“There is no way this technique would work for me. They’re stronger than me!” If you’ve been in the self defense industry long enough, odds are you’ve heard this or something similar.
Put yourself in that space.
How would you answer?
More importantly… What do you HEAR?
We can get defensive and jump to protect ourselves and our egos.
Or we can listen, pause, and learn.
Does strength apply to this technique? If so, did I address that? Was I even aware of that? How did I explain the technique? Is there a way I can improve my delivery?
What fear does this student have that I can learn? What internal dialogue? Internal stories do they have? How can I support them in that? How can I guide them better, now that I know that? Did I give a reason WHY we’re doing this?
Is there a better technique or concept for this person? Is there something I can improve? Is there further guidance I can give them to help them own the material? What’s the MOST important thing they should focus on?
There’s so much that can be learned from feedback, commentary, and criticism.
If you allow yourself to remove emotion and judgement from it.
Listen.
Pause.
Learn.
Aaron Jannetti 