Sensei Dave Lowry of SMAA Tells Martial Arts Students to Ask Questions

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - EntSun -- Do you think about the "why" of each move when you practice your art?

You may be worried that it's disrespectful to question your Sensei's teachings. However, asking questions about your art isn't disrespectful, and any Sensei worth the title will be happy to explain the how and why of your art!

In this article, Sensei Dave Lowry will tell us in his own words why it's important to ask questions when you study martial arts:

At seminars, while the group is working on some exercise I have given, I sometimes will go to a pair of practitioners, stop them, and ask "Why are you doing it that way?" The answer to this is critical.

"I'm doing it this way because my teacher told me to."

If you are a beginner, if you have perhaps six or seven years in training, this is absolutely an acceptable answer. Students at this level do not need to know all or even many of the whys of their art. Indeed, "knowing" too much of these whys can actually be an impediment to training at their level. Knowing something intellectually and "knowing" it with your body, at an instinctive, somatic level, are two very different things in the budo. This is consistent with the thoughts of the neo-Confucian philosopher Wang Yang-Ming (In Japanese, he's known as Oyomei), who said that "To know and not to act is not yet to know." Few dojo inhabitants are more irritating than the beginner budoka who "understands" all the theories and can explain them in detail, but who can't "do" squat.

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If, however, you are a more senior student, at perhaps fourth or fifth dan, with maybe fifteen or twenty years of experience, then the reply that "I'm doing it this way because my teacher told me to" is, frankly, not an adequate one. Your answer should not be the same answer as that of the beginners.

Read the full article on SMAA's website: https://www.smaa-hq.com/articles/article/the-im...

Join Like-Minded Artists at an International Martial Arts Association

If you're looking for an international martial arts association dedicated to preserving the authentic Japanese arts, you're in the right place!

SMAA offers certification in authentic aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. If you're interested in becoming a member, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here: https://www.smaa-hq.com/contact

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About Shudokan Martial Arts Association: SMAA was founded in January 1994 by a group of martial artists concerned with promoting and safeguarding Nihon budo and koryu bujutsu—the traditional martial arts and ways of Japan. For more information, visit https://www.smaa-hq.com/about