Thoughts On Teaching

Most of us have heard or taken part in discussions about whether it is better to talk about budo as we teach and learn. Some "experts" say it is not good to describe technique and fill students' heads with "conceptual knowledge" instead of experiential knowledge. Then there are other "experts" who say the opposite. Who is right? Is anyone right?

There are traditionalists who do not want to do anything different than O-Sensei or whoever else is ion the aikido pedestal at any given time. There are those who do their best to do the opposite just because they are rebels and want to be "original." This type of polarized thinking is always limiting. As in most things, I think the answer lies in a little of this and a little of that... so that the eventual blend is appropriate to produce the desired result.

Here is my take on the subject. I welcome input from others on this subject as we are all searching for efficient ways to educate ourselves and each other.

The goal is to help students acquire a basic "picture" of how aikido works and give them an educational curriculum which contains the fundamental tools necessary to learn and practice budo. If their inner picture is of some "powerful expert" (no matter where the power comes from or how it is described) who can throw people through the air and cause excruciating pain at will, then they will try to practice that way. If students are shown that proper posture, movement, timing, and understanding of principle lead to gentle, but powerful technique, then they will practice that way. Many teachers only teach their own favorite variations which work well for them. This does not produce well-rounded students who eventually develop their own aikido. The curriculum must also contain continuing levels of experience which raise us to the place we all can see in our grate master teachers' practice.

The methodology I try to use to teach the basic tools is based on the educational theory that we learn best when we use a combination of all our sensory pathways: 1. Visual, 2. Auditory, and 3. Kinesthetic.

Some of us are dominant in one area and learn best when that is favored. I think a good teacher can "feel" how each individual student learns, and will make sure that learning happens. Essentially, we must demonstrate the whole, then break it down into parts, and practice, then put it back together again into the whole, and practice more (the Whole -- Part -- Whole method). This teaching/learning is an ongoing process. We will develop the basic tools which will enable us to experience and deepen our practice using all of our senses.

Instructors and teachers must also understand that a student who learns better from "feeling the technique,' for example, can be educated and expanded by using methods which cause the student to work hard, endure, and pass through frustration, forging them into much more than we thought possible. Getting students to "perform" what appears to be good physical budo technique is not the entire goal. There is much more to our practice and I will leave with all of us wondering (and wandering) how to eventually end up where we want to go. We must look to our teachers and keep the memory of their teachers alive in our practice. We cannot just become as good as our teachers; we must become better than our teachers.

Chuck Clark

Kokyu and Ki

There is no 'between' phase to kokyu, only points along a spectrum.

Generally, I tell folks to inhale as they receive/intercept and exhale as the strike/throw. And this can lead to some confusion. There's really no difference, but to a beginner, using those images can help shift the paradigm and make movement easier. It's all tied intimately to breath and spirit and focus.

Ki moves constantly as you breathe. You exhale and ki flows. You inhale and ki flows. You don't suck up ki, it continues to flow into you from the universe. It is a circuit, not a balloon. We are conduits, not reservoirs.

By aligning the body properly, and aligning the spirit, and focusing intent through proper breathing, we exercise ki-power. This is tied to kokyu and factors into aiki and kiai (which are not simply obverses of the same term, BTW) ...

We can do whatever we want without ki. We don't have to use it. But ... it's just smoother and easier if we achive mind-body-spirit coordination, move from tandem/seika no itten/the one point and align ourselves _with_ the natural flow of ki.

This is why we open our hands, extend fingers. There's a symbolism (sort of a physical mnemonic, I guess) to having extended the fingers and extending the ki.

I frequently use the visual image of the silver thread, or the steady flow of water. The universal, the font of ki is a vast reservoir and we are each connected to it by a 'silver thread.' This is our flow, our conduit. With that thread, we move in the universal, take strength from it, give back to it ... and are thus connected to all other things as well.

By visualizing that thread, the pulse and flow of ki through it, we can overlay the ki paradigm and use those concepts to enhance our physical actions, mental acuity and spiritual connection. It's all musubi, you see ...

Once I got past the idea of drawing in ki and then sending it out, and realized that the flow was constant, it was all about how _I_ fit into that flow, how _I_ used that flow, it began to make more sense.

Chuck Gordon

New Student Performance

"Wow! That's great! You must have been practicing a lot! Now that's what I want to see! Try it with a slightly smaller step next time and I bet it's even better." The instructor goes to the next student and the smiling student who was the target of the praise continues only with a little more focus and a bit more determination.

You weren't patronizing. You weren't giving false praise. You really were pleased and you really did see the improved performance. But you could have just said, "your steps are too big," and withheld the praise. Or you could have asked, "how can you keep screwing up so much when I have already told you to shorten your steps?"

You have the choice of criticizing or critiquing. You can evaluate the person or the performance. You can be subjective or objective. You can teach for your sake, or for your students' sake. You always have these choices.

The correct choice is obvious, but we don't always make the one obvious choice. Sometimes, we want to be in control. Sometimes, we ant to impress. Sometimes, we just run out of patience or bring our own baggage.

We're human too, so we have to watch for human flaws in our teaching methods. There aren't very many opportunities in life that give us more control over other people than when they ask us to teach them. They give us their mind and body and trust us to help them. They have become vulnerable and we must honor that trust. This is a huge responsibility.

One way of being sure that you're treating students appropriately is to realize that they are the most important resource we have. They are valuable. We need them or our art will wither and die. If we allow our ego or mood to drive even one student (who may have become the next Ueshiba) away, we are all poorer. The greatest opportunity for miscommunication is when we are trying to communicate complex or abstract ideas.

Remember this rule and you will find your criticisms are taken in the way you intend: Always critique the performance, never criticize the person.

Even though the difference between "you're stepping too far again" and "your step is still too long" is slight and would not be noticed by the advanced student, the beginner may still be fragile, afraid of failing. At this point you would achieve even more by a positive suggestion such as "try taking shorter steps." This gives the student something specific to try, shifting the focus from person to performance.

The shift from person to performance also teaches the student to look at performance as an accomplishment. Something that can be displayed and evaluated; a thing apart. Self-evaluation soon follows. Accomplishment is the new goal and you and your student can work on it together.

Next time you are teaching, listen to yourself from the student's point of view. Are you listing mistakes or suggesting changes? Are you describing a personal fault or a performance fault? Do you want to change the performance or the person? Check out your own performance and see how you are doing. Critique yourself. See if you can be a little more clear about your expectations. See if there is room for more student praise and encouragement. See if you are earning the trust and respect of your students (or if they are just respecting your belt). If so, praise yourself. If not, make some personal suggestions on performance improvement.

Chuck Clark