This is the first time I came to Hong Kong as an instructor. The perspective is different as I looked at how people were teaching and what was being taught. Through this experience I found that most of the practitioners – even though they are of a higher skill level than me – are not good at teaching. This is probably because they are not Sifus – teachers.
They are unable to adequately and eloquently explain what it is that needs to be done. Not only this but they are unable to build a bridge for a beginner/ novice or someone inexperienced in their way of practice to their current skill level. It was not the lack of communication (differing languages) that was primarily to blame. Although this could have been the cause for more detailed instruction, the main cause was their lack of teaching experience.
Instructing is not merely telling someone something but a mindset that has to be occupied (in my perspective) with how best to compress and elongate information. As well as how to transmit that information.
There has to be an ability to tweak current teachings or instructions so someone can more easily get the proper condition. All three of these points are fluid and flexible. There is no one size fits all.
However this mindset doesn’t come to everyone. If it doesn’t come to someone, their way of instructing is limited to a particular manner and style. It may work well for that time and that person but will rust and won’t accommodate future or diverse changes.
One has to have the ability to change things that aren’t working or that are better than what was previously done to retain flexibility and diversity in instructing. Most of the people don’t have it. They tell you the goal. Then it is up to you to achieve it even if they set it up so that you have difficulty in achieving that goal – mainly because of them!
Ex. they tell you to relax but give awful amounts of force and pressure, so much so that it’s impossibly to relax! And it’s not required! There are easier ways to get you to achieve that condition. But they don’t understand the concept of bridge building. Either because they passed through the pain and got it that way or they never considered another way to get it. As a result progress comes slowly.
This post is a critique on how I was explained things in Hong Kong. It really doesn’t make sense for me to advocate someone new to learn from people in this lineage because they don’t get the benefits they should get. It’s better to get a few years experience from someone like me – a intermediary – first so that the concepts which are espoused can be understood once you come here.