By Njoli Brown
Recently, I’ve been fortunate enough to conduct a variety of workshops and community programs in the area. The current social climate has given people a new perspective on the importance of developing a self defense practice. This being the case, we’ve been provided a great opportunity for our academy students to step into their leadership.
Over the years, with each of my teachers, I very particularly recall the time when I began to be invited to “assist” during their workshops/events. It wasn’t because I was the most advanced student but, I think, because my teachers recognized that these experiences would be lessons in accountability. Acting as a representative of my group and my teacher, I had a responsibility to model our values, to act rightly, to be smart in appearance, to be practiced and adroit. But equally important, it was an exercise in humility because these classes acted as a reminder of my own journey as a beginner and my ongoing attempts to process the concepts into a language that was discernible for myself and in transmission.
“Teach to learn, learn to teach.” I’ve been hearing that a lot in recent years. What I’ve come to realize is that, this doesn’t mean that every person in the room needs to become a focal point. Not everyone has the desire, the wherewithal, or the temperament to teach, per se. But everyone does need to become a facilitator. “Ut facile,” to make easy. This does not mean that we should generate passivity in the learning environment, heat (tension) can be a catalyst for energy. But, as a student we can endeavor to grow to a point of simultaneously developing our own practices while propagating a learning environment which is conducive to the growth of others.
Through this”learning to teach” becomes a state of being rather than an acquisition of status.
Tools for learners/teachers:
- Comport yourself with grace.
- Ask questions to learn, not for self-aggrandizement.
- Model focused and diligent training.
- Err on the side of politeness to your teachers and comrades.
- Avoid boastfulness.
- Find lessons everywhere.
- Prioritize fundamentals.
- Do your best work.
- Treat yourself and your comrades with care.
end, Yut, who was an Olympic athlete in Japan. II started from zero, relearning the proper mechanics of walking, skipping, running etc. It wasn’t easy at first and I felt really stupid not even walking correctly! But finally I found what was, for me, the perfect way to combine all that in a very fun way, Animal Flow. It mixes mobility, motor skills, flexibility with quadrupedal exercises as a main base! I went deep into it, traveling to Switzerland to practice and learn it. Recently I became the first Animal Flow instructor in Philippines. Animal Flow is also perfect to develop strong stabilizer and postural muscle; a must do in your weekly routine.
information that I had no hope to process… I just had to swallow as much as I could and try to keep up. The movements appeared familiar, and yet I couldn’t apply them in context. My timing was off, my footwork was backwards, and all of my instincts seemed wrong. After each lesson, I’d ride the subway for an hour from Queens back to Brooklyn and my head would literally ache. If you were to ask me, “what did you learn today?” I wouldn’t even be able to tell you and yet I could see myself improving. Hence, I was faced with a choice… I could accept returning to the status of a “beginner” or I could let my ego get the better of me. Fortunately I chose the former. By putting aside my pride and approaching the lessons with the beginner’s mentality, I feel I was not only able to learn the movements much faster, but to understand the underlying principles and philosophy at a deeper level. Ultimately, this experience proved beneficial to my progress in every style that I practice. I think that most arts run much deeper than we tend to recognize. Although it is not always overtly expressed, my teachers all seem to embody this appreciation. Despite their accomplishments and recognition, they are still students of their art. To me, that is one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned from them. If we view ourselves as a rank (black belt, lakan etc), we find ourselves repeatedly disappointed. We can never really live up to our own expectations of what that rank entails. However, when we recognize ourselves as beginners, we can only improve. This disposition has not only helped me progress as an artist, but ultimately has allowed me to reap more enjoyment from the arts.
