Students Learning On Their Own?

[solar_kid]

Hi all,

 

I wonder how much you use resources other than your usual training session and practice to learn more about your art. I'm talking about videos, books, and the like. I've been pondering doing some more serious reading, but I am concerned that the information I learn may not align fully with what is taught in class, perhaps hindering more than helping.

 

What do you think? Is outside-of-class learning helpful? Is it something that should be reserved for students with some experience that can put the info in perspective? Have you had students that improved or harmed their techniques trying to learn outside of class?

[SevenStar]

I do alot of outside learning, as you put it. I think if you are currently training in something, then books, videos, etc. can be a very valuable tool. If you are new or don't train at all, then it will be very harmful to you.

 

That said, I own/ have access to several muay thai books and I own many judo books and videos.

[gcav]

I encourage my students to seek out knowledge. Books are a great source of information. Just make sure the author is legit. If you are reading a book about your style and run across something different than what is taught in your school, just ask your teacher about it. I have no problems when students come up to me and ask about something they read about. You can learn a lot about the founder and leading practictioners of your art, as well as the history and philosophy behind what you are learning in class. Now, that being said, I believe that books should be used as a supplement to your actual training, not used as the sole source of information.

[GhostlySykanRyu]

I've actually put in a few years of intense physical and mental training without ever stepping foot in a dojo. To me, martial arts are a personal journey, I am only entering a dojo to see how far I have gotten, and to get a few new viewpoints.

 

Theres plenty of great literature out there on the martial arts, and instructional videos are priceless, as they often show you the heart of a given system.

[Rick]

I agree with gcav and sevenstar - gaining knowledge from books and videos is and excellent way of broadening your horizons but u must take everything u read and watch with a grain of salt and there is ABSOLUTELY NO SUBSTITUTE for the training that one can gain within a Dojo, Dojang, or any area where you are being taught skills by a professional. I have many martial arts books and videos (Including Danny Lane's Champion Karate Video Series based on Tang Soo Do) and i refer to them often, mainly for inspiration or to test a few new things with a training partner.

 

I do have a question for u JeetKuneDo. U say that u have done a few years of intense training without stepping foot in a dojo, but have u had professional instruction from someone qualified? Or have u taught the moves to yourself by reading and watching? Not trying to cause an argument because u may indeed have an enourmous amount of skill, but don't u think that u may be learning techniques incorrectly and perhaps doing yourself a disservice?

 

Rick

[WapCaplet]

I would have to agree with Rick. JeetKuneDo, I'm also interested to know if you have had any formal, professional instruction. While books, tapes and other information sources may provide great insight into martial arts and their application, there seems like a high chance for mistakes and bad habits to develope through a completely self-taught system.

 

I know there have been numerous times when my stance, form or timing have been "off" and the only way it was corrected was for someone who had been training in karate for years and years (my sensei) to notice it and advise me. I still read a lot of information on martial arts and get some of my study through books and tapes, but those corrections my sensei makes are things I would never have picked up in any book.

 

A book and tape can tell you how to do something, but they can't observe you and make suggestions and corrections. And to be honest, we can't really be trusted to observe our own ability and judge it; an impartial, experienced instructor needs to see it and tell us.

 

Those are just my thoughts though.

 

Wap

[Master Jules]

Sure....anything that adds to your training in a POSITIVE way is always usefull.....but newbies shoulnt try this without the proper "hands on" guidance.

[P.A.L]

you got to learn the basics of your art from a teacher ,after that you can continue on your own, I read and watch whatever I can get, not only in my style but also in any other close or interesting style as well. in the down side you may realize what your sensei telling you is not %100 accurate. I have seen 3rd dan shito-ryu karate-ka who watched a pinan kata in shorin-ryu (matsubayashi-ryu)and said " it's been done sloppy, stances are not deep enough" not knowing that pinan was created like this and performer was sensei Nagamine.

[SevenStar]

Theres plenty of great literature out there on the martial arts, and instructional videos are priceless, as they often show you the heart of a given system.

 

that's actually not true. There are several teachers out there, particularly in the CMA world who change the forms when they put them on video. They do this on purpose so they can distinguish people who actually learned from those who learned by video.

[wing chun kuen man]

solar_kid,

 

Learning is never bad, just make sure that you research and learn what is relevant at your level of training. Also make sure that the quality of books and videos are good. There seems to be a lot of material about Shotokan karate in the market.

 

My approach would be to maybe get a few good books, including something by Funakoshi the founder of Shotokan, and maybe a video which teaches the techniques at your level in this art, so that for example you will have video references to your current kata at home when you are practicing alone. You can also surf the net to see how shotokan is practiced in other dojos/countries and so on.

 

I believe that the forum has quite a few Shotokan exponents who will soon come to your aid with maybe more specific recommendations. By the way what level are you in karate? And do you practice any particular branch of Shotokan - I understand that there are technical differences between what is practiced in differente organizations.

 

Anyway, lets wait and see what the shotokan guys have to say.

 

Wing Chun Kuen Man