I'm going down a path that surprises me slightly... I'm going to give Zenjael the benefit of the doubt that he's (not surprisingly) failed to express himself as well as he might have.
I actually do agree that, at a certain point in your training, your training can indeed become very dangerous. I'll use sword kata as a clear example. When two sword practitioners work a paired kata together, if either makes a mistake, serious injury is very much a possibility, even if they're using bokken. Paired kata in traditional jiujutsu is another example. Certain reality based exercises also carry a risk of injury, if proper safety protocols aren't followed -- and even sometimes if they are.
That said... I agree with the general tone of responses. If you're having this much trouble when training with students -- something is wrong. Possibly very seriously wrong.
Let's start by asking a simple question: are you teaching, or simply leading a group training? The burden and responsibility of each is different. Honestly -- I would suggest that, based on your posts over time here -- you shouldn't be teaching without solid supervision and guidance. It seems an awful lot like nobody took the time to teach you how to teach and how to lead some of these exercises. Doesn't mean you can't learn -- but it does mean you need some time with your ego checked, and someone guiding you.
Then... you have instances where training partners apparently significantly misunderstand the exercises. STOP: if you're leading -- you're responsible for giving proper instruction and explanation of the exercise. If I'm running a firing line, I explain the course of fire coming up. I may demonstrate it, especially if it's complicated. I may even walk the line through a dry run of it, if the exercise is very complicated, or presents significant risks (like having multiple people moving and shooting together). I do the same thing in a martial arts setting. I explain the exercise. I may even demonstrate appropriate levels of contact. Then I supervise the exercise, stepping in occasionally to correct or demonstrate something.
Let's talk some more about training and risk... Unless you have the freedom to maim and kill your training partners with wanton abandon (I don't think your title is Emperor of Some Forgotten Land Who Uses Peasants in Place of Targets), you have to impose some sort of flaw in any training you do so you don't run out of playmates. Going slowly is one such flaw (and probably one you want to use more often). "Control" is another; control either means you're not actually HITTING, or you're missing the actual target on purpose, or stopping the technique short of the real performance. Hitting non-vital targets or prohibiting some techniques as too dangerous is another common example; start with the list of what you can't do in MMA, for example. Some things are prohibited because they just make for bad fights, but a lot simply hurt the opponent too badly for the sport purposes (if they work right...). Here's the trap for many in martial arts: they don't realize the safety flaw in their training. To me -- the classic example is the old skit with Jim Carrey: "Like a lot of beginning students, you attacked me wrong." We do a great job practicing and preparing for what I'll call "trained attacks" -- and get flummoxed when someone just flails at us.
I actually do agree that, at a certain point in your training, your training can indeed become very dangerous. I'll use sword kata as a clear example. When two sword practitioners work a paired kata together, if either makes a mistake, serious injury is very much a possibility, even if they're using bokken. Paired kata in traditional jiujutsu is another example. Certain reality based exercises also carry a risk of injury, if proper safety protocols aren't followed -- and even sometimes if they are.
That said... I agree with the general tone of responses. If you're having this much trouble when training with students -- something is wrong. Possibly very seriously wrong.
Let's start by asking a simple question: are you teaching, or simply leading a group training? The burden and responsibility of each is different. Honestly -- I would suggest that, based on your posts over time here -- you shouldn't be teaching without solid supervision and guidance. It seems an awful lot like nobody took the time to teach you how to teach and how to lead some of these exercises. Doesn't mean you can't learn -- but it does mean you need some time with your ego checked, and someone guiding you.
Then... you have instances where training partners apparently significantly misunderstand the exercises. STOP: if you're leading -- you're responsible for giving proper instruction and explanation of the exercise. If I'm running a firing line, I explain the course of fire coming up. I may demonstrate it, especially if it's complicated. I may even walk the line through a dry run of it, if the exercise is very complicated, or presents significant risks (like having multiple people moving and shooting together). I do the same thing in a martial arts setting. I explain the exercise. I may even demonstrate appropriate levels of contact. Then I supervise the exercise, stepping in occasionally to correct or demonstrate something.
Let's talk some more about training and risk... Unless you have the freedom to maim and kill your training partners with wanton abandon (I don't think your title is Emperor of Some Forgotten Land Who Uses Peasants in Place of Targets), you have to impose some sort of flaw in any training you do so you don't run out of playmates. Going slowly is one such flaw (and probably one you want to use more often). "Control" is another; control either means you're not actually HITTING, or you're missing the actual target on purpose, or stopping the technique short of the real performance. Hitting non-vital targets or prohibiting some techniques as too dangerous is another common example; start with the list of what you can't do in MMA, for example. Some things are prohibited because they just make for bad fights, but a lot simply hurt the opponent too badly for the sport purposes (if they work right...). Here's the trap for many in martial arts: they don't realize the safety flaw in their training. To me -- the classic example is the old skit with Jim Carrey: "Like a lot of beginning students, you attacked me wrong." We do a great job practicing and preparing for what I'll call "trained attacks" -- and get flummoxed when someone just flails at us.
