dedication/natural ability

[Unmatchable]

Meynard posted this on http://tinyurl.com/28pne


We had a guy who fought with less that 4 months training and beat a guy with 10 years of martial arts experience. I guess it all depends on your dedication and natural ability.

What do you guys think?

[SevenStar]

was it a 4 month boxer and a 10 year hippy taiji guy or something?

[Liokault]

We have a guy who is massively athletic and picked up things (and used them in practice) in about 6 months that took me years to be able to do.

We also have some guys who have been training for years that suck (and are always going to suck), so if a guy walked in off the street and beat one up I would not be suprised.

[wall]

Typical, natural ability in all activities is massively important and massively different from person to person.

The same technique might be mastered in weeks by some, months by most, and only after years of dedication (and sometimes never) by some. Solely to do with good old natural ability.

Ever noticed how at school athletics, before any kind of latter high school training by anyone, and all at similar age, there were a few kids who would naturally run 100m in 12 or so and others who'd struggle in 16+. Most were somewhere in between 13 and 15.

'Standard deviation from the mean' shows that about 60% of us have, genetically, average athletic ability, 18% have somewhat below and 18% somewhat above average ability, and 2% are the elite or the hopeless.

Of course an average who trains hard for 10 years will be far more athletic than someone with elite genetic potential who never did a day of sport in their life. But if they both train ... no contest.

That's why, regardless of discipline, we can all train day and night but only a few can become world class (martial artists or sprinters or gymnasts or whatever).

And that's why, in every MA school, there is a gyu who we all hate who learns the most difficult stuff better than anyone and in 1/10th of the time. Similarly there is always one guy who has been busting his a$$ for 5 years, is the keenest guy in the place, and is absolutely hopeless at even the simplest of stuff :)

C

[red5angel]

that's a debate that cannot be answered in full. Some people never get it no matter how hard they practice or how hard they work at it, I know a guy like that, he has heart but in the years he has practiced he is still horrible at it. Some people can walk in and pick it up with no problems, like it was made for them, I spar with a guy like that, he has a photographic memory and a great amount of natural talent.
For the most of us, working hard can allows us to tap our potential and excel, we may not be at the top all the time but we can certainly strive for it.
It's like that old saying says, sometimes it's not the destination, but the journey.

[shaolinboxer]

It aslo depends on external factors, such as compatibility with the teaching methods of the school.