Danny T
Senior Master
Beginner has an arbitrary meaning and for us here it depends on how the curriculum is set up. One can be a beginner meaning having just started and is working learning the fundamentals do the art. Many programs have their curriculum broken into beginner, intermediate, & advance blocks for learn. However one who has learned the fundamental of the Beginner material and is working on bettering that material is no longer a beginner they are an intermediate working to better the aspects of that part of the curriculum. If beginner is attributed to one's skill then I have returned to being a beginner on several things. Due to age, injuries I no longer have the same skill in somethings. I have beginners who can do things I can. No being a beginner has more to do with the amount of time and understanding one has on a subject than just the ability to do.Just curious to see how others view beginners and intermediate students. What does a beginner mean? What does intermediate mean?
My own experience with this, is that I called myself a Beginner for a very long time. My perspective was based on my own abilities. It wasn't until I compared my skill set to other's that I could understand why people thought I'm at an advance skill level.
For me personally, I'm always going to see myself less of what I expect of an Intermediate Skill Level martial arts and it could be that I have a unrealistic perception of what an intermediate skill level fighter is. Now I'm curious of trying to see what types of qualities and expectations others expect of Beginner and Intermediate Martial Artists.