Treating Martial Arts Students Like Grownups
A common habit among martial arts instructors that I find to be intellectually lazy and frequently boorish is that of over-using the word “never.”. As the title of this article asserts, I think that an instructor should never say never.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been interrupted while demonstrating a technique or explaining a concept, when a new student who had previously trained elsewhere raises his or her hand to offer: “But my instructor told us to NEVER do that!” In such cases, I usually respond with something like: “Really? Did your instructor tell you why? In a few cases, I’m shocked when the new student replies with: “No…”
Now that is the height of arrogance, if not incompetence, on the part of this person’s previous teacher.
Reasons to say “Never”
But most of the time the old instructor will have offered some sort of reason. Sometimes the reason had to do with violating the rules of a particular martial sport; an understandable motivation for cautioning the student.
Other times it’s more cultural. Whether it’s kicking below the belt, utilizing leg locks, or “wallowing on the ground,” I’ve heard some martial artists call this grappling; various martial cultures simply frown upon some things. I covered this topic at length in episode #71 of my podcast “The Martial Brain” entitled “We Don’t Fight Like That Around Here!”
Another reason that a martial arts instructor might use the word “never” is when warning you away from a technique that is likely to harm either you or your training partner. This could be because it is a technique that is very difficult to control, or perhaps because the target of the attack is especially sensitive or fragile. Again, a very good reason for calling the student’s attention to a potential problem.
In each of these cases, I hope the instructor took the time to clearly explain his reason for a word with as much power as “never.”. All too often all that is offered is some variation of “because I said so!”
That’s a destructive way to express a constructive sentiment!
A less constructive use of “never” by an instructor is when he or she is warning you away from a possible counter-attack from the opponent. This brings us to what I call the “Rock/Paper/Scissors Fallacy.”
If I were to tell you that when playing this classic game you should never choose “rock” because your opponent might play “paper,” you would probably, and justifiably give me a strange look. Obviously, there is no choice you can make in the game that has no possible “nemesis” choice for your opponent. While Rock/Paper/Scissors is not perfectly analogous to the various martial arts, I still feel that there is value in the comparison.
There is no martial arts technique which doesn’t offer an opportunity for your opponent to counter; not in boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, fencing, or any other art with which I’m familiar. If such a technique existed, everyone would be using it all the time.
Let’s take my earliest boxing coach as an example.
He was a nice fellow, and a moderately able fighter, but I was the first person he ever tried to coach. I distinctly remember his voice cautioning me to “circle to the right!” Now this was good advice for a beginner. Most opponents are right-handed, so moving to your right makes it harder for the vast majority of opponents to hit you with their best weapon, their dominant right hand. I also remember his follow-up admonition: “NEVER circle to the left!” At the time I simply took this instruction as gospel, but now I strongly disagree with his use of “never.”. Being predictable in your footwork is not a positive feature for a boxer.
While circling to the right should make up a large fraction of your movement when boxing orthodox vs. orthodox stance, occasional circling to the left helps to keep the opponent guessing; especially if you learn to increase the distance a bit as you circle, taking what I call a “spiraling” path of evasion. This makes it much harder for your opponent to find you with his right hand.
It also almost goes without saying that circling to the LEFT takes you into the path of the opponent’s left hook. It’s simply the case that many beginning boxers cannot effectively use this hugely underused punch. But as the quality of your training partners and opponents improves you will more frequently encounter effective left hook punches.
Of course this doesn’t constitute an argument against circling to the right. No matter which direction you move; left, right, any diagonal direction, forwards, backwards, or even if you remain stationary; once you pick one of these and execute it you close some doors for the opponent and open others. It’s simply the case that the more experienced and knowledgeable your opponent, the more he or she knows about how to use what lies through each doorway. A good instructor should, over time, educate you about each of those doors, because fighting a skilled opponent is a vastly more complex problem than fighting an unskilled, or a lesser skilled one.
When working with beginners, it can be tempting to offer simple, absolute commands like “always” and “never.” But just because the student is a beginner doesn’t mean that he or she is a simpleton!
My old boxing coach would have been better off saying something like “When you use circular footwork, you make the opponent’s hand that you’re circling towards MORE dangerous, and the hand you’re circling away from less dangerous.” Not quite as succinct as “Never circle to the left!” But it conveys much more useful information, and not in so complicated a way that a beginner can’t understand it.
As the opponents that your student faces grow more skilled, the problems that they present grow more complex. As is often the case when studying complex problems, there are rarely simple answers. For every technique and situation that can be found in the martial arts there exists a dizzying, layered series of challenges and problems for both the martial artist and his opponent to learn about in order to develop a deep understanding.
Conclusion: Never say Never
There’s nothing deep or nuanced about the word “never,” and for that matter about the word “always” as well.
So why would an instructor employ “never,” and then fail to explain to his students why? This nearly always comes from a toxic mixture of laziness and arrogance. Unfortunately, these two less than attractive human qualities often go together.
What are your thoughts? Should martial arts instructors never say never? Comment your thoughts and when you’re done check out the rest of Martial Journal. We have plenty of reviews, training tips, interviews, and more.
- Never Say Never - October 1, 2019
- Martial Cinema Tropes - June 3, 2019
- The “Training Overseas” Fallacy - March 22, 2019
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