In
the previous post we touched upon some of the broad categories of martial art
seminars you may consider attending during the summer. Regardless of which of
those types you may end up partaking in, ultimately the value of the event will
heavily hinge on one fundamental factor – the instructor(s) conducting it.
Sometimes, of course, you will know much, if anything, about the person in
charge of your training there; sometimes you will be more or less familiar with
their background and qualification/biography, but without any real insight into
how they teach; and there are also those you feel very familiar with, due to
having “tasted” their approach through videos, books etc. As you may have
concluded by now, we are talking about seeing someone for the first time, and
the impressions there will decide whether a trainee will repeatedly attend
seminars by the same instructor.
There
are many qualities a good instructors should have, some more
important than others, depending on the circumstances. Since we’re talking
seminars here, not regular classes, I will focus on some of the factors I look
for. Obviously, but should not be taken for granted, the instructor ought to be
highly skilled, with thorough understanding of what makes his or her skill
good, and how to develop it; next, there should be some sort of teaching
curriculum in place, so that the material would be presented in a logical and
understandable manner; then, the teacher should be able to effectively communicate
with the trainees; and finally, there is the need for a keen eye to notice the
possible difficulties among the students, especially if there are common ones.
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| Philippe Choisy |
Personally,
what I expect from a good seminar is to get at least a glimpse of the
teaching/training methodology, and hopefully even a solid insight, should the instructor
be so inclined to discuss it. Namely, if I like the material enough there is
the natural tendency to include some or all of it in my own training and
teaching, in which case it is good to know what is the most efficient sequence
and progression in doing it.
Now,
depending of your interest and priorities in training, there may be some people
out there whose programs are especially attractive and enticing. It is
therefore normal that they would be heading your list of people to check out
this summer, if possible…just make sure that your curiosity is not entirely
based on Youtube demo highlights or similar sources, but rather that there is
some specific reason behind it. My list of Top-something instructors to learn
from has emerged spontaneously over the years, and might be, conditionally,
split in two categories: armed and unarmed. So, just for fun, here are some of
them, listed in alphabetical order:
Unarmed: Philippe Choisy Armed: Scott
Babb
Rich Dimitri Craig Douglas
Antonio Faeda Nigel
February
Chris Haueter Varg Freeborn
Rory Miller Tom
Sotis
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| Varg Freeborn |
Evidently,
some of them have already been mentioned on this blog, some not (yet). Now,
this list may also seem a bit all over the place, but in my mind there is a
common thread that makes them all pieces that could fit the same puzzle, but to
which degree…it remains to be seen. Naturally, this list is fluctuating, the
names are changing occasionally (after all, a dozen was a random number in the
first place…I would need to add Hock Hochheim, Mikhail Ryazanov, Robert Paturel
and many others), and it also does not mean I won’t attend any other seminars that
pop up until these are “ticked” as done.
In
conclusion, stay hungry for new knowledge, go learn new stuff from interesting
people, but try to make informed choices and decisions in order to make the
experience as fulfilling as possible.
