With Some Not With Others
(Extracted from Aikido-L)
Date: Sat, 11 May 2002
08:49:11 -0700
From: A J Garcia
Subject: With Some Not With Others
Didn't have much downtime to think lately, what with doing the
seminar footwork and such, but now that I can breathe again, I'll
throw something out:
What is it about working with certain senseis that you like?
What is it about working with other Senseis that you don't?
I've gone to my fair share of seminars, and some I got a lot out
of, because the sensei's manner of teaching was such that the
learning experience was comfortable (not necessarily "easy", but
more in the sense of being on a wavelength I could absorb and
benefit from).
And then occasionally there will be one Sensei that's difficult
to learn from: I try, but can't embrace the teaching method.
This happens sometimes with the very "traditional old-school
Japanese" type Sensei's (whether they are Japanese or not) who
just show a technique, really don't explain it much if at all,
expect you to duplicate it...and sometimes people get hurt in the
process (something I've seen in my travaels this year). I'm not
saying this holds true for everyone who teaches in this manner,
just for some. And I'm not saying it's always a bad method (it
does teach awareness); but it can impede the process.
At one seminar, the Sensei just demonstrated, paced and *looked*
as people did the techniques. (I wasn't on the mat for this
teacher's class... even watching, though, I didn't get a lot out
of it.) I could tell some people were intimidated by his way
demeamour.
I went to a seminar last summer that affected me differently.
The sensei had a relaxing and original way of presenting new
concepts. Mindfulness exercises and fluid motion were a big part
of the learning process, as was learning to trust the connection
between uke/nage: learning to lead and be led--I particularly
recall one exercise where nage twirled uke around and around and
then they'd reverse. I was working with someone who really had a
grasp of what we were doing, and the process was dizzying, and
fun.
So, from the standpoint of learning aikido, who's your fave
sensei?
(No names, please, we don't want to embarrass the great...)
And, if you've had one that was less than ideal, why was that?
Al
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Date: Sat, 11 May 2002 12:42:46 -0700
From: Lorien Lowe
Subject: Re: With Some Not With Others
--- A J Garcia wrote:
> some [teaching styles] I got a lot out
> of, because the sensei's manner of teaching
> was such that the
> learning experience was ... on a wavelength I
> could absorb and benefit from).
>
> And then occasionally there will be one Sensei
> that's difficult
> to learn from: I try, but can't embrace the teaching
> method.
There are about half a dozen regular teachers at my
dojo, and a few irregular ones; at various times I'll
be in the right state to learn from some but not from
others. It seems to shift according to where I am in
my training (not in any pattern I can discern).
-Lorien
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Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 21:32:21 +0100
From: Ruth Mc William
Subject: Re: With Some Not With Others
A J Garcia asked:
>What is it about working with certain senseis that you like?
>What is it about working with other Senseis that you don't?
Ah - an easy one! The difference between a good class experience and a bad one
comes down
to how much the instructor is enjoying what they are doing. A really
enthusiastic instructor with
a passion for Aikido is always a lot more fun to learn with than one who is
teaching things
they're not really happy with.
Just returned from a really excellent weekend course with the Shinwakai in
Windsor, UK, where
everyone was passionate about what they were doing, and it was fun for every
single second.
Even enjoyed (for the first time) having to teach a couple of techniques myself!
Big thank you to the Shinwakai folk XXX
Ruth
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 15:46:58 -0500
From: Monica Bielke
Subject: Re: With Some Not With Others
A J Garcia wrote:
> >some [teaching styles] I got a lot out of, because the sensei's
manner of teaching was such that the learning experience was ... on a
wavelength I could absorb and benefit from).
> > And then occasionally there will be one Sensei that's difficult to
learn from: I try, but can't embrace the teaching
method.
Lorien
> There are about half a dozen regular teachers at my dojo, and a few
irregular ones; at various times I'll be in the right state to learn
from some but not from others. It seems to shift according to where I
am in my training (not in any pattern I can discern).
That's been my experience as well.
The dojo where I started Aikido had 3 different level yudansha who
taught, or assisted in class. They each had different teaching styles,
and depending on day, mood, time, and tide :-), I would learn better
from one than the other at any given class.
Our main instructor was very experienced at teaching, both children and
adults. He had a real knack breaking things down, and thought up
wonderful word-images to explain the ideas or movements he was trying to
teach. The nidan was very good at answering "why" questions - why do it
this way and not that? why does this work? - while keeping the physical
training going. (He's the one I was working with during that
nearly-silent practice I described last week.) The shodan was great for
learning by *doing* - when I needed to get out on the mat and forget
verbalizing all the questions.
Although there have been times when the general skill level of a class
was a bit more than I was ready for, I've never found it difficult to
learn *something* from any of the instructors at seminars I've been to,
except one. And I think that was more of an attitude problem (on both
sides) than the actual quality of instruction.
Monica
Just as you occasionally meet people with whom you immediately "click"
on many levels, sometimes you meet folks who simply irritate the he** of
you, despite the best of intentions.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 16:27:29 -0700
From: Michael Riehle
Subject: Re: With Some Not With Others
----- Original Message -----
From: A J Garcia
> What is it about working with certain senseis that you like?
> What is it about working with other Senseis that you don't?
In general, I like instructors who are teaching Aikido.
Now, this statement sounds meaningless, but here are some examples:
1) An instructor I had years ago emphasized the idea that Ki training and
technique training went hand in hand. Everything came together as working
toward making me better at Aikido both in terms of executing techniques and
knowing when not to. I really liked him.
2) Another instructor I had was very big on techniques. There were lots of
rules about each technique. The word "Ki" was forbiden in his Dojo. I
lasted about two weeks there.
3) Another instructor was very "New Age". This guy was always on about
breathing and feelings and attitudes. If often felt like I'd stumbled on a
Deepak Chopra seminar instead of an Aikido class. He must have been better
than the second one because I lasted a whole month there. But I also
discovered later that some of his "New Age" thing wasn't just about using
Aikido as a convenient platform for his religious fervor...he'd apparently
discovered it impressed the women in his dojo and got him "favors"
sometimes. I've since met people who've left his dojo because of his
skirt-chasing in particular rather than the "New Age" thing. I'd have been
out of there instantly had I been aware of the skirt-chasing, but I wasn't
really. It did explain some of the problems I did have with his teaching
style, though, as I realized much later.
4) Another instructor I had was very good in most respects, but he didn't
really - IMO - spend enough time on the Aikido philosophy. He also spent a
lot of time on sword work. His sword work was very good and I actually
enjoyed all that stuff, but it really wasn't Aikido. Then he started
insisting on time spent in Zazen for advancement. His dojo became more
about Zen than Aikido. I still respect him highly and I wouldn't hesitate
to attend a seminar he was teaching, but I really thing the whole Zen thing
isn't for me.
Please notice I've mentioned no names there. I did this because I know for
a fact that both of the instructors I *didn't* like have students who
respect them highly and learn well from them. Best case I could hope for
mentioning names would be that those students wouldn't believe me and would
then dislike me personally.
To me, Aikido is about both form and feeling. Too much emphasis on form
leads to a stiffness, IME, which doesn't feel good and I expect will not
actually work if it actually were required to. Too much emphasis on feeling
leads to a lot of navel-gazing which doesn't do anything for you or anybody
else in the Dojo. Neither of these extremes is teaching Aikido.
I also appreciate it when an instructor allows me to disagree on fine points
of philosophy that aren't directly related to Aikido. I've run into a few
Aikido people who've decided that there is no such thing as Good and Evil.
I disagree and if you expect me to change my mind in order to train in your
dojo I won't train there. There is a huge diffference in my mind between
acknowledging that there are evil people in the world and deciding how to
deal with them when you are forced to.
I think it's important to note that I've managed to learn *something* from
even the worst instructors. Sometimes it isn't what they intended, but it's
still always good stuff.
> [...snip...]
>
> At one seminar, the Sensei just demonstrated, paced and *looked*
> as people did the techniques. (I wasn't on the mat for this
> teacher's class... even watching, though, I didn't get a lot out
> of it.) I could tell some people were intimidated by his way
> demeamour.
I've seen this as well. It's okay as long as they stop and correct
problems. My current Sensei does this sometimes, especially in advanced
classes. But he will explain fine points if they are important to the
technique, e.g., a ground technique he was showing the other night really
failed spectactularly if you tried to be aggressive with it so he made the
point about *extending* rather than *pushing* repeatedly while demonstrating
it. He also stops to correct problems when he sees them.
I've just started doing some teaching myself. I actually think I often have
the opposite problem. I want to be sure everyone is clear on my intent with
an exercise, so I say too much sometimes. I'm reigning it in now as best I
can. I realized the problem because I've seen it in other instructors.
Interestingly, it's almost always 1st Kyu (that would be me until June 15th)
students who are just beginning to teach (hmm...that also sounds a bit like
me).
Michael C. Riehle
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Last updated on 13 Sep 2002