Do you learn more?

Question

Do you learn more from teaching someone, or from being taught?

Answer 1

Wow, good question. Although I'm nowhere near being able to actually teach properly, I've done "go and show those white belts wrist releases" type teaching lol

I honestly think I learn more showing others how to do things, as no matter how inexperienced they are, they always have a new perspective on the technique and make you think about different ways of doing it. I find that by helping others learn I improve my own technique immensely. Seeing if you can properly explain and demonstrate to someone else what you have been taught, is a true test of whether or not you understand it and have learnt it well.

Answer 2

Obviously when learning something new by being taught and in teaching what you already know from teaching.

Not everyone is built the same can move the same or acts/ reacts the same and not trying to push everyone into the same mold and adapting them to what they do how they  do it and what they can do is the greatest lesson you can learn by teaching.

Answer 3

I think it depends on where you are in your development.

Lots of good answers in the above posts that hint at this.

Nice question!

Answer 4

be taught if you don't know how to bake don't start a cooking school

Answer 5

Teaching - no question.  Seeing another's perspective, watching someone else's eureka moment, and being forced to truly understand a technique well enough to explain it to someone else is more of a learning experience than being taught.

A teacher has to understand - a student has to absorb.

Answer 6

I think that you can refine your knowledge faster by teaching someone, but you have to be taught first.  How can you teach something you do not know?

Answer 7

I don't think that in the overall sense of the question that one learns more from only one part. These two concepts are equally necessary in the development of understanding.

When in the early years, it is going to be when one is learning that they would learn more. As they progress through the years and broaden their thinking they will then be able to put pieces of the puzzle together for themselves, which leads to teaching.

Through teaching there is a need for greater understanding. This need pushes the Karate Ka to dig inside themselves and their system to find the hidden secrets. Secrets they should only be hinted to and not given, as this brings about the true understanding, and not false mimicry.

Even still, there is always somebody who knows more and can understand some concept we may find difficult. This brings back the observation period of being the student.

That's my humble opinion. Thanks! This was a great question!

Answer 8

That's a great question.

Once you are brought up to a certain level from instruction, one always realized how much more they have learned from teaching.

Yet not eveyone is a teacher.  Some of the enthusiastic competitors in my dojo who bring home all the first place medals have very little interest in teaching others.  So another question could be:  Which is more important, the competitor or the instructor?

Answer 9

Of course we learn from both. But I began to learn a lot when I began teaching. I also learned a lot when Phil Porter at the time was a 7th Dan beat me in randori. He took me afterwards a talked to me and a gained a lot of of knowledge from that beating. The was in the 80's, I was an orange belt then.

Answer 10

In a practical sense, if you are not learning Kata, if ,say, you were training for actual fighting, I would say teaching or sparring with students would put you at an advantage. In a structured form like kata, just repetitive practice where everyone is doing the exact same thing, assuming you have mastered the form, teaching would teach you nothing that you didn't already know. It would just give you practice.

Now, In my opinion (the only one I can rightly give) sparring/teaching people who do not know the 'right' way to do things, or are at a lower level and do things 'improperly' are far more indicative of those who I will face. I know if I stand against a master, his form will be technically perfect and I will know what is coming. The unexpected actions of one who does not know what is proper or 'correct' seem far more dangerous to me.

Interesting question. Made me think about it.

Answer 11

the best way to see whether or not you really understand something is to try to teach it to someone else who doesn't know it.

Answer 12

I would say being Taught it actually depends on you're teacher

Answer 13

I would say to begin with you learn more from being taught. After a while it  reverses due to the fact that you have seen a vast majority of applications already, and some new student will ask a question that you have never thought of or heard before. That will make you think and apply things differently. My teacher loves new students for that aspect. It's the main reason he mixes ranks in his classes. As much as a higher belt can teach an under belt, there is always a different point of view that causes the upper belt to see things in a new light.

Answer 14

When learning under my original instructor at the time yes!!

But I have a better insight and have learned a great deal from teaching others,depends on whether you still train with you're original instructor.

Best wishes :)***

Answer 15

Hi there

Interesting one this.

I feel there's a great deal to be learned and lost by teaching. Its a double edged sword and like the arts themselves there's a balance to find here. The amount you learn by being an instructor depends on the level you are teaching at. If you are teaching beginners then you learn to improve your basics because its these skills that your students will look to you for guidance. So when teaching beginners your basics improve ten fold. The downside is if you're doing basics all the time then the advanced stuff  tends to get lost. That's why you need either to practise on your own or be teaching  advanced students as well. All teachers should find their own training time.

We are all students and should never consider ourselves teachers.Once you consider yourself an instructor the trend is to stop learning. One of the worst things to see is an instructor who prances around the dojo afraid to make mistakes in front of their students and we've all seen them at some stage in our training.  

No ones perfect were all beginners at this game but some people have to guide others. ;-)

Best wishes

idai

Answer 16

I just began studying Jook Lum Southern Mantis and being a teacher myself, I can say that I get more from whoever is teaching me(provided they can actually teach me something) as I can decypher their intentions.

The person I am studying under has a similar teaching style to mine so I am able to grasp the lesson quite quickly.

When I teach, I learn things that cannot be taught to me.

It makes me aware of personalities and habits.

It shows me what things I do or do not tolerate.

It teaches me how much or little patience I have for specific things.

I learn just as much from teaching as being taught... just that the lessons are multidimensional.

(Tao J gave a great answer)

Answer 17

being taught

Answer 18

That is a great questions and so true.  I have learned way more teaching than as a student.  I was actually amazed at how little I knew until I started teaching.

Answer 19

I learn from being taught but understood through teaching.

When explaining something you really notice the details.

Answer 20

while I get your premise- I think this question is impossible to answer, but what I gather your point is that you can learn and have a valuable lesson to yourself and greater understand by teaching.

and students can teach you just as well, people sometimes don't understand this- but it can go either way and it depends largely on the teacher, the student and what is specifically involved in the instance.

some days you would learn alot by teaching a student, others you would learn more by being a student. but I think what is overlooked is the fact that a teacher can learn from a student's mistakes- or feedback just as much as a student can learn from a teacher correcting them.

I'm not a teacher- I do show people and teach on a "social" level just like I learn from friends into ma- but to a large degree it does help and gives me a fresh perspective on my own understanding because different people react differently- aside from the obvious "dealing with personalities" which is not specific to martial arts and just comes with life.

as it relates to martial arts, technique and understanding wise then "wrong" technique from a student can teach you just as much as learning the right technique- because you find a way "not" to do it and see how and why its wrong-

in that regard- you are teaching yourself but learning from the student.

but it all depends on what the student does- what you do, and the specifics of the lesson, because while the material might not be new to you- you can gain a deeper understanding of why something works and see first hand, what doesn't work, which is also learning.