Sometimes it boggles my mind how resistant to change some people are. I don’t particularly believe in the saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” because it’s this type of lazy thinking that leads to a stifling of innovation. What’s scary is that not only are people resistant to change, they are downright venemous about it when someone suggests something new and different.
I recently read a post on a grappling forum I browse where the thread starter was complaining about how he was frustrated by how his instructors often never taught counters to the techniques taught in class. He felt that instructors should teach both the technique and the counter to the technique.
Now, I understand some of the arguments against this. One of the strongest arguments is that if a counter is taught at the same time the technique is being taught, students will be frustrated in class when they can’t apply the move because they will be countered all day and will get the impression that it “doesn’t work.” They would be discouraged from using it because of their frustrated atttempts.
But most of the responses to the the thread starter was along the lines of “STFU you suck, just keep training.” “Stop bitching.” etc. etc. Everyone felt the TS was an idiot because, over time, you will learn a lot of this through experience on the mats. While I don’t disagree that mat time is always the best way to get better, I was shocked that people did not feel that there might be a better way to approach teaching/learning brazilian jiu-jitsu.
I’m not saying I agree that a counter should be taught immediately alongside a specific technique, but why not during the same week? Or the same month?
I brought up that perhaps a more structured and focused approach to teaching might yield greater results. Not necessarily a strict curriculum, but maybe classes could be taught in such a way that a specific concept was focused on each week or each month. This was shot down with a response that basically amounted to “but it won’t work!”
The current approach it seems is a haphazard “technique of the day” approach, at least from my experience. Each class, the instructor shows a particular move, but it is never tied in to a move learned the previous day or is seemingly unrelated to the previous lesson. While I have no doubt about the skills or teaching capabilities of any of my instructors, it appears that instructors figure out what they want to teach in class the day of.
Why should brazilian jiu jitsu be any different than a typical school teacher’s curriculum? I believe with more thought and planning, bjj can be taught and learned more effectively. One day I hope to prove myself right by teaching.
Of course, not ALL instructors teach like this, and in fact some instructors DO put thought, effort and planning into what they teach their students.
But I want to prove the naysayers wrong. That the generally accepted way of doing things is NOT the best way. Just because world champions have been produced out of the current way of doing things does not mean that the system is perfect. There is always room for change and improvement.
Too many people have the mentality that just because they did things a certain way, that it is the right way to do things because hey, they turned out fine. Suggesting anything otherwise is nothing short of an assault on their character! This is true not just in brazilian jiu-jitsu, but in just about every aspect of someone’s life.
