transmission of kung fu theory

[Octavius]

Say, how are kung fu concepts, principles, and theories (particular for your style) taught in your schools? I guess I mean how was it taught to you, and if you teach, how do you teach it?

Basically, I am referring to the various principles that underlie all our arts, but are embodied in the forms and techniques. Now, are they explicitly spelled out, as in "there are XYZ principles involved in this type of situation, and ABC techniques are illustrative of this...", or are you supposed to just do the movements (forms and techniques) and evetually "get it" on your own? Are they actually taught within the class structure, via a lecture of sorts, or as conversation while discussing a technique, or outside of class, say around a dinner table?

[shaolinboxer]

Through reading, observation, and lecture.

[fa_jing]

My instructor likes to rephrase aphorisms in common speak. "You've got to flow like water" "Find the holes" "Smash through their defense, watch it crumble up like Saltine Crackers" etc. He likes to use analogies "coiling like a snake" "The fingerjab is like a spear"

He actually spends a fair amount of time talking and trying to share his experience with us. He also encourages us to do research on our own.

-FJ

[Tiger_Yin]

my teacher is pretty young so... when he talks its more like "smash his ribs" or "break his arm like this" nothing fancy... plus in the kungfu he teaches there are no forms just techniques and applications

Peace!

[BrentCarey]

I like to use analogies and avoid labels. I use multiple analogies to give the person a better idea of how to think about a particular motion. This is a pretty common technique.

One thing I do that most instructors don't is to avoid the use of labels. I generally avoid telling students the names of techniques or principles. I prefer to teach students the way children learn to talk, by observing and copying.

For those familiar with the concept of left and right brain hemispheres, I prefer to teach students to use their right hemisphere (responsible for conceptualization and spacial relations), and avoid the left hemisphere (responsible for language, logic, and tokenization).

My backgrounds in visual art and linguistics has shown me that the process of filtering concepts through the language center is relatively slow.


Peace,

Brent Carey

[HuangKaiVun]

It depends on the student.

Some you have to talk to, others you have to show, others you have to move their limbs for them, sometimes you do all three.

But when it comes to it, it depends to the STUDENT. Several times, I've seen a student grasp the inner essence of an art better than his teacher did because he's spent more time practicing and also had more innate talent. This is the case not just in kung fu, but in ANYTHING.

Learning the lesson is a tiny part of it. PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE is where 99.9999% of the training is really at.