Are Martial Arts Styles Weakening?
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I am asked all the time if I think martial arts are
going down hill. It's the argument of -- you can't
learn everything your teacher knows. Your students
in turn won't learn everything you know.
And on it goes.
So, within a few generations, many details of the
martial art are lost.
Well, it's time to upset some folks.
I don't think martial arts is going down hill, as a
whole. But I do think there is a very dangerous trend
that threatens the quality of martial arts instruction.
Before I go all out and offend some of you, allow me
to tell you just a bit about my educational background:
I used to be a high school teacher. And I think I was
a good one. I had strict standards, yet the kids loved
me. And I produced results. Noticeable results.
So, why did I turn to martial-arts writing full time?
There were a myriad of reasons -- everything from
unacceptable administrative practices, to my desire to
improve martial arts through my writing.
One of the main reasons I got out was that the teaching
conditions were terrible....
At one point, I had 237 students on my roll sheet. That
meant that at one time, I was teaching 51 high school
students in a classroom that only held 36 desks.
You do the math.
I know what you are thinking right about now ...
Keith, what does your whining about public education
have to do with the martial arts?
Well, it's a "numbers thing." And in a minute I'll
relate it to martial arts instruction. I promise.
You see, I was a foreign language teacher.
If nothing else, the field of education conducts a lot
of studies. There are numerous studies on how class size
affects learning. As the class size goes up, the amount
of learning goes down.
For example, if a teacher has 15 students for an
hour, and spends a good portion of the time asking for
individual response, then the student may have to answer
eight times in a period.
Eight direct contacts with the language -- or eight
chances to practice the move for the correct feeling
on the instructor.
Double the class to 30 kids, and each student may
only get four oral contacts with the language
in a day.
Not only that, the teacher has to spend more time in
classroom management when the numbers increase.
Up the class size to 50 students, and you are lucky
if each student gets a chance to produce.
[Teachers have had to find methods, like group work
or TPR, to find ways to give the students more contact
with the language. Still, it's not individualized
instruction.]
Because of this attitude of 'cram more students in
to make more money,' the quality of public education
and martial arts instruction is going down.
In the dojo, more students means more tuition. And
in public education, districts receive government money
based on the number of heads filling the seats.
The effect is the same.
In martial arts, I favor smaller class sizes. And I
prefer that the head teacher teach the class.
Give me a garage with six students vs. a dojo with
a class size of 45 students, and I can tell you which
students are getting more individual attention from
the head instructor.
I can't speak for other martial arts, but in the world
of JKD, I have noticed the pattern. The best JKD
instruction can be found in the small classes.
Give me a JKD instructor who has a network of
schools, and I'll give you a system that
has degraded.
Show me a JKD-related instructor who promotes folks
after taking an intensive seminar, and I'll show you
certification that's not worth the paper it's printed on.
[Not to be confused with "certificates of participation"
at seminars. Those are nice mementos. But getting certified
to be an instructor after less than 'at least' a couple
of years of training ... Sigh.]
In public education, I still had students go on to
make foreign language their profession. And you can
still learn valuable information from a
cattle-course martial arts school.
It's not an ideal teaching situation, but you can still learn.
Unfortunately, there are those who will slip through the cracks.
They will pass without really learning. Because of the
numbers, this is bound to happen.
In the world of JKD, I meet instructors all the time
who aren't doing anything resembling the principles
of valid JKD.
Now, that you have read this article, you know one possible
reason they got this way.
This student then whispers the story, from memory, into
the next kid's ear. Each child continues from memory,
passing the story from the next to the next. By the
time we reach the end of the line, the story is
all but unrecognizable.
It has changed so much.
You could argue that each kid is making the story his
or her own. But they could also be losing some very
important, even crucial elements along the way.
This is the way I see big network schools.
Sure, the head instructor makes an occasional visit,
for a spot check. That's not enough.
I'd rather have the head instructor move from student
to student, down the line. If the 'story' does change a
little, the teacher can choose to help the modification
make sense to the individual.
Or the teacher can make an immediate correction, to
make sure the 'flavor' of the story remains the same.
You need to take learning into your own hands.
Are you ready for a real attack on the street -- a real fight?
Download my Free ebooklet on Being Ready For Anyone and Anything. You'll learn to act confidently in a real street fight ...
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Keith Pascal has been a full-time martial-arts author for eight years and a martial-arts teacher for 25 years.
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2749 Friendly St., Suite 308
Eugene, Oregon 97405
USA