By Erik Hofmeister
Every now and then, I encounter either a new student who wants their technique to be perfect, or a teacher who wants their white belts’ technique to be perfect. Striving for perfection is a good goal, but it must be tempered with the understanding that it is frankly not possible, and may even hinder progress in some students.
Learning anything is a progression. You first learn some information, then more, and then a little bit more. At the vet school, we don’t expect first-year students to be able to diagnose anything, much less complex diseases, but we do expect them to be able to make diagnoses 3 years later. What changes? Why not expect them to master diagnosis in their first week? Quite simply, because they can’t do it. There is too much information- they aren’t capable of assimilating the information in a useful manner. They might memorize the data, but they don’t know how to use it.
Some students want to learn everything they can as soon as they can. After promotion, they want to learn and master their next kata. As white belts, they want as much feedback as possible on their technique so they can perfect it. I have already discussed the utility and necessity of dwell time of information in the brain. In addition, over-eager students are not grasping the larger concepts of patience, commitment, perseverance, progression, esprit de corps, and understanding. A white belt who develops an excellent front kick must do so at the cost of some other techniques (since there’s only so much time in a day), and may become overconfident in their abilities.
New students have to learn basic elements like balance, strength, and coordination as well as basic techniques like front kick. Trying to get the perfect front kick out of a white belt is pointless- they may be able to DO it, but they won’t be able to understand it, teach it or, most importantly, replicate it. The ranks exist to facilitate a constant progression of understanding and mastery. A white belt has thousands of hours of practice in front of them before their front kick will be excellent because it needs all the elements, most of which take time. There’s no point in cramming information which they cannot use into their brain in the first week- let them learn in an ordered, steady fashion.
Striving for perfection, continuing toward excellence, is what’s it’s all about. Wanting or expecting to be excellent with a technique when you first learn it is counter-productive.
One of the first classes at Athens Yoshukai – notice all the white belts.
Athens Yoshukai Karate 