Don't think, feel

[Spartacus Maximus]

It is well known that there are different learning styles. Some people learn best by listening, others by looking and others still by feeling. For learning martial arts it seems that those who learn best by feeling would have a significant advantage.

Many aspects such as correct body mechanics and power generation can only be grasped by feeling them. Imitating one's instructor is the traditional way but many people, especially beginners have a tendency to think too much about how to do a technique instead of feeling it.

[sensei8]

Excellent OP; thank you, Spartacus Maximus!!

Now let's finish what Bruce validated his thought...

"It's like a finger pointing away to the Moon. Don't concentrate on the finger, or you'll miss all of that Heavenly glory."

The learning apex of any student varies, and it's up to the instructor to guide that student into the understanding of this...The Summation of 'Why' is to the Summation of 'Because'.

Nothing replaces the hands-on learning; so much is listening, the majority of it is applying it. Don't think, FEEL IT!! A gem of gems, imho!! We can get in our own way quite quick without even trying.

The more knowledge and experience the student has, the more the student doesn't have to think about it as correct muscle memory kicks in; the automation of technique is just there without having to ponder about it.

Once, you couldn't tie your shoe lace if your life depended on it, now, you don't even think about it, and that's because you feel it, and thusly you just do it.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Many people get lost or overwhelmed by details or concentrate too much on the form of what they see(the finger pointing) They try to imitate their sensei's action but miss what is going on inside, the mechanics and inner workings that are not readily visible( the moon and heavenly glory).

It may be a cheesy Bruce Lee quote, but I hear exactly the same thing from my instructor. It made me chuckle a few times, but I am starting to understand what it means. Rather than trying to reproduce the form, it is more productive to learn and remember how correct movement should feel and reproduce that until it can be done at will. Good balance, correct alignment or inner muscle action are all important things that must be felt.

[sensei8]

Many people get lost or overwhelmed by details or concentrate too much on the form of what they see(the finger pointing) They try to imitate their sensei's action but miss what is going on inside, the mechanics and inner workings that are not readily visible( the moon and heavenly glory).

It may be a cheesy Bruce Lee quote, but I hear exactly the same thing from my instructor. It made me chuckle a few times, but I am starting to understand what it means. Rather than trying to reproduce the form, it is more productive to learn and remember how correct movement should feel and reproduce that until it can be done at will. Good balance, correct alignment or inner muscle action are all important things that must be felt.

yes...Yes...YES, and then some. Cheesy, oh no, a deep gem, imho. Your post here is SOLID!! Bruce, in Enter The Dragon, asked his student, after a series of kicks, one better than the other..."That's it! How did it FEEL to you?", asked Bruce. The students answer..."Let me think!"..."Don't think; FEEL!!", Bruce exclaimed.

[Nidan Melbourne]

No two people learn the exact same way. So in a way those who learn through touch and movement usually have an advantage in that way. Because they learn what it should feel like.

But their advantage can also be their greatest weakness because if they get taught the technique incorrectly, then it will be harder to correct such a technique.

Also those who are visual learners, will often imitate their instructor when learning those techniques. But the instructor may not say to students that there are some slight differences to what they have to do than what it is technically correct.

But there are some people that learn best from being verbally told what to do. So watching and feeling won't do as much for them as it does for others.

For me, I am a visual and physical learner. So for me being verbally told how to execute something then i struggle. But if they explain as they do the movement then i do it fine.

[lowereastside]

In the style of kung Fu that I practice and teach a big part is about the feeling. The visual - looking at the teacher move, the verbal instructions and lessons on and off the floor are also important and so on............. But a big part is the touch - touching the teacher's hand - getting to feel the energy - the transmission of the art from teacher to student. That is why IMHO in the old days or old ways, Karate ( Te ) , Kung Fu etc..... was never meant to be taught to the masses - large classes. Things kinda started to change in the early 1900's. In China it was the Jing Wu ( Mo) And the Nan Jin Institute which started teaching Kung Fu to the masses. The same can be said for karate things changed in Okinawa then it went to Japan and things changed even more. And then it spread to the rest of the World.

[CredoTe]

Many people get lost or overwhelmed by details or concentrate too much on the form of what they see(the finger pointing) They try to imitate their sensei's action but miss what is going on inside, the mechanics and inner workings that are not readily visible( the moon and heavenly glory).

It may be a cheesy Bruce Lee quote, but I hear exactly the same thing from my instructor. It made me chuckle a few times, but I am starting to understand what it means. Rather than trying to reproduce the form, it is more productive to learn and remember how correct movement should feel and reproduce that until it can be done at will. Good balance, correct alignment or inner muscle action are all important things that must be felt.

yes...Yes...YES, and then some. Cheesy, oh no, a deep gem, imho. Your post here is SOLID!! Bruce, in Enter The Dragon, asked his student, after a series of kicks, one better than the other..."That's it! How did it FEEL to you?", asked Bruce. The students answer..."Let me think!"..."Don't think; FEEL!!", Bruce exclaimed.

Absolutely! Agreed...

[jaypo]

No two people learn the exact same way. So in a way those who learn through touch and movement usually have an advantage in that way. Because they learn what it should feel like.

But their advantage can also be their greatest weakness because if they get taught the technique incorrectly, then it will be harder to correct such a technique.

Also those who are visual learners, will often imitate their instructor when learning those techniques. But the instructor may not say to students that there are some slight differences to what they have to do than what it is technically correct.

But there are some people that learn best from being verbally told what to do. So watching and feeling won't do as much for them as it does for others.

For me, I am a visual and physical learner. So for me being verbally told how to execute something then i struggle. But if they explain as they do the movement then i do it fine.

I had this conversation the other day with one of my classmates. We did a private class with our CI to prepare him for his upcoming black belt test. We did a lot of katas and applications. After the class, I was explaining how I incorporated some Bassai Dai apps in my last sparring session with him, but that in class, it's hard for me to do applications with my CI because he has one vision of what he wants me to apply, and I'm the type of person that learns by doing. He may want me to execute a type of arm technique, but until I "do" it, it's difficult for me to envision what he wants me to do. I also have different tendencies than my CI- he's 5'4 and stout, while I'm 6'0 and 185lbs. Our bodies are vastly different, so the techniques that he would use in a certain situation are different than I would use. When I get in close, I prefer to use my longer limbs to dictate what type of throw/takedown I execute while he prefers different ones that mesh better with his more compact base and shorter limbs. Neither is better. Just different. Just last night we went thru a bunch of those. He was teaching a technique from Heian Yondan where, at the end, the knifehands leading up to the knee could be used as a takedown, but it required my lead leg to come down behind the opponent's front leg. That was difficult to do because my legs are longer. It's a lot easier for me to come down with the back elbow. But he preferred to land with his (shorter) leg behind the attacker and do a takedown. Both work, but one worked better for me.

Simply put, a lot of times, I "feel" different applications than my CI is looking for. But I feel that they work just as well for me.