Bob Davis wrote:

I know Iain's experiences differ to mine but I have seen evidence of this first hand and, even if you haven't, it's always worth having the conversation.

Should probably clarify what you were referring to there :-)

Bob and I had an email conversation about the post. I’ve personally not seen what Bob is refering to here:

“The third way I see increasingly appearing is the study of what looks to be applied karate but with a 3 K’s mind-set, by which I mean that people are starting to study the drills and practices of applied karate but with the mind-set that “sensei says this is what we do” so we learn the drills and the syllabus without the need to understand of the underlying concepts or question the results of what we are doing”

In my email, I said:

"I can’t say I’ve seen that myself though. Although I accept that could be because the nature and purpose of any given drill is always strongly emphasised in the circles I move in. It could be true of those who are trying to learn exclusively from the YouTube snippets folks like us share? Sensei YouTube is never one for nuance :-)

“Anyone learning practical karate properly is likely to avoid the “Sensei says” trap because Sensei will presumably also teach them the reasoning behind the drill and how it fits in the wider training matrix. As I say, I can’t say that’s something I’ve personally came across in the practical karate community. Maybe more of an issue with 3K folks seeking to learn a drill or two indirectly? I don’t think there is a huge issue with practical karate teachers failing to communicate the purpose of drills. Indeed, if they are doing that, then they were never practising practically in the first place.

“Doing the drill to get good at the drill” is a flaw we see throughout the martial arts, but by their nature, I think it is one that practical karate types avoid by using function as their measure. The wider training matrix is also something I see strongly emphasised.”

You are now up to speed! Enjoy the article :-)

All the best,

Iain