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Old 05-27-2013, 02:15 AM   #20
Robert Cowham
Dojo: East Sheen Aikido and Kashima No Tachi
Location: London, UK
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 289
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Re: Teaching Aikido, an Aiki perspective

This is a fantastic thread!

Quote:
Toby Kasavan wrote: View Post
Sugano Sensei replied that it was fine but that he "explained too much "like a coach" in western sports, and that this deprived the student of the opportunity for discovering things for themselves."

Sugano Sensei, a remarkable man, also took up western fencing at the age of 50 (becoming NYS champion in the senior division) in order to see "how westerners teach martial arts to westerners" in order to improve his teaching of Americans
I find the differences between Japanese and western styles of teaching and learning fascinating. Sometimes the right words can make all the difference (particularly for westerners). Sometimes it is dangling an experience in front of people and waiting for them to "take the bait".

I really liked the quote I heard from Richard Moon, said by one of his students almost accusingly: "You're just learning out loud!"
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