What I have learned during more than 30 years of teaching is the value of paying close attention to my students, with an eye toward learning from them. If you keep your eyes open, then you will invariably have that occasional situation that will cause you to pause and reflect on what you just experienced in the classroom.
One example comes immediately to my mind. I had a female student many years ago who was not athletic when she came to us. She couldn’t do three pushups, it was difficult to teach her kata and she probably weighed 105 pounds soaking wet. I’m not even sure why she started classes. She did have two children in the class, so that was part of it, but she was not someone you would pick from a crowd and say, “She would enjoy martial arts.” (She did eventually become one of our Black Belts, which says much about preconceived notions.)
This student was so afraid of falling that she invariably clung to my body when I threw her. Her body seemed to flow over my hips and legs, and she always landed right by my feet.
…you may learn something from that student that can impact your teaching.
This was a little disturbing because I was used to throwing the guys in a much more dramatic fashion. It looked much better when I threw one of them. It even sounded much better, since they made a nice “thump” when they hit the ground. When I threw her, it was more like a whisper.
I achieved nice “air” when I threw the fellows. You know, that nice arc their bodies make when you do a nice throw. The visual effect is much greater, and if you’re demonstrating a throw to a class or at a demo, then you certainly want that nice visual affect.
When I threw Sue, she just clung to me like a shadow. Not very impressive. Or was it?
As I analyzed what was happening, I discovered some interesting facts. First, if you land near the feet of the person who is throwing you, then the impact is much less. Sue instinctively knew this because she was so afraid of falling. She had no preconceived “macho” ideas of “Yes, I’m supposed to fly through the air and slam hard into the mat.”
Second, when you land near the feet of the thrower, it’s much easier to counter-throw. If your body flows over theirs, and you land at or near their center, then it’s rather easy to continue that energy and just throw them with their momentum.
Because of this experience, I began to teach falling differently. I taught my students to try to land near their feet. We practiced both ways, landing far from our feet, and landing close to them. Everyone noticed what Sue had already known. You don’t hit the ground as hard.
My more advanced students were taught to practice this when being thrown. I can’t say that they all could do it as well as Sue, but most of them adapted quite well, and when they could perform it properly, we taught them how to counter-throw.
Have you had similar experiences? Do you have a student-who could very easily not be one of your most talented-but just doesn’t do it like the other students? He or she isn’t trying to be difficult, they just do it differently, and maybe it even irritates you a little.
Perhaps, you should study that during your off time, and reflect on why he or she is doing it that way. Like me, you may learn something from that student that can impact your teaching.
Douglas Adamson teaches Shorei Kai (an Americanized Okinawan Karate system), classical Okinawan weapons and a kali system called Pikiti Tirsha.
