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Chris Hein wrote:
Some teachers like their students to figure stuff out on their own, because then they own it instead of just reciting the empty words for years on end. I had told a student to get underneath the elbow on Ikkyo for years. He would nod his head, and I even heard him tell other students this, but he never did it. Then one day I saw him and his Ikkyo was way better. I said "hey, your Ikkyo is getting good", he replied "well I figured out if I grab the underside of the elbow it works better". Then he stared at me blankly as if I had never told him that. I took it in the ego, and truly learned that the student will only get it when he gets it.
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Chris, I hope you understand that my remark you quoted was meant as a joke, not a serious remark about the poster's teacher.
Secondly, while I totally agree that "Some teachers like their students to figure stuff out on their own", I would add for clarity (just for the sake of any neophytes that read here) that a teacher is just another human being and there are a lot of them who say things cryptically (in all m.a.'s) not because they're deliberately trying to get the student to think, but because they themselves don't really know the material deeply. And I only say that to balance the statement; no inferences at all.
Best.
Mike Sigman