Karate of Japan Federation International : May 2023

Teaching Methods, The Why To The What

By Brandon L. Fisher, 8^th Dan / Kyoshi

Director: Okinawa Karatedo Seijitsu Shin Do Kan Kyokai

Have you ever thought about what might be inhibiting a students or even your own progress in skill development? I am sure you have and like many karateka or sensei you probably have pondered this. Maybe it is because for many years the methods have been the “Sensei Say, Student Do” approach and this is common with a lot of coaches outside of the martial arts and in other sports and many participants fail to realize their potential or even quit out of frustration of not understanding the why to the what.

Understanding

The Importance of a student understanding technique is undeniable. If we as humans understand what we are doing or attempting to do it helps our brains process the information. People are naturally curious about things and to prove it all we have to do is watch a baby or a toddler as they look and explore. Unfortunately many Sensei don’t take the time to explain this either they don’t know themselves or feel it is not the appropriate time. Which makes me ask when is the appropriate time to start giving students a deeper understanding of what they are doing?

Is it at white belt and they are working their most kihon kata or is it later after shodan so you as a Sensei can keep them longer? Why approach as always been to explain things in depth but sometimes in a more simple less overwhelming way and progressively deeper the concept and understanding overtime. I have students who come from various backgrounds and ability to understand. Kids who are very academically advanced and are very deep thinkers to Ph.D level college professors. So I get to know each student and their ability to process information and help them individually and guide them on their path. It is my responsibility to help them the very best I can and if I am holding information back on purpose when it can help them that is a failure on my part in my opinion. It is how the information is presented to the student not what the information is.

Learning Methods

Many times Sensei are not education specialists and don’t always understand the different learning methods that people have so let’s address that. Understand there are students who learn from one of these methods that we are going to discuss and others ay benefit better from multiple of these methods at a time.

The first method we are going to look at is the visual method and probably the most common method I have seen in my almost 4 decades of training. We can create memories quickly from visual stimulation however like pictures of the same thing from different angles we see things differently than other people. Which might create a different understanding for perception of what is happening. We see this in use of force cases all the time and why it is so important to have multiple camera angles and witnesses to investigate them thoroughly.

Though we have peripheral vision that vision is limited in clarity and in turn limits what information is gathered. Our eyes can only truly focus on one thing at a time and only the eye only see’s clearly on about a 2 – 3 degree angle. Think of having tunnel vision all the time basically the width of a paper towel tube.

Next is auditory learning, auditory learning is the process of learning from sound. This can be a very effective method of learning if the Sensei / Coach can articulate what they are asking very clearly. However if they can’t do that well it can be very confusing and frustrating for both the student and the teacher and that creates a poor learning environment.

Last is kinesthetic learning literally learning from feeling or touch. If you have ever had a sensei or coach physically adjust your body posture, hand position and you had an a-ha moment where it just all of a sudden felt right that is learning kinesthetically.

Myelination “Muscle Memory”

Myelination is what most people refer to as muscle memory when they don’t know what is called. Probably the best way to explain it is to think about a bare wire which no insulation or rubber cover. Our brain works in a similar fashion as we are building memories the neuro pathways are built between memories so we can recognize things. If you see a red soda can with a white wave on it even without thinking about it your brain says “Coke”. Same with golden arches of McDonalds or the red haired girl with pig tails for Wendy’s. We don’t always have to read the signs because the neuro pathways are built and continue to build and break throughout our lives. There is so much of the neuro pathways in our brains that it could stretch coast to coast straight across the United States. The myelin is the sheath around the nerve and the process of that growing and building is myelination. Remember our muscles do not have memory everything we do comes from our brain and nervous system.

Neuro-linguistic Programing

Nero-linguistic programming is a scientific approach to education and helping students build unconscious competency which can not only help them remember names of kata and technique but is also part of building myelination which we will discuss shortly. So let’s define this:

Neuro: a combining form meaning “nerve,” “nerves,” “nervous system,” used in the formation of compound words

Linguistic: of or relating to language

Programming: the process of instructing or learning by means of an instructional program

Or combined, “NLP combines theories, models and techniques from a range of scientific and esoteric fields, to create accessible, understandable ‘tools’ which can be used by individuals, teams and organizations and applied in a variety of contexts to improve outcomes, support wellbeing and create change”

I am hearing people saying it is brain washing, but it isn’t in fact we do this on the regular basis when our students repeat the technique we are asking for out loud or announce the name the kata they are doing. We are creating memories audibly using our own voices and this is one of the ways we learn.

The “WHY”

Many people train in martial arts for the self defense aspect and many equate karate as a child’s martial art and only MMA or BJJ is viable for self defense. I couldn’t disagree with that anymore than I do. The big problem isn’t what karate is capable of it is how it is taught in many cases.

Many years ago when our servicemen were in Okinawa and mainland Japan for a tour of duty it was really short lived in all honesty. Many had a year maybe two on the island and still had to fulfill their military duties so what they got was very basic in that time but some came back with 4^th dan or higher. There were some who continued to train and research while other continue to just teach what they knew. As a result many of the techniques / applications to the techniques were watered down or never taught.

Other instructors may have purposefully removed techniques as to not scare people off or to make more money with their dojo’s. As a result we have a widespread problem that people assume what is not correct and we all know where assumptions lead. In my heart of hearts I believe that it is important to look inside the kata / waza to discover a deeper understanding of it and as a result a deeper understanding of the application (Bunkai). Looking for the joint locks (kansetsu waza), pressure points (Kyusho waza), throwing and takedown techniques (Nage waza) as well as the strangulation techniques (shime waza) hidden in the kata truly looking at the meaning of Bunkai which is to break apart. Truly an analytical process!

Conclusion

It is probably wise as a student to ask questions of your sensei or your coach in a respectful manner but ask. A good Sensei will answer in a way that will benefit you at the time without overwhelming you which means things may seem like they change later even if they don’t. A good sensei will admit to not knowing if they do not know also and if they are seemingly making up stuff all the time maybe it is time to move on.

As a Sensei I encourage you to further your training not just in karate but understanding of how the human brain works and on education methods and utilize them. Doing the same thing, the same way forever just generates the same results and using the excuse of it has always been done that way is not acceptable to me.

I sincerely wish everyone great success on their journey and if I can help please let me know.

About Brandon

Brandon is a martial arts and personal protection instructor in Northeast Ohio with nearly 4 decades of training experience and more than 3 decades of teaching. Currently ranked as 8^th Dan in Okinawa Shorinryu (Kobayashi Ryu) Karate Do and 4^th Dan in Okinawa Kobudo. He is a graduate of the Active Self Protection Instructor Certification program (Cohort 2), a Certified Analyst and Realistic De-escalation Instructor through Force Science Institute and a certified instructor in Use Of Force Law through the Law Of Self Defense Instructor Program (Andrew Branca, ESQ) and from Terry Johnson, ESQ. He has taken many courses on teaching methods, use of force law & analysis, psychological trauma and more. He can be reached at: Okinawa Karate Of Twinsburg: www.fisherkarate.com or Precision Defensive Solutions: www.pdsoh.us

Yours In Karatedo,
Brandon L. Fisher
ブランドン・フィシャー
Okinawa Karate Of Twinsburg
www.fisherkarate.com

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