Being the class dunce

[marie curie]

i had this same problem in my bjj class! I just asked one of the higher ups to spend some extra time with me. He was happy because once you teach it, you really know it, right? Eventually I got to point where I had just put in so many hours and done the moves so very many times (plus had some one on one tips) that I was actually getting things before most of the others!

[bushido_man96]

if he's falling behind, his teacher is not doing his job well.

I really don't think that this is the case. Every one is different, and every martial artist is not on the same journey. That said, I don't feel that it is necessarily the fault of the instructor. There are so many factors to consider, like time available to train, student's learning curve, instructor's teaching styles, and student-to-teacher ration, just to name a few things.

I have had students that start at the same time, and then branch off from each other, moving at different speeds. It just happens at times. Students and instructors will hit peaks and valleys at different times in their training.

[gzk]

I had a think about this before my classes on Monday and it seemed to go better. This is what I came up with:

* Training with a partner is a partnership (duh ). If I do well but my partner still submits me or dominates position-wise, in a sense, there's not too much wrong with that, as I'm helping them improve.

* Don't be too uptight to smile when I or my partner does something well.

* Enjoy the hard work, even if feels like I'm running with a yokozuna tied to my back, because that's going to deliver benefits.

* My instructors would rather help me a few seconds extra than have me quit in frustration (not that I was ever seriously considering that)

[bushido_man96]

That is a great way to look at things, gzk.