I visited Coach Freedman at his house the other day. He was sitting with some friends and students telling us stories about different people and groups he had trained in the past. He was recounting a story about a local police chief who was in a training session. This chief was complaining to Coach about how joint locks just did not work. “Really” exclaimed Coach, “Let me try.” At which point Coach put him in a joint lock from which the chief could not escape.
“The point I am trying to make is that people learn cookie cutter techniques from instructors that just do not work.” He went on to explain, “This chief was not taught about how the joint lock worked. He did not know the proper points of contact. He did not understand the anatomy. Teaching technique without teaching all the background information is like making cookie dough and giving it to people to cook. They make a delicious cookie but they do not know what makes the cookie delicious.”.
This was pretty profound and pushed the point that learning martial arts is not just about how to do a technique but it is about learning many other things. It is knowing anatomy to understand bone structure. Knowing where the body’s organs are and how they are affected by blows and other injuries. Understanding psychology so to know what motivates the other person. Using meditation to understand yourself and know how you will react in a tough situation.
What Coach Freedman is trying to do for us is to get us to understand what makes the cookie delicious. Some students think “Why is he wasting time on all these other topics? I just want to learn to kick ass.” Take the time, listen to what Coach is saying. Go out and do your own research. Learn to play and innovate. This is the real lesson. You martial art will not come alive until it is full of the right ingredients that you have put into it.
Enjoy the cookie, it is delicious.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Roland,
This is wonderful. I am happy to see & read that some people really hear what I am saying.
Thank you for quoting me & writing this out. I feel it will open up a lot of peoples eyes.
With much Respect!
Coach Peter Freedman
Very nicely said!!
What is great about Mr. Freedman’s teaching style is that he allows people to learn all at their own pace in a no-pressure environment. That way we can develop a deep understanding of the recipe, the interdependence of the ingredients and what may be added or taken away, and how these can all be adapted to be applied in variations for different needs and situations.
As for me though, I am just learning how to warm up the stove . . .
Humbly,
Johnny the “C”