will be much better if you do.
I can understand avoiding complex material, but the simple stuff is pretty simple.
Sean
Create distance, stabalize your base, defend with your most coordinated hand to the front... That takes almost no time at all.yes and no. It can seem simple, but it can actually take a long time to make it really good.
A stance all by itself might seem simple, and maybe a new student can get it "good enough" fairly soon, but I'll bet that the finer details need correcting for a long time.
But adding the torque necessary when delivering a punch, or a block, or the shift needed to deliver a good kick while not compromising that stance, can be very complicated for a beginner.
Now elevate it to the level of a self defense tech that might have two or three or more steps and stance changes, one or two blocking/defensive maneuvers, and a couple of counter attacks, and it's really really complex. Far too much for a beginner to tackle, without losing integrity in every aspect of the technique. STeps end up in the wrong places, stances and stance changes get sloppy, defenses get sloppy, counter attacks get sloppy. Especially when they are working with a partner before they've even made it solid as a solo act.
Working with a partner makes everything sloppy, because that's the unpredictable nature of reality. But the student needs to make it solid without the partner first, or the slop just gets worse and worse. A student needs to practice and develop it as cleanly and solidly as possible, because it will be sloppy when done for real on an opponent. If the base was not adequately developed, the slop could make it fall apart completely.
No need to rush. Where's everyone headed to in such a hurry? Slow down and get it right. Pay attention to the fundamentals.
You may notice that despite revisions, everyone is introduced to kenpo with some yellow belt variant.
Sean
We wnat our students to use what they learn the minute they walk out the door, not six months. How? Teach broader generalized principles. Instant contact is a must.
sean
Agreed. Both methods can work fine. I personally feel that stance training is a bit of a waste of time, as stances do not really come into play when in a real fight or even sparring, for the most part. I stressed the concept of footwork, as opposed to stances.
But again, either method can work.
Create distance, stabalize your base, defend with your most coordinated hand to the front... That takes almost no time at all.
Eventually both ways should end up at the same goal of having a competant fighter with strong fundamentals.