Showing posts with label The Art of Learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Art of Learning. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Inktober Day #24 - John Styers' Passata Sotto

10/24/2017 11:00:00 AM  , , , ,  No comments




WOW! Cannot believe I have been fairly consistent (outside of 2 days) in this Inktober project of drawing a picture a day. A week left!!

For today's topic in my knifefighting research, I'm revisiting the Close Combat classic, John Styers' "Cold Steel", specifically the Passata Sottto (I noticed too late my typo on 'Passato' in my picture).

In case you missed my previous Styers' posts and a related post:


As always, I hope this post, this project, as well as this site helps you in your Sojourn of Septillion Steps!


From John Styers' "Cold Steel" (1952)
Pages 68-70


Captions

  1. For an enemy attack, feint a low attack; draw his weapon low.
  2. When the opponent lowers his blade, attack his hand or wrist. (undrawn)
  3. Whip the blade up for a thrusting cut to your opponent's head.
  4. Attempt a straight thrust for your opponent's head or throat. (undrawn)

Notes


PASSATA SOTTO

Another means of getting your blade into your opponent, other than the direct manner from the guard position, is to perform a passata sotto in which you merely BEND THE TORSO VERY LOW and to the LEFT from the guard position. Thrust directly into the LOWER RIGHT CHEST or ABDOMINAL AREA of your opponent. This is a fine attack against an opponent who raises his right arm high in his attack, or otherwise exposes his lower right side. In some instances a left step may accompany the attack. This movement is also excellent for FAKING a low cut, drawing your opponent's blade low, whereupon you strike for his HAND, FOREARM or HEAD. If he refuses to be drawn low, you may safely risk an attack on his KNEE CAP.

Styers' Passatta Sotto is the Yang to the Yin of Bob Kasper's "Passata Sotto".

One concept, many techniques. Anytime you learn a technique, think broadly my Friends.

  • If you can feint low, you can feint high.
  • If you can attack high, you can attack low.
  • If you can feint low and attack high, then you can feint high and attack low.

Analyze and research the underlying concept of what makes the technique work. Play/explore the variables/factors. This is the Art of Learning!

One concept, many techniques.


My drawings for Inktober 2017 - drawing at least 1 pic each day in October:


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Sunday, September 22, 2013

Bruce Lee - The Art of Learning

9/22/2013 11:00:00 AM  , ,  No comments

Source pic:  Biography.com

Today's entry will conclude my short series on The Art of Learning. It's Bruce Lee's "The Three Stages of Cultivation."



"The Three Stages of Cultivation — The first is the primitive stage. It is a stage of original ignorance in which a person knows nothing about the art of combat. In a fight, he simply blocks and strikes instinctively without a concern for what is right and wrong. Of course, he may not be so-called scientific, but, nevertheless, being himself, his attacks or defenses are fluid. The second stage — the stage of sophistication, or mechanical stage — begins when a person starts his training. He is taught the different ways of blocking, striking, kicking, standing, breathing, and thinking — unquestionably, he has gained the scientific knowledge of combat, but unfortunately his original self and sense of freedom are lost, and his action no longer flows by itself. His mind tends to freeze at different movements for calculations and analysis, and even worse, he might be called “intellectually bound” and maintain himself outside of the actual reality. The third stage — the stage of artlessness, or spontaneous stage — occurs when, after years of serious and hard practice, the student realizes that after all, gung fu is nothing special. And instead of trying to impose on his mind, he adjusts himself to his opponent like water pressing on an earthen wall. It flows through the slightest crack. There is nothing to try to do but try to be purposeless and formless, like water. All of his classical techniques and standard styles are minimized, if not wiped out, and nothingness prevails. He is no longer confined."
~ Bruce Lee

From Bruce Lee's personal notes.




In case you missed previous installments, please check:



Here's hoping some point from this series helped/will help you in your Learning!


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Saturday, September 21, 2013

James DeMile - Three Stages of Learning Technique

9/21/2013 11:00:00 AM  , ,  No comments

Photo Credit:  James DeMile




Bruce lee was a conceptual martial artist and believed in accelerated learning.


THREE STAGES OF LEARNING TECHNIQUE

In order to be a conceptual martial artist where you have the ability to understand the proper way to do technique and break it down to know how to train, you have the learning how to learn concept. Learning how to learn concept means when you are presented a technique, you break it down to learn what the reason for the technique is. Also you learn the details of what makes the technique work and if it will work for you.

Learning is a very dynamic process where it involves learning in the mind and in the body. Basically there are two types of learning: conceptual and training. Conceptual is the learning in the mind. Training is the learning in the body. Before you get into training, you must learn the conceptual process which involves the three stages of learning.

The first stage is to understand the purpose and mechanics of the technique. The conceptual learning involves getting a graphic picture of the concept. - Understand what it involves and how it is applied. This process involves the mental work of the technique. It is a process to consciously learn the principle. First learn the technique, its theories, degree of practicality and principles of application.

To do this you must separate the technique by isolating it out. Find out what basic positions are needed. Learn mentally all the body mechanics. What is its purpose? When do you use this technique? What are you trying to accomplish? What is it designed for? What is its theory of application? Get an overview of the technique by evaluating its move. Is it practical in its overall general use and not in its exact form? Is it useful to you as a fighter?

The second stage is to teach the body. Present the technique to the body to see if it can do it, then teach the body slowly. Once the conceptual process is understood, you program the body. Teach the body the technique and see if the body can perform the exercise. See if the body can do it. You are not looking for skill, speed or power but you working on the basic lines to see if the body can accomplish what you want.
Once you see clearly the function of the technique, teach the body carefully so all the principles can be applied. It is the process to practice the technique until you can successfully apply it. If you see a technique with value, you must ask how much effort it will take to teach the body. You must see if it complements your present abilities. Once you have gone through this process, now you either validate or invalidate the technique. You can believe in the technique now because you have gone through this process and not because someone told you it will work. You understand what makes the technique work.

Once you see that the body can do it and understands the physical motions, then you are ready to train.

The third stage is training of the technique for repetition and skill building.

Once the mind understands the technique and accepts it and the body is taught the movement; free the body from any expectations. Get the mind out of the way. The last process is to train the body to move in a natural way. You discard the concept and let the body do the work with increasing speed in a natural way.
Do not anticipate tension or criticism; just let it do its thing from the mental to the physical in the last part of learning. Once you teach the body a technique, get your mind out of the way. Let the body achieve the technique naturally with the flow. You dissolve the concept once it becomes automatic and a part of you. You are the concept. Do not hinder yourself with technical knowledge.

In my teaching, I acknowledge that a student will have other interests in his life and will be very busy, I do not want to take any more of his time than I have to. Therefore by explaining everything to the student in the beginning, and have him work on the different elements that make up the technique, it seems a little slower than having him jump in and train hard. Because he is taught the technique properly, when he trains the technique, it will be done better each time he does it. His learning potential will be higher because he will not be practicing bad habits and will accelerate the manner in which he learns technique. The student will be able to correct his mistakes and get the necessary repetition to practice the proper way.

Learning how to learn means to have the ability to learn at your own pace. You learn at your own learning curve so that even if you want to learn as quickly as you can, by following the three stages of learning, you are actually going to learn faster and better. An important part of learning is your attitude towards getting the proper information and spend the necessary time to really understand what is it that you are trying to accomplish.
Copied from James DeMile's Facebook Sept 12, 2013 status update.




 For other entries in this The Art of Learning series, please check out:




Please check out these other articles by Sijo DeMile:



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James DeMile - Bruce Lee’s Five Stages for Accelerated Learning

9/21/2013 10:59:00 AM  , ,  No comments

Photo credit:  James DeMile



 Bruce Lee’s Five Stages for Accelerated Learning


One – Bruce Lee had an extraordinary ability to simplify the complicated. He felt much time was wasted in training techniques that could be learned a in a much shorter period . He determined that if you separated, speed, power and technique as individual arts you could learn one and then add it to the other. Brilliant. By developing speed as a natural action, you could learn a technique, add speed and immediately have a fast technique. Same with power. Since the applied concepts of speed and power were constant, once you learned them you did not need to train in them any longer. You could focus on the refinement of technique and then add speed and power.


Two – Natural neuro-muscular learning.and imprinting. This means that the technique is designed for the muscles natural range of motion. The advantage of this approach is that the muscles learn and imprint much easier and quicker and most important retain memory longer without constant reinforcement. Biking and swimming are only two examples of this imprinting process, once learned, never forgotten.


Three – Breaking each technique down into specific elements. Bruce Lee felt that by breaking things down you could identify their strengths and weaknesses and see how to restructure them into a better technique for a specific application. Also, it allowed the instructor to teach the technique more quickly since the students could clearly see the steps to practice and how the pieces fit together as a single technique.


Four – Developing core concepts that allow one technique to be applied in a variety of scenarios rather than learning more techniques. Such as: Applied Startle can be used offensively or defensively and in any physical action or reaction. A ready stance that can absorb or give an attack. A strike that can be for body control or self defense.


Five – Learning How to Learn
*Clearly understand the purpose and structure of the technique.
By realizing the purpose the student is able to put a value on it, which will affect his motivation in training. Being aware of the structure or how it works gives the student references to know if he is training properly.
*Show it to the body and see if it can do it naturally. If the body has to adjust in any way, stretch or warm-up in order to do the technique effectively, then it is not a good technique for the individual since he will not have time to warm-up when confronting an assailant. Using natural movement as a reference tells a student the long term value of any technique.
* Train, Train, Train. Once the student understands and sees the body can do the proper movements in a natural flowing way, then they switch to total training to develop a natural spontaneous application.


Copied from James DeMile's Facebook Status Update on Aug 28, 2013.




For other entries in this The Art of Learning series, please check out:




Please check out these other articles by Sijo DeMile:



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Monday, September 16, 2013

Erik Paulson - The Art of Learning

9/16/2013 11:00:00 AM  , ,  No comments




Today's entry in the Art of Learning series finds Erik Paulson teaching how to learn a technique.


Coach Paulson uses his T.R.I.G. formula:

  1. Technique - learn the technique from an instructor
  2. Repetition - drill the technique ... you put in the time and work your reps
  3. Isolation - isolate the technique and work only that technique vs any situation
  4. Go - (or "Grappling") use the technique against a resisting partner



Please check out these 2 links for further information on the T.R.I.G.:




For other entries in this The Art of Learning series, please check out:





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Sunday, September 15, 2013

John Wooden - The Art of Learning

9/15/2013 11:00:00 AM  ,  No comments

Photo credit:  UCLA.edu


I'm starting a short series of posts (for now) on The Art of Learning. I'm a slow learner and I think it's because no one really taught me HOW to learn. It was always, "Here's a notebook, here's a pen, listen and take notes. Ask questions if you don't understand." But there is a specific process, or The Art, to Learning. Hopefully these series of posts will help others in their Path in learning how to learn.

I start with John Wooden, perhaps one of the greatest coaches who ever lived. Being a succesful coach involves many factors. I came across two books so far on him and typed up his wisdom on Learning.


Here's to your successful learning!




Wooden:  A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court
By Coach John Wooden with Steve Jamison
McGraw Hill
Copyright 1997
ISBN: 978-0-8092-3041-9


Page 144

The Laws of Learning

The four laws of learning are explanation, demonstration, imitation, and repetition. The goal is to creat a correct habit that can be produced instinctively under great pressure.

To make sure this goal was achieved, I created eight laws of learning; namely, explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, and repetition.




Pages 154-155

A Key to Learning

People learn more effectively if information is given in bite-sized amounts rather than everything all at once.

There was a time when I gave all my players a rather extensive, bulky blue handbook of detailed information relating to everything we were going to do as a team. Later I decided that too many of them really did not study and learn it. There was a tremendous amount of information, and perhaps it was just overwhelming. I decided to change my approach.

Instad of a great big heavy book of information, I gave the players individual handouts pertaining to various topics at what I considered to be appropriate times. When I broke the big subject of basketball down into small bits of information, players were much better able to learn what they needed to learn. They were not overwhelmed by the total body of knowledge.

The bite-sized subjects of the handouts included goals, new rules, training suggestions, practice responsibilities , player essentials, attitude and conduct, normal expectations, academic responsibilities, criticism, game competition, shooting, push pass (both one- and two-handed), overhead pass, causes of fumbling, receiving, flip or handoff, rebounding, tipping, stops and turns, pivoting, dribbling (high-speed and crossover), inside turn, and much, much more.

You can see why it would be less effective to put this all in a thick notebook, hand it to a player, and expect him to fully comprehend it. Breaking it down into smaller, easily consumed parts insured it would be read, learned, and used most efficiently and effectively.

I suspect this is true any time a leader, teacher, or coach is attempting to convey lots of information.





The Essential Wooden:  A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership
By John Wooden and Steve Jamison
McGraw-Hill
Copyright 2007
ISBN: 978-0-07-148435-0

Pages 58-59

How to Teach

My classroom was the basketball court. It was there that I taught everything from correct hand and foot movement to values and attitudes, including enthusiasm, loyalty, self-control, and more. (Perhaps correct foot movement isn’t on your list of essentials, but certainly enthusiasm is.)

All of it was taught using the same method – the Four Laws of Learning:

1. Explanation
2. Demonstration
3. Imitiation (correction when necessary)
4. Repetition

These Four Laws of Learning will work pretty well for improving the performance of any team, organization, or group.




Pages 78-79

Teach Lessons in Bite-Size Pieces

There’s a lot more to coaching than blowing a whistle and more to good leadership than telling people what to do . Often things get complicated and cumbersome.

This happened unknowingly to me in the form of a thick notebook with extensive information on my methodology and philosophy – pages and pages of detailed rules, suggestions, dos and don’ts, specifics of execution such as where the eye should focus when guarding an opponent, and more.

I gave this “encyclopedia” to players at the start of the season, and I expected it to be studied and understood. This didn’t seem unreasonable, since I had done the same.

What I didn’t think about was that I’d done it over many years. Now I was asking players to absorb it in a few weeks. They didn’t.

That’s when I stopped piling everything on at once and began to pass out a little information at a time – handouts, mimeographed sheets, notecard reminders on the bulletin board.

Of course, it was important to present the right information at the correct time. It was equally important, though, to cut it up into bitz-size pieces that were easily digested.

Good digestion is conducive to good performance.





Further information:




Other entries in this series:





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Saturday, September 14, 2013

Badger Johnson - Adding to Arnold's Six Principles of Success

9/14/2013 11:00:00 AM  , , , , , , , , , ,  No comments



On July 30, 2013 I posted:



My friend, Badger Johnson, sent me a few add-on's on Facebook. I requested of him to flesh out the few he had. He came back instead with a whole article! Posted below with his kind permission is that article.

 My deepest gratitude to Badger Johnson for sharing his Principles of Success and of his time, experience and knowledge.


Adding to Arnold's Six Principles of Success:

  1. It's all about the 'how', not the 'what'. Many books tell you what do to but don't help you to figure out how to do it. How do you start, how do you monitor, how do you proceed, how do you keep it up.
  2. First learn how to be your own coach. Look at what coaches do - they gather data on your performance. They proceed in graded steps - nobody got to the Olympics in one step.
  3. Don't take yourself too seriously. Note how many top athletes when they can't win at top level competitions, just stop all together. Note how many SEALS who are in tiptop shape, once they are out of the arena just go all to hell. If they didn't take themselves too seriously they'd be able to reduce their expectations and still be winners. You also want to avoid hubris or having too full of a cup to learn from anyone, even a child.
  4. Understand 'expectations'. They can both gel and hinder you. If your expectations are such, and another path opens up you might be too restricted to modify. If you expect something big and something 'ok' comes along you might be prevented from taking a favorable path. Certainly don't unnecessarily lower your expectations, but don't let them rule you.
  5. Let your partner bring their 'A game'. IOW, don't be so overwhelming that you stuff all opportunity, only work from strength and thus stuff your partner's 'game'. By game I mean anything and everything. By letting others bring their A game and by taking a weakened position (such as being mounted in BJJ) you learn to develop your flow and your technique. You fill gaps and holes in your game. You develop synergy. Thanks to Prof Pedro Sauer for this insight.
  6. Go for the win-win scenario over the 'crush your opponents'. If both can win a little in a negotiation both feel better, and you can come back and negotiate again, people respect this. You don't back people into a corner or make them lose face unnecessarily. Works in business and self-defense. Nobody's coming back to the bar with a chain saw after you because you made them unduly lose face.
  7. Nobody's perfect. We all have problems, or neuroses. Rather than deny your weaknesses, know your limits, work within them. If your foot is hurting, work your upper body, don't get all morose and quit. Manage your neuroses by seeing them as opportunities. Own both your wins and your losses. Win and lose gracefully in all areas, big and small. You are not weighed down by grudges and resentments.
  8. Keep a journal and track your progress or lack of same. You can't see the 'big picture' without help. Now we have computers, blogs, online calorie counters. It's much easier to track your workouts, your progress and you can see where you peak and learn how to taper (mentally and physically). If you're journalling you are much less likely to miss a workout and leave a blank entry.
  9. Be aware of synergy. Look for it. If you're taking your vitamins and getting out for fresh air, soon you think, 'well, I should eat a little better, if I'm spending money on supplements or I'm wasting them).
  10. Manage your 'training dollar'. We only have so much time to train or learn or study. Try to realize the Paredo principle - 80% of your success comes from 20% of your work.
  11. The keys to success are consistency, not getting injured, and taking small steps. They are not so much found by doing a great effort then backing off for a month. Small steps daily add up. Track them. See the big picture. Learn how your body and mind work. Don't worry if you're having a down period, because you want to track that too.
  12. Learn how to research. Look for root causes and go to the original source. Make weak aspects strong. By journalling you are researching your own experience.
  13. Learn 'how to think'. By that I mean how to think deeply, try to figure out the how. People say 'think outside the box'. What's more important is figure out -how- to do that. How do people learn to think laterally. Some of it is getting a 10,000 foot view. Some of it is seeing how others have done things. Look for times when you applied a clever, elegant solution. Something is elegant when it is simple, direct and can be expressed in just a few words.
  14. Look for landmarks, develop a framework. From that you can go back and put things into the framework and have it work for you. Your framework if elegantly constructed will help problem solve. Keep records of problems you've solved and be aware that the 'emotional response is not always the best way'. It's about 'what works'.
  15. Internalizing. Thinks can be apparent and you might know what to do, but until that urge comes from inside yourself you are not truly free. Figure out how to make your values and your emotions come into alignment. A person who can do that, a person who is not at the mercy of the first person that can anger them is truly evolved. We internalize by positive and negative self-talk, done consistently and if possible done while moving and utilizing the breath. 
Some more ideas are: 
  • 'discover how to stress test your methods', 
  • 'seek to be a black belt in all areas of life, even ones that scare you like finances', 
  • 'learn how to listen, how to mirror what others (especially your partner) is telling you'.

Anytime you hear someone say something about a 'what to do' stop and think to yourself 'what is the 'HOW' of that?'. How do you accomplish this 'what to do' suggestion'. It's all about the how. Most of the time we find out how after a long trial and error, but if you listen you can go more directly, even though you take baby steps you get there sooner. Also remember you can't tell anyone anything - they have to have it come to them from inside. Even if they know it's true it won't work as an external thing.
Thus a good therapist is good at listening and perhaps mirroring and the client sees things and they come true from inside effecting real change.

Though I sometimes feel I have a lot to say, sometimes I make myself just shut up and listen and listen. It's something you must practice.

Hope this is of use, Stick!
-Badger 2013.



The above article expands on 2 previous entries by Badger which he graciously allowed me to share:


Please check out Badger Johnson's other essays:


Here's to your Success!

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Stickgrappler's Sojourn of Septillion Steps