All That Glitters...

Last night before class I was researching taijutsu ground fighting techniques on the web to review and find basic techniques I could teach in class. While searching around I came across a site that had a jiujutsu/wrestling/mixed martial art ground technique. I found this technique that had a really cool name and was really fancy. The person showing the technique in the video made it seem like it was very easy, so I thought I'd try it out to see if it was any good. I am always looking for new material to add to the system I teach as I pride myself in teaching an evolving and contemporary art that is still steeped in tradition. when I finally tried the technique out I realized , for real combat, it was completely useless. First of all, it was obviously designed to be used by, and on people who are the exact same size. I'm a big guy and the student I was attempting it on was much smaller, making it close to impossible for me to make the movements I needed to make for the technique to work.The position I had to be in initially to execute the technique was one that occurs vary rarely. In fact , I don't think I've ever seen it in an actual fight. And last but not least, the maneuvering to execute the technique was complicated, intricate, and took way too much time. With all the experience in the world a person can still fall victim to good marketing and the desire to look cool. I almost fell for it, but since I know to test techniques before I teach them in front of 10 people and possibly humiliate myself; I save a whole lot of grief. So, in conclusion: just because something looks cool does NOT mean it's going to be usefull and/or practical. Just because it glitters, doesn't make it gold.
Other than a dud technique , class last night was really good. I had a new student come to class. My senior student helped me teach since I'm still partially healing from an injury, I can't do alot of rolling and falling, and some excersizes I simply can't do at all. It was really satisfying to see the new student soak up all the information, genuinely try hard, and have fun. My senior student showed alot of progress. His rolls have gotten quieter. He has a working knowledge of the basics, their names, and some of the finer nuances that are important to teaching. Basic Taijutsu is so much easier to teach now since we have the online basics tutorial. Now I can teach a technique, have the student practice it several times so I can correct him and talk about the important aspects, then I can instruct him to practice at home using the videos online as a refference. This saves time so I can make sure I teach each set in its entirety. At the end of class we had a very good discussion about some of the mental aspects of martial arts training and Taijutsu. My students had quite a few questions, but I made sure I answered them to the best of my ability. I can't wait for next practice!