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How Students Should Approach Learning Martial Arts Knowledge is knowing why you are doing something; Wisdom is knowing why you are not doing something else. Part I: Approach Sensei Nielsen asked me to write an article on how students should approach learning Martial Arts. Since this subject has many facets, I thought it best to do it in segments. Otherwise, I could end up writing something you can use to read yourselves to sleep! Important note: For the purpose of ease of reading, when I say "he" or "him" or "his," I am referring to both male and female. Approaching learning Martial Arts is an important statement: It describes for us all the things we need to do before we even learn the Art. What you do and how you do it will have a great effect on how you ultimately learn your Art. How you learn your Art will ultimately effect how you execute your Art. After thirty years in Martial Arts, I still feel that I know very little about all there is to Martial Arts in the world, their histories, philosophies of style and techniques, etc. Therefore, when it comes to my own Basics and Kata, every day is still a new frontier of learning and relearning that which I already know and enhancing it by allowing yesterday's life experiences reflect on how I see and refine my techniques today. If we look at techniques as kaleidoscopes, ever changing and ever growing--yet always still the same basic material, we will never run out of things to learn. Deciding on a style is as important as learning it once you have chosen it. The style must reflect your tastes, sensitivities and physical capabilities. The particular dojo's Sensei must reflect your sense of honor, integrity and morality. I once saw a Black Belt teaching a beginner class; he was demonstrating what one should do when an attacker with a knife demands your wallet. He disarmed the student, dropped him to the floor, then reached into the beginner's back pocket and pulled out the student's wallet. He held the wallet up for all to see and said "Hey--if he was going to take your money, why not take his?" Another told his students to block the attack, then break as many bones as possible before taking off. These are not the kind of Sensei I would say fit my tastes or sensitivities, nor my sense of honor, integrity and morality. The first story is a question of morality; the second is a question of taste--there are hard styles that teach very devastating responses to attack. This may work for you, or it may not. Jiei is the Japanese for self-defense. Martial Arts encompass numerous styles from a multitude of nations; to my knowledge, be the word Karate, Judo, Kung fu, Hapkido, etc., the translation of the style has more to do with the physical art than it does with the use. And Martial Arts is never only self-defense: It is the duty we take on when given the privilege to study the Art to defend anyone who needs defending--not just ourselves. Before we commit to being students who ultimately become Martial Artists, we have to be sure this is something we want to do, something we're willing to commit to wholeheartedly, and with the understanding that we have individual needs--and that we have a responsibility to seek out a Sensei who shares or understands our needs. Otherwise, the path of excellence in Martial Arts will always be elusive to us.
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