A frequent question asked by prospective or beginning martial arts students is, "How long does it take to learn this?" That's a good question. Unfortunately, the answer, to be correct and thorough and honest, depends a lot on what you mean when you ask the question.
If one is making plans to go from one place to another, it's reasonable to ask "How long does it take to get there?"
Well, often there are several ways to travel. By air, by boat, my rail, by bus, by driving, by hitchhiking, or even by walking. Each offers advantages and disadvantages, and each will 'get you there' in a different amount of time.
Often, the way that takes the longest also offers the most in terms of what you will see, hear, and otherwise experience along the way. In other words, walking to your destination may take the longest, but you'll meet many people, see many things, and learn a lot about the nature of things between the place you left and the place you'll arrive. But it is the slowest, no doubt. You may become bored, you may not have the desire to see or do all of that. Perhaps you just wish to 'get there' in the shortest amount of time possible. Flying in that case, if practical, would seem to offer the best route to your destination. You'll miss a lot, but you'll get there in a hurry.
So what's the point of all this?
Martial arts is seen by some as way to achieve some specific thing, such as the ability to defend oneself. Such a person may not be interested in the history of the art they study, or the culture of the people from whence it came. They have a goal, and they want to know how long it will take to get there. Fair enough.
Others seem martial arts training as a lifelong pursuit, with no specific set of goals, but rather a semi-defined path along which they walk, taking time to explore side-alleys and learn a variety of things about the art itself, the culture of the people who created it, even things about themselves that perhaps they did not know. They may take a very long time to reach their destination; in fact, they may never reach it. But for them, it is the trip that matters, not the ultimate destination.
Most of us fall somewhere in-between these two extremes. So for each of us, it becomes difficult to say when we will 'get there'. We may not know where 'there' is, and for each person, that may be a different thing entirely anyway.
We must also add that, unlike trains and cars, people come in a huge variety of abilities. Some learn new movements quickly, some have great hand-eye coordination at the beginning of training. Some are great mimics, able to copy their instructors almost instinctively. Some are fast, some are devastatingly strong. Some have natural athletic ability. Some learn very quickly.
Others are slower, or are gifted in other areas. Some have nearly no natural talent at all, and have to strive for every step forward they take.
This also makes it difficult to say when you, the beginner, will arrive at your destination.
As you see, we have to first ask, what is your destination, do you even know what it is you desire yet? How capable are you of learning quickly? We can then ask how well you learn, not just in general, but from a specific instructor, whom none of us know or can assess from afar.
So, then, you who ask this question often get this admittedly frustrating answer - "It takes as long as it takes."
There is nothing wrong with asking the question. But there may not be an accurate answer in some cases.
Keep training, and find out. That is the only way to really know.
If one is making plans to go from one place to another, it's reasonable to ask "How long does it take to get there?"
Well, often there are several ways to travel. By air, by boat, my rail, by bus, by driving, by hitchhiking, or even by walking. Each offers advantages and disadvantages, and each will 'get you there' in a different amount of time.
Often, the way that takes the longest also offers the most in terms of what you will see, hear, and otherwise experience along the way. In other words, walking to your destination may take the longest, but you'll meet many people, see many things, and learn a lot about the nature of things between the place you left and the place you'll arrive. But it is the slowest, no doubt. You may become bored, you may not have the desire to see or do all of that. Perhaps you just wish to 'get there' in the shortest amount of time possible. Flying in that case, if practical, would seem to offer the best route to your destination. You'll miss a lot, but you'll get there in a hurry.
So what's the point of all this?
Martial arts is seen by some as way to achieve some specific thing, such as the ability to defend oneself. Such a person may not be interested in the history of the art they study, or the culture of the people from whence it came. They have a goal, and they want to know how long it will take to get there. Fair enough.
Others seem martial arts training as a lifelong pursuit, with no specific set of goals, but rather a semi-defined path along which they walk, taking time to explore side-alleys and learn a variety of things about the art itself, the culture of the people who created it, even things about themselves that perhaps they did not know. They may take a very long time to reach their destination; in fact, they may never reach it. But for them, it is the trip that matters, not the ultimate destination.
Most of us fall somewhere in-between these two extremes. So for each of us, it becomes difficult to say when we will 'get there'. We may not know where 'there' is, and for each person, that may be a different thing entirely anyway.
We must also add that, unlike trains and cars, people come in a huge variety of abilities. Some learn new movements quickly, some have great hand-eye coordination at the beginning of training. Some are great mimics, able to copy their instructors almost instinctively. Some are fast, some are devastatingly strong. Some have natural athletic ability. Some learn very quickly.
Others are slower, or are gifted in other areas. Some have nearly no natural talent at all, and have to strive for every step forward they take.
This also makes it difficult to say when you, the beginner, will arrive at your destination.
As you see, we have to first ask, what is your destination, do you even know what it is you desire yet? How capable are you of learning quickly? We can then ask how well you learn, not just in general, but from a specific instructor, whom none of us know or can assess from afar.
So, then, you who ask this question often get this admittedly frustrating answer - "It takes as long as it takes."
There is nothing wrong with asking the question. But there may not be an accurate answer in some cases.
Keep training, and find out. That is the only way to really know.
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