If you have kids, you know some of the stages. The “no” stage and the “mine” stage. And the why stage. The why stage can be infuriating and there is always a sneaky suspicion that the kid is playing a game, pulling you to the end of your rope: Why is the sky blue? “Because the … [Read more…]
Just trying to clear up some language here. There are three very different things that tend to get called scenario training. Maybe more, but I can only think of three right now. They have almost nothing in common. They all have some value. They all have some weaknesses and problems. The first I call “situationals.” … [Read more…]
Be careful with the language here. I will be using the word ‘training’ as a generic term for the different methods to get something into your student’s heads. At the same time, I will be using the word as a very specific type of training with deep drawbacks. It’s kind of like ‘fighting’ in that sense. We need … [Read more…]
I was contacted by a young man whom my works had influenced. He’s developing his own work and asked about copyright infringement issues. My answer surprised even me…. **** No don’t worry. An idea is not copyrightable — but a specific model is (e.g. that violence is somehow predictable is not copyrightable, but Five Stages of Violent … [Read more…]
There are a bunch of numbers running around: that it takes 300-500 reps to instill a new motor skill, 3000-5000 if you are replacing an old skill. That’s training. How many reps did you need to learn not to touch a hot stove? Once. And you pulled your hand away with perfect body mechanics. That’s … [Read more…]
Conversation the other day about training paradigms. The person was advocating that things are learned best starting with basic technique, then building on that into a system. As near as I can remember one quote, “The first day, sensei showed us a punch. It wasn’t quite right, but he told us to practice and pay … [Read more…]
Recently contacted by an acquaintance about how to attract and retain women to a self-defense studio. His assertion was that the women who left wanted it to be fun, but self-defense was a grim subject, inherently un-fun. Maybe. But humans are mammals, and all mammals learn best through play. And the math of self-defense training … [Read more…]
This will be a rehash of some things I’ve said before. Hmmmmm. Maybe I’ll just make a post with a list of all the things I say too much and then quit writing? Naaaaah. New questions come up all the time. Making certain people proficient at violence is simple. Not easy, but simple. The physical … [Read more…]
It’s not always possible, but when your focus is on teaching students, as opposed to teaching material, it’s kind of imperative to know who the students are. Rookie officers, for instance, need a solid base. Sometimes that even involves detailed explanation of the problem, e.g. the different kind of force incidents, force policy and basic … [Read more…]
Been circling a thought. It’s nothing new in a lot of ways, but I don’t think I’ve hit it up the middle yet. 90% (statistic totally made up) of what I teach is about learning to see. That includes everything from seeing the physical possibilities (open targets, lines of balance, momentum vectors, environmental opportunities) to … [Read more…]