Importance of Instructor and student accomplishments.

[Spodo Komodo]

Yes I did read all your posts, just because someone has world class students does not mean that he can make me into one.

I practice martial arts for the arts side rather than the martial side so all of that kind of stuff is irrelevant to me. The accumulation of titles and other distractions does not necessarily make someone able to help me develop in a way suitable for me.

I suppose it is a cultural thing, I came to the martial arts from a Zen background whereas your art is from a Brazilian background, where showmanship and titles seem to be key to reputation.

[still kicking]

Well yes, "he is the black belt" -- hopefully. I don't think people are just trying to be argumentative, but you seem to be looking for a simple answer to a complex question. Maybe he only earned a green belt and went down to the local martial arts supply store to get himself a black belt, figuring it would help him market his business better. Maybe he has won international championships in sport fighting, which, if that is important to you, might be very good, otherwise you might not care. If you are the parent of a small child, observing whether he is good with children might be the most important thing to you. I tend to think observing some of a teacher's advanced students is one of the best ways to get a sense of the teacher's overall skill as a teacher, but as you say, if you don't know the style, how do you know if they're good? (Though I think excellence shows through no matter the style.) In traditional martial arts, lineage is very important. If you know who someone's teacher is you already know a lot about him/her. Fortunately, nowadays, you can find a lot of what you might want to know on the internet, i.e. not just the name of the teacher, but information about the lineage. Good luck!

[JiuJitsuNation]

True story. There is the side you seek to it. It's the side that keeps us healthy. And the best guys make it look beautiful. But I understand what you mean. And your perspective is appreciated. Thank you.

[JiuJitsuNation]

Well yes, "he is the black belt" -- hopefully. I don't think people are just trying to be argumentative, but you seem to be looking for a simple answer to a complex question. Maybe he only earned a green belt and went down to the local martial arts supply store to get himself a black belt, figuring it would help him market his business better. Maybe he has won international championships in sport fighting, which, if that is important to you, might be very good, otherwise you might not care. If you are the parent of a small child, observing whether he is good with children might be the most important thing to you. I tend to think observing some of a teacher's advanced students is one of the best ways to get a sense of the teacher's overall skill as a teacher, but as you say, if you don't know the style, how do you know if they're good? (Though I think excellence shows through no matter the style.) In traditional martial arts, lineage is very important. If you know who someone's teacher is you already know a lot about him/her. Fortunately, nowadays, you can find a lot of what you might want to know on the internet, i.e. not just the name of the teacher, but information about the lineage. Good luck!

Again true story. all what I am looking for. All valid points. I'm still listning. lol

[sensei8]

If by accomplished you mean having won lots of tournaments and/or recognition by competing then the answer is "no". Medals and trophies have no bearing on teaching ability.

Bingo! Not all black belts can teach.

[JiuJitsuNation]

Ok all. Assuming you have 2 very capable instructors. Does The others experience mean nothing?

[still kicking]

Yes, of course, all things being equal, more experience is better than less experience.

[sensei8]

Ok all. Assuming you have 2 very capable instructors. Does The others experience mean nothing?

No, because both of their experiences together adds up to mean something. Both are of great value to the entire student body.

[Lupin1]

Depends on what you want. My instructor isn't a "world champion" or anything-- he doesn't compete in tournaments anymore, although he will judge them sometimes. Some may say that he's not "accomplished" because he never held any titles in tournaments and some say they are accomplished because they do. But my instructor's been training for 40 some years, he's trained with experienced instructors in many different arts and he studies and researches the martial arts like a fanatic (actually, he is a fanatic). Even in his 60s and with his bad back and limited physical capabilities, he's constantly learning and searching for new information and usually he finds it. He's also creating his own new ideas and applications for old moves and kata every single day. To me, that makes him accomplished, even if he did never bother to go past 3rd or 4th degree black belt (not exactly sure what he is) and even if he doesn't hold a bunch of fancy titles. I think of him more as a martial arts academic-- if the martial arts world handed out PhDs instead of concentrating on new cool colored belts to give out, he'd have one. So yeah, I think everyone considers their instructor accomplished. Everyone just has different ideas of what the word "accomplished" means to them based on what they value in an instructor.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Lupin1

[JiuJitsuNation]

I think thats like saying a guy doing flight simulation for 20 years is as experienced as a pilot who's been flying for 20 yrs.