by Tony Terranova Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:34 pm
Hi Tim,
You are too humble, you are more than a novice you have come a long way in a short space of time due to your dedication.
Peter has given some top tips in his 2 replies on this post to your question so I will just add a few extra notes.
The main thing is to first make sure that you are 100% comfortable with a technique and if not ask me or one of our instructors to clearly demonstrate the technique (as Peter says in a broken down easy to understand method including demonstrations). Once you are comfortable with the technique then start with stating that whilst they are doing well with their training progress you feel they could maybe do better if they made a few changes. Explain that your comments are based on what you have learnt and the fact that you have tested the technique and it worked (so it is not just theory). Then apply the methods that Peter has noted (which as you know in your PT’s with me are how I teach you certain techniques). Constant drilling (repetition) will then enable the student to find their own shape for a specific technique as we are all different in the way are build and move. No two snowflakes are the same and this rule also applies to human beings.
The hard task is when you get a student from another discipline that has a belief system that there is only their way of doing things and yet you can see that what they are doing actually would not work. In this instance patience (as Peter stated) is important - but also start from the standpoint of stating that actually there is no exact science of fighting as when in combat anything can happen. You will find that this approach usually gets them to be more open when you show them an alternative way of doing something based on using pressure testing to demonstrate the technique (so it is not theory). A classic example is one you have seen in our class where a new student states the guard should be a certain way and no other - and we say let’s see you use it with your back against the wall and under attack full contact with an opponent wearing 16oz gloves. This drill as you know usually confirms if in fact a student has a good guard and if they understand structure based defence.
Also try to always do things incrementally so that you do not alienate a fellow student, training a technique slowly (as noted by Peter) will enable a better understanding of the movement and enhance the students self esteem (as they will feel they are improving). It then becomes a win – win situation for you and the student with no battle of the egos necessary.
Keep up your training you are doing great.
Regards,
Tony
