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Karate arrived in the United States some 60 years. Advertisements of the time claimed that a slight woman could defend herself against a grown man, showed men killing bulls. It was said that even a child properly trained in Karate, was capable of astonishing ability
So what went wrong? What went wrong is that so many people wanted the art that there weren't enough teachers. And this brings us to the question of what a person needs to teach Karate?
When Karate first arrived, guys were getting their black belts in three years, and then turning around and teaching. But to master the art it took a dozen years, and an instructor needs more data than a master. Just because you have the data, and are a master, doesn't mean that you can get somebody else to get it.
Come up to present times. You've got guys with twenty years experience teaching the martial arts, and they've mastered the art, but nobody ever taught them how to teach. Experience will make a master,you see, but an instructor needs more than simple experience.
An instructor requires the specialized data of how to teach. Getting tougher doesn't matter, he needs to find out the how and why of making technqiues work, and be able to get other people to understand those hows and whys. This is an entirely different education, you see.
So you walk into a school and observe a teacher. Is the teacher actually going over why things work? Or is he merely having people copycat his movements?
Yes, the first stage is Monkey see monkey do, but it only lasts a short while. The real real reasons for how and why something works must be inserted, or what is being taught will become nothing more than memorization. And when the fist comes out of the darkness, do you want to remember how to defend yourself, or do you want to have the instantaneous intuition that is available if you don't just memorize, but know and understand the how and the why of why the moves are what they are?
So that's the story. Karate could do all it claimed, but it was reduced by quick black belts who wanted to make money, and who didn't really know why they were doing what they were doing. I trust this information will help you when you seek an instructor, and when you are actually learning the art.
So what went wrong? What went wrong is that so many people wanted the art that there weren't enough teachers. And this brings us to the question of what a person needs to teach Karate?
When Karate first arrived, guys were getting their black belts in three years, and then turning around and teaching. But to master the art it took a dozen years, and an instructor needs more data than a master. Just because you have the data, and are a master, doesn't mean that you can get somebody else to get it.
Come up to present times. You've got guys with twenty years experience teaching the martial arts, and they've mastered the art, but nobody ever taught them how to teach. Experience will make a master,you see, but an instructor needs more than simple experience.
An instructor requires the specialized data of how to teach. Getting tougher doesn't matter, he needs to find out the how and why of making technqiues work, and be able to get other people to understand those hows and whys. This is an entirely different education, you see.
So you walk into a school and observe a teacher. Is the teacher actually going over why things work? Or is he merely having people copycat his movements?
Yes, the first stage is Monkey see monkey do, but it only lasts a short while. The real real reasons for how and why something works must be inserted, or what is being taught will become nothing more than memorization. And when the fist comes out of the darkness, do you want to remember how to defend yourself, or do you want to have the instantaneous intuition that is available if you don't just memorize, but know and understand the how and the why of why the moves are what they are?
So that's the story. Karate could do all it claimed, but it was reduced by quick black belts who wanted to make money, and who didn't really know why they were doing what they were doing. I trust this information will help you when you seek an instructor, and when you are actually learning the art.
About the Author:
Al Case has examined the martial arts for over 40 plus years. You can become a Real Instructor at Monster Martial Arts.
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