I had a good discussion with a participant in my recent fundamentals intro class, who was retired law enforcement officer with a lot of broad self-defense training and real hands-on experience from his line of work. Something that he said stood out, that his training goals are seeking out new perspectives on fundamentals that work for him.
With his 20+ years of experience it is unlikely that anything I showed him was new, but illuminating the same problems from different angles provides a greater understanding of perspective, which may have given him insight on what works for him, whether that be from confirming his previous ideas or adopting modifications and new concepts to his belief system on what will likely work for him to keep him safe.
The idea of perspective resonates with something my first martial art instructor said during a post class lecture, “Reality is the sum of all perspectives.” If you only see things from one angle, how much can you really know about the subject? An underlying problem in the martial arts and self-defense industry is the “know-everything complex” that I believe in XYZ and tune everything else out. I’ve been fortunate enough cross paths with multiple individuals having a wealth of knowledge that are open-minded to new ideas because they understand that no one source holds all the information.
Sometimes I’ll attend a new seminar where the prioritization of concepts that are being taught don’t resonate with my perspective-(my perspective is prioritizing things that can be learned quickly and taught easily to people who do not have any training in efforts to deal with the most probable encounters they might face.) This is my perspective because it is what resonates best with me and with my interpretation of what my clients need.
However, without investigating this instructor’s perspective, I could be tuning out useful information that could work for someone with goals different than mine. For example, a more experienced person in a security role seeking solutions for their field endeavor could be better suited for learning joint manipulation and leverage than a civilian whose primary goal is avoidance and personal defense.
I’ve learned something useful from everyone I’ve trained with. I encourage you to get out and learn from someone new. More exposure to relevant information makes you more well-rounded and knowledgeable.
Stay safe & keep learning,
Evan D.
Owner Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
With his 20+ years of experience it is unlikely that anything I showed him was new, but illuminating the same problems from different angles provides a greater understanding of perspective, which may have given him insight on what works for him, whether that be from confirming his previous ideas or adopting modifications and new concepts to his belief system on what will likely work for him to keep him safe.
The idea of perspective resonates with something my first martial art instructor said during a post class lecture, “Reality is the sum of all perspectives.” If you only see things from one angle, how much can you really know about the subject? An underlying problem in the martial arts and self-defense industry is the “know-everything complex” that I believe in XYZ and tune everything else out. I’ve been fortunate enough cross paths with multiple individuals having a wealth of knowledge that are open-minded to new ideas because they understand that no one source holds all the information.
Sometimes I’ll attend a new seminar where the prioritization of concepts that are being taught don’t resonate with my perspective-(my perspective is prioritizing things that can be learned quickly and taught easily to people who do not have any training in efforts to deal with the most probable encounters they might face.) This is my perspective because it is what resonates best with me and with my interpretation of what my clients need.
However, without investigating this instructor’s perspective, I could be tuning out useful information that could work for someone with goals different than mine. For example, a more experienced person in a security role seeking solutions for their field endeavor could be better suited for learning joint manipulation and leverage than a civilian whose primary goal is avoidance and personal defense.
I’ve learned something useful from everyone I’ve trained with. I encourage you to get out and learn from someone new. More exposure to relevant information makes you more well-rounded and knowledgeable.
Stay safe & keep learning,
Evan D.
Owner Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
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