Feedback is important

One of the good qualities of a good teacher is the feedback that they can give. Not only the quality but the timing and usefulness for the student. Students that want to learn are in “learning mode” and are focused on learning. All of there senses are open and ready.  As a teacher you really can’t ask for more. This window of opportunity shouldn’t be lost, and not lost to ignoring a student. “Ignoring” is probably the lowest and most insecure way of teaching. It’s at the bottom were you hear teachers say “Don’t ask, look , and do as I do”.  

Copying at this level is Blooms lowest level. Being able to repeat/mimic what is done. But the understanding is not qualified. Some of the teachers might just say “But I can see if the students are doing the correct thing”. Which is true if doing the same thing is ie. moving your left foot in a certain pattern. But the reasons why this was done, and how it fits will only be guesswork from the student. Sometimes certain adjustments have to be made, be it a throw were the person you want to throw is really heavy, much smaller or taller. Or the person you want to punch has longer arms and can keep you further away.  These are just simple things and are examples, it can be more complex as in a scenario.

It’s very clear when a student that has been taught this way, when they themselves start to teach. They will on a daily basis meet these normal human deviations, and respond with “don’t ask, look , and do as I do”.

Students that are unsecure with not understanding the “why, where and what”, will probably just try something else(another style or something completely different). This really isn’t a problem, since the student will find a teacher(or a hobby) that fits them, but in reality as a teacher we all probably have this “Don’t’ ask, look, and do as I do” more or less in our way of teaching. Be it unconscious or conscious.

This makes it even more important that feedback is a part and acceptable teaching, since this will encourage the student to ask in situations where doubt will arise.  And by connecting doing with feedback, the lack of feedback will in itself point out the fact of needed feedback.

To much feedback or empty feedback (babble) will confuse students, so the feedback has to be precise, and at a level of understanding for the student. And we are backup at Blooms different levels. Having a group of students at different levels it can be hard to give everybody the correct feedback – or you just might have to differentiate the groups so each group can benefit from each other’s feedback.

But this kind of feedback in self-defense training can be very critical, since much has to do with the student himself; at least if they are working with self-defense built on a person own abilities. Students are the same and different at the same time, coming from different parts of society and moving in different parts.  So they are likely to meet some of the same things, but at the same time chances are different on certain things.  This is were the feedback from the teacher becomes crucial and needs to go hand in hand with the student, or they’re risk of learning something that won’t work is considerably higher.