Live Instructor vs Videos
I would have to agree that a teacher is indispensable, especially in the first few years. Some would argue that there are, for example, scholars who learned their fields exclusively from books, but rarely are these in the fields of physical sciences, such as the martial arts.
More to the point, before launching on their independent studies they usually had teachers who taught them to read, to spell, as well as such things as philosophy and history. With these firm foundations and the advantages of personal correction they later launched on their independent studies with a greater ability to appreciate the work of others without the same direct contact they needed as early students.
The same is necessary of a martial artist, and the less experienced you are the more you need the personal correction of a live teacher who can focus in on your specific weak points.
However I think it would be wise to remember the old chinese proverb "If I rely only on teachers, better I be without teachers. If I rely only on books, better I be without books." In these days that saying could probably be expanded to include "If I rely only on videos, better I be without videos".
Neil Alexander
New York City
WORD --please respond.!!!.
Word---still waiting for your explanation re your comments/criticism of sifu's Chiu Chi Man and Lee Kam Wing.OOSSUU!!! :confused: :confused: :confused:
About learning from a video...
I think that videos have a lot of inherent traits which make them "better" than having an instructo, such as: being able to reply the video over and over again until you get the movement, being able to watch it on your own time, etc. However, a good, quality instructor can do many things that a video will never be able to do. For example, he can watch you do a particular movement in a form and then say "You don't want to put your free hand here because of..." or "Make sure that you watch your opponent's feet, because if you're doing this then he can do this..." and other things. He can point out things that you may not see yourself doing, and can make sure that you're doing things properly. It all really depends on the quality of the video and the instructor in question. You can have a good video that may teach you more than a really bad instructor, after all. However, that does not change my opinion that learning from a good instructor is always better than learning from a video, no matter how good the video is.