# Another New Member



## DKohler (Mar 19, 2007)

Hello, I&#8217;m new here, but not to the martial arts. I&#8217;m a 6th Dan with the Yom Chi Taekwon-do Association.  We practice Chang-Hon Taekwon-do and we were fromerly with the ITF.

I am currious about how the search for knowledge within the martial arts community has changed since the advent of the internet and the greater availability and use of information in today&#8217;s society. On another Bulletin Board I possed a question about how the members there received their instruction and almost one-half (48%) of those who responded indicated that they did not have any _one_ person that they called their _Instructor_. This statistic (although a very limited number) surprised me. I assumed this percentage would be much, much lower. My martial arts experience (over 20 years now) has taken more of the &#8220;Eastern&#8221; approach to receiving instruction. While I enjoy gaining knowledge from many sources, my _Instructor_ (Sahbum) is the _one_ who I look toward to shape my overall Martial Art base. He has agreed to take the responsibility to mold and train me, and I know that if something is a miss he will correct me. The traditional &#8220;student-instructor&#8221; relationship in the "Eastern" sense is sometimes described more as a &#8220;mentor&#8211;disciple&#8221; relationship that extends beyond kicking and punching inside the gym into one's personal development outside of the dojang as well. 

My question is this: How many here are involved with traditional "_student-instructor_" training methods versus those who have chosen a more &#8220;f_reestyle_&#8221; approach to learning, and which _overall direction_ does the martial arts community seem to be heading currently?

Just currious...


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## terryl965 (Mar 19, 2007)

Welcome and happy posting I'm all about training with people, video is out in my mind


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## Jade Tigress (Mar 19, 2007)

Welcome to Martial Talk! Hope you enjoy the board. I train in the standard student-teacher format.


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## Kacey (Mar 19, 2007)

Welcome, and happy posting!  :wavey:  Okay, I already greeted you... I just like using the :wavey:!


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## HKphooey (Mar 19, 2007)

Welcome to MT!


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## IcemanSK (Mar 19, 2007)

Welcome to Martial Talk, sir!:asian:


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## 14 Kempo (Mar 19, 2007)

Hello and welcome to MT! ... I use the standard teacher/student training method.


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## stickarts (Mar 19, 2007)

welcome to MT!


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## ArmorOfGod (Mar 19, 2007)

I like that question, but you need to realize that the audience over the internet is not representative of the martial arts community that actually trains.
NOTE: MARTIAL TALK IS NOT INLUDED IN THE NEXT PART OF MY POST.
Most of the people posting on the internet are 14-20 year old "martial arts wannabees" who have never really trained more than a few months at a local school, of which they can't remember the name to.  They get their "training" from pics online and by watching Yugio and Cowboy Beepop.

This is a good place to ask that question, but be careful which sites you get information from.

AoG


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## bluemtn (Mar 19, 2007)

Welcome and happy posting!  I thoroughly enjoy practicing with other people, myself.


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## fnorfurfoot (Mar 19, 2007)

Welcome to the site.


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## Drac (Mar 19, 2007)

Greetings and Welcome to MT...


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## kidswarrior (Mar 19, 2007)

Welcome to MT!


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## Tames D (Mar 19, 2007)

Welcome.


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## exile (Mar 19, 2007)

Greetings (again :wink1 DK, it's good to have you with us. I second AoG's comments heartily. Every single serious student of the MAs I knowand there are more than a few!trains in a traditional instructor/student format and wouldn't have it any other way. 

Think about it like this: there are between four and five million internet sites which deal with quantum mechanics. What are the odds that someone could actually _learn_ QM by poring over some subset of these sites at random? As compared, say, to studying it with a physicist who'd been doing it for more than a quarter of a century before you showed up in class? 

The problem is in this case, or with MA, or anything else, there is a huge mass of _undigested_, uncoordinated information available, but no `master curriculum' specifically designed to take you from complete beginner level to the frontiers of knowledge. Even if all the raw materials were there... you couldn't put together such a curriculum for yourself, precisely because you _don't_ already know the subject matter! You don't just need a fount of information (which the Web is), you need a _guide_ (which the Web most definitely is not). So IMO the Web will always play a supportive second-fiddle role to the instructor who's been there, done that and has a coherent picture of the best route from novice to mastery. I don't think that will _ever_ change, in the MAs or any other branch of knowledge and skill.


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## KempoGuy06 (Mar 20, 2007)

Welcome to MT

B


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## The Kidd (Mar 20, 2007)

Welcome and have fun!


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## Shaderon (Mar 20, 2007)

Welcome to MT

I agree with Exile. (Getting to be a habit this Ex.)
I for one have an instructor who I look to for my guidance and instruction in TKD, I trust him to tell me what I need to know completely, I take his lead in researching methods as well... but _I always bring my findings to him and question the validity of them with him. _ I go to him for my personal training too, so he's an intructor in the proper sense of the word to me.  I would not dare disrespect him by going elsewhere for instruction without his knowledge.

Most of the people in my class seem to be like this, although I can't say that without question.


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## Blindside (Mar 20, 2007)

DKohler said:


> My question is this: How many here are involved with traditional "_student-instructor_" training methods versus those who have chosen a more f_reestyle_ approach to learning, and which _overall direction_ does the martial arts community seem to be heading currently?
> 
> Just currious...


 
I have a very close student-instructor relationship with my kenpo instructor, but when I felt I wanted more in depth instruction in weapon techniques, I sought out another instructor in another style for his specialized knowledge.  I now study under both.  Is that a "student-instructor" or is that "freestyle?"  If I wanted to focus on ground-fighting I'd go to my friend who is a black belt in BJJ.  I'm guessing that under your definitions this sort of training is what you would view as "freestyle" despite the fact that I have close relationships with all of these instructors.  If not, I'm not sure what your "freestyle" definition is.

Lamont


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## Laurentkd (Mar 21, 2007)

Welcome to MT!

I also have one sahbomnim, and will always have one.  I agree that the close instructor-student relationship is something that can not be replicated or replaced.
I look forward to your future posts!


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## Zida'sukara (Mar 21, 2007)

Welcome!!


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## Ping898 (Mar 21, 2007)

Welcome to MT  :wavey:


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