Difference Diversity and the art of teaching Karate

Difference Diversity and the art of teaching Karate

            Over the past 30+ years I have trained with many different instructors in the Dojo and at seminars. Some I came to know very well and others I observed from deep in the throngs all training at a seminar. I have observed all of their teaching methods, Tokui Waza and their ability to reach other others when teaching. Some were phony and came across as plastic and over practiced while others stuttered and fell over words trying to deliver basic commands.  My view on instruction and my skill set as a teacher came from all of these sources as well as the teaching skills and styles of countless school teachers, university professors and those that I have studied under in collage.

            It stands to reason that my instructor has had the most impact on my ability and teaching style as I have trained under him the most. But when he watches me teach he has told me that I don’t remind him of his style of teaching. At first I was kind of hurt till he told me that diversity in approach is what students need to find their own Karate!

            Years ago Sensei posted a sign on the door going from the mens change room to the training floor it read simply….”SHU HA RI” and that was all, Hand written in black marker on a white paper. He did not really explain it to us, not that I was told, but it just sat their for a while every time we left the change room screaming “Look me up” at us. I think I was one of the few that went and found a book at the library that said something about it….this was before the internet…Yes I am that old….

            Shu Ha Ri stands for “Protect”, “Detach” and “Separate or leave”. It’s a very Martial arty philosophy that I have taken to guide my teaching and growing new instructors in our The idea behind Shu Ha Ri is that an instructor or student starts off learning the core priciples of a style. They study under a master/instructor for a long time and they come to understand and practice the core of a system. They grasp onto and covet the teachings of the instructor and they make the practice part of them. Then they student/instructor will move to detach themselves from the system and they will start to remove that which does not fit their personality and personal style as it has developed from exploring the system deeply. And finally they leave the system all together and show their personal style exclusively.

            This makes no sense to some who read this and think one of two things “its all just kicking and punching that makes no sense” or “why do they bother training in a system then make their own”…and while both seem valid…they just show the level of complexity of the Martial philosophy.

            Think of it this way….you enter a school to learn a trade or Musical instrument and KNOW NOTHING about how to use the tools of the trade. You study under a teacher and build your skills.  After a while you start digging around other ideas, skills or tools and start to build your personal skills and ideas. You work with trial and error and build up both your knowledge of the instrument/skill trade and find new ways to get to the same spot that seem to be more purposeful for you. After a while you can abandon the skill sand techniques that were taught to you and do your own thing…but your goals are still the same.

            To be more clear let me explain my walk through Massage school.  When I got to the school everyone told me I was a natural massage”er” and that I should get into it…but I had no skills really, I thought I had but I did not. I studied the techniques of the instructors I had and I practiced like crazy, studied books on anatomy and physiology and worked every day to getting better. I slowly began to master the strokes and compression techniques that the instructors taught me and I became very good at repeating the prescribed techniques that they taught.  This is the Shu part of the learning process.

            After a while I started watching Youtube videos and videos and experimenting with different things, but still working the traditional strokes and techniques. I practiced and merged different techniques together to try and get to the same outcome and then built off of this and started expanding my tool box. This is the Ha part of training. I was breaking from the traditional way that was taught to me and exploring a bit, but still keeping the traditions in mind.

            After I graduated and had a lot of practice I began to leave some of the traditional stuff behind, I hated doing some movements and found them unpleasant to do and less than impressed when I had them done on me. I took aspects of the traditional stuff and tossed it out the window.  I had transcended the old traditions and created a new style for my massage. And then it became tradition and I was back to Shu!

            So, how does this apply to teaching Karate?  When you start out teaching you should first look at what your instructor’s current style is. What art they teaching, how are they getting the message across and what do they focus on!  Then repeat it in classes, let that style set in but then try and add your own personal swerve on it. Begin looking around at others, implement changes to your system, your style and your techniques of communication. After a while you will notice that while you still hold the core values of what is being taught you are totally different than your instructor.

            Eventually you will find your style is now your tradition and at that point you should start exploring again, finding new ideas, new systems and new communication avenues and then bring that in to refresh the tradition and finally create a new one.

            In my current club we have about five different instructors who all teach a variety of classes. One of the things that I try and impart on the students is that they should try and train with as many different instructors in the club as possible because we all have our own point of view and styles for teaching. I try and tell the instructors that they need to be different from one another and not try to cover the same things the same way. Some are newer and still in the SHU phase of learning and teaching and look at me like I am crazy. Others are already in the curve of learning, adapting, changing and relearning and get it.

            What we are teaching may be very similar or even the same but how we teach it should always be our own ideas, our own views and our own ways of doing things. We will focus on different things and we will impart different ideas to what we are doing. That is the correct way to learn and teach martial arts.