I have always found it strange that I could never do as many push ups by myself as I could in class. Is it the venue that gives you the extra bit of strength? Is it the instructor encouraging you to push yourself past your preconceived limit? Or is it just having more people around you that gives you that extra bit of strength.
I've been thinking about the importance of training with a group of people and how it helps you become a better martial artist. Most of my closest friends I have met at the Kwoon. There is something about training and enduring hardship that makes people bond quicker. I spent many hours after class drilling techniques with students in my group. Asking senior students for help, providing help to junior students who needed it. I don't think I would have been able to gain certain insights had I not been training in a community. To paraphrase Morpheus in The Matrix, "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path".
There are certain disciplines that you can learn on your own and become expert at. Martial arts is not one of them. No matter how much you practice on your own, you can never truly manifest your skill unless you practice with others. It is one thing to learn a technique and spend hours honing it. It is quite another to use it in a sparring match against different students with different body types and temperaments. You quickly find out how vast the difference is by knowing a technique and experiencing a technique until it is part of you. You may find a technique works well against a smaller opponent but you find yourself frustrated because a bigger stronger student shook off your attacks with ease and delivers a painful counter. You have to experiment and find what works and what doesn't.
Most of the learning I have done has been after the training session where I spent hours practicing with fellow students. We would share insights and give each other pointers. Sometimes you need someone else's point of view to see when you are doing something wrong. Sometimes I get frustrated during sparring sessions when nothing I am trying seems to work. I would ask students I sparred with after class how they would always get in a technique on me and they would tell me whether I was telegraphing or leaving an opening. This sharing of information is invaluable to improving. I've had to bury my ego many times when people would wipe the floor with me but it was a great learning experience. I frequently give pointers to junior students if they need help.
Most students learn initially by mimicking their instructor. It is only after diligent practice studying alone and amongst other students and that one is able to go from copying to ownership. You make your knowledge a part of you.
I've made many lasting friendships in the Kwoon. Most of my closest friends are my fellow students. There is something about enduring hardship that makes fast friends. I experienced something similar in the Marines. I've poured sweat, broken bones, strained muscles, tendons and ligaments but I have gained far more than I have ever invested. I could not have gleamed a portion of the knowledge I have received had I not been part of a community.
