Originally Posted by
Jimbo
Very true.
I might also add that along with a comfort zone comes the concept of 'face'. Quite frankly, many MAists who become attached to a particular style (any style), whether teachers or advanced students, are afraid of possibly looking (or feeling) bad against people and methods they are unfamiliar with. They don't want to be embarrassed by discovering something they've devoted their lives to and advocate to others, or their way of doing it, doesn't work as advertised when faced with the unknown.
When I was a kid, my Kenpo teacher never accepted complacency, in himself or his students. There were always other people and groups invited or showing up for anything up to hard sparring...other Kenpo/Kajukenbo groups; boxers, pro kickboxers, TKD/TSD guys, a Shotokan group. I even remember one time a Buk Siu Lum (Northern Shaolin) guy who came to spar. Sometimes even people off the street. He would spar or fight anyone. Of course, the latter would probably never happen now, but my teacher's openness heavily influenced my views on MA. I remember my teacher once got a black eye sparring a very good female black belt from another Kenpo group, and considered it no big deal.
My second Mantis teacher and my CLF sifu were of the same mindset, which is why I consider these 3 my true teachers. I thank my lucky stars I had teachers who were open-minded and not afraid of new experiences for themselves and their students, i.e., pressure testing their arts/methods.
Without this type of focus, *at least* during the developmental period as a MAist, IMO it's easy to fall into the trap of becoming "style-centric". Obsessing and arguing over whether this or that block (or whatever technique) is perfect or off by 1/8". It then becomes easy to forget what these arts were supposedly developed for in the first place.