Which MA instructor would you prefer to learn from?

Question

A) An instructor who holds back some techniques in the belief that he/she will remain a better fighter than his students?

B) An instructor who teaches all that he knows knowing his students will one day be better than he/she is?

And why you choose that option or if you are an instructor are you one or the other?

Answer 1

B of course.

Why ? Because that is the way I was taught and that was the way that I taught my students. Many of my old students have a higher rank than I do now, and that makes me very happy.

Answer 2

Very good question.

I train under an instructor that is the second type. As he has gotten older he has actually lost a little bit as far as sparring goes, however he said the prousest moments have been when his students shine against him.

I myself feel that there is no reason to haold anything back once a student gets to a certian level and proves his charicter. I am not afraid of losing to them sparring in the Dojo, because I don't fight as hard as I can anyway when I amn with a lower rank, I fight just slightly above them, so they have to push themselves, but don't get dominated.

my theory is why hold anything back if they are going to use this in a life or death situation? I want them to have every advantage they can.

Answer 3

ill learn from anyone and everyone who has something to teach me.

most people who "hold back" techniques and things have their reasons. if they go too fast, you will forget half of it anyway. and if you're not ready...well you're just not ready.

Answer 4

B- and that's the type of instructor I aim to be every day.  What good is it if I hold something back?  I'm not creating succesors, which means I am not becomming successful!

Answer 5

One of the people I admire most is my instructor. He holds nothing back and when he finds something that works better than what we are doing he adds it to our curriculum.

His instructor has the same philosophy, give the students all you know hoping they will excel beyond you. This is the sign of a great teacher.

Weather it is Martial Arts or any subject the best teacher is the one who wants the most for the student.

The role of teacher is similar to the role of parent. What parent does not want their children to excel beyond them??

Answer 6

simple answer[b] i have been instructing for approx 40 years in 3 separate systems. in the beginning i did hold some back,i realised within a short period the only person i was holding back was me. i have had such pleasure seeing some of my former students attain significant rank in other systems/styles. i wish them nothing but good fortune.

Answer 7

I think the obvious answer for any serious student would be "B" under your scenarios. If one is committed to learning a complete system, one would want to learn it completely!

Also, something else that wasn't really touched base upon is the fact that in Chinese martial arts (and possibly others), some disciplines have been a bit diluted over time due to instructors saving certain techniques for themselves in an attempt to still have a "one-up" over any of their students should some sort of uprising or challenge occur. You can see the progression of this; by the time a 20th generation practitioner learns, there are 19 techniques that have been omitted! That's knowledge forever lost...

I think with dedicated teachers, there is a similar esteem to parenthood with regard to the fact parents want their children to do better in life than they did, just as a dedicated teacher would want a student to do better in martial arts.

Answer 8

b would be the obvious answer.

I feel that an instructor should have no fear of his students ever getting better.  if they get better than him it is because he has taught them well, and of course good instruction merrits respect.  

within the highest ranking students in our aikido class we have a few of them (including me) that ecxell in one aspect of the art, sometimes to a point of being better than the teacher.  all round he is better than any of us, and not too forget he has over 20 years experience in what he does, which makes that from experience he can still find ways and tricks to outdo us.  I think an instructor should strive to have students that are better than him.  After all we are all striving to make our art better.

Answer 9

bruce lee

Answer 10

It definitely B, but it is a give and take relationship.

My best instructor was nothing like me. I am 6’3” 280lbs; he was 5’8” maybe 150lbs. What work best for him would never “fit” me. But he was able to show me things that were useful and effective for my size, things that he would never use himself. A good instructor is going to show you everything they know. A good student is going to learn it and incorporate the style that will work for them.

Answer 11

B.  Its more likely that your instructor will die before you so it would be in the interests of the martial art to pass on everything.  It depends on the instructors ego though.