Is variety good or bad?

[KoreanTiger30]

there is nothing wrong I find in variatio if its the same country's martial arts. I attempted to learn King Fu but I hated it hafter studying 11 years of Korean styles. They kept telling me I was worng and my instrucotr did not know what he was talking about and it becasue there is variation withing techniques. I find I'd rather be a master of few than a Jack of all trades. Similiar styles with in the same country origin are easier to learn because they are founded on similiar technical foundations. Taichi/qi gong is the only style other than Korean I have been successful with. I enjoy learnng about different style but I guess my body jsut doesnt like ot move in any other fashion

[MichiganTKD]

If you stick with one style, focus your energy on that, and really understand it, you will be unbeatable.

[Sasori_Te]

My opinion is that it would be extremely difficult for a beginner to learn multiple arts, especially taught in the fashion you describe. Wait and watch for a little while. If it doesn't get any better I'd suggest you go find yourself another school.

[White Warlock]

What really matters is whether you are learning and growing. If not, then find somewhere else more suited to you.

 

It is not necessary to focus all your attention on one system. Brainwashing is not a requirement to learning, although it may make it easier to for the instructor to teach you things, as you'll more likely take whatever he says at face value. However, i'm not inclined to think that's a good thing. I was brought up to believe it is important to question everything and at all times.

 

In the end, as always, it is up to you. Do you feel comfortable with the eclectic study arrangements, or would you prefer something more focused?

[MichiganTKD]

I agree to a certain extent. Noone says you have to absolutely accept everything in a style no questions asked. I do think any legitimate style and any legitimate Instructor can stand up to questioning. However, as a beginner/color belt you have a responsibility to trust your Instructor and do what he says. He/she has the obligation to teach and guide you properly. Since you do not know or understand technique and application, it is not a student's place to question everything a student does. It is okay to ask HOW to do something (at the appropriate level) or what he/she is doing wrong. It is not okay to ask WHY the Instructor does something, or ask them to justify their reasons. As Mr. Miyagi told Daniel-san in The Karate Kid, "Daniel-san we make sacred deal. I say, you do, No questions."

 

And getting back to my original point. I believe you can be unbeatable in one style if you study it enough. Doesn't matter what it is. Not only that, you can only truly be a Master in one style. These idiots that claim to be Masters in 8 different styles are full of it. Not only do I think this is impossible, considering the time and effort involved in becoming a Master in one style, but I would never go to a person claiming to be a Master in more than one style. How good are they really going to be?

[Sasori_Te]

I don't believe that I would ever go to anyone claiming to be a master of any style.

 

As you said, a beginner doesn't relly have the knowledge base to know whether or not what they're being taught is good or bad. So, you have to go with the feeling of whether you're learning all of the differing techniques without getting them confused. That's why I said what I said before. It's hard enough for a beginner to learn one style well in the beginning without having techniques from other styles thrown in. These techniques from several styles could conflict with one another, depending on what is being taught. The real question here is, How competent is the instructor to be teaching several styles effectively?

[ramymensa]

A small variation would do no harm, but only after being good at a certain style. To start from the scratch with different styles is quite confusing. A beginner must know a certain style and afterwards take into consideration another, otherwise he could chase more rabbits and catch none.

[MichiganTKD]

Sasori-Te raises a good point. No credible Instructor refers to himself as a Master Instructor, even if rank-wise he is one. Our Instructor told several times " If I am talking to non-Tae Kwon Do people, I tell them that I am 9th Dan Tae Kwon Do. When I am talking to other Tae Kwon Do people, I tell them that I am a Tae Kwon Do Senior Instructor." Obviously he feels it inappropriate to tell people he is a Grandmaster Instructor. He also told us that it is inappropriate to tell what rank you are or ask what rank someone else is (to other TKD people). Simply ask them how many years they have practiced. If they are true Masters or Instructors, it will come through in their manners.

[ramymensa]

I had another idea coming as reading the post. We all tend to relate what we come across with our previous experience. When going to another style it's common to try to perceive it from the POV of the previous. We still need to remember we are learning the new style, not teaching the others our style It's kinda hard to put aside what you've learnt and took for granted and this change must be made when we are sure we are ready to absorb something different and make the necessary changes regarding technique and the training itself.

[searcher]

I think it has less to do with the different styles and more to do with the repetition of the same techniques. I had an instructor that had bleended different styles and it worked very well, but his downfall was that he covered the techniques to infrequently. This led to a lot of confusion and a very high turn over rate of students. He would have been alright if he had more reps of the same techniques. I had an advatgae in this setup due to previous training, but most did not. If youo want to see if an "eclectic" style works take a look at Kajukenbo.