Alleged Myths - Alleged Myth 3

Alleged Myth 3

You must not give your students too much information, too fast, because "if you sell all the merchandise on your shelves no one will come back to the store."

Debunker Says

This is perhaps the stupidest myth associated with martial arts. It may apply to a teacher of forms and techniques, but should never be a concern to a fighter. If it is, then you lack the most valuable commodity a fighter can have—imagination. How can you run out of an art that has no limitations?

Rebuttal

You may give any type of student to much information, too fast. In a mental educational environment, teachers must always be mindful of presenting too much information too quickly, so that students will remember the information and, most of all, comprehend the information. In a physical educational environment, such as a martial arts class, students must understand and comprehend how to perform technique but they must also physically perform the technique in an effective manner. Knowing many techniques will not make you a better fighter. Bill Wallace was a world champion full-contact fighter, basically using only one leg. To train for a self-defense situation, you only need to practice using a few techniques under many different circumstances, such as the Koga Method of police tactics. When you learn too many techniques superficially, when self-defense is required, you have to decide which one to use in a given situation.