I posted the following on Submissions 101 and Jiu jitsu Forums, so if you're on one of those, please respond there in order to contribute to what I hope will be a helpful group discussion. If you're not on one of those forums, please help me out and respond here. Thanks.
Okay, this is a given, so let's not even debate this part:
If someone gives you a technique correction in class- even if that person lags you in seniority/rank- it is the practical and evolved response to incorporate that advice and be glad/grateful for the opportunity to improve your game.
That said.....
Let's say that a hypothetical person is observing that s/he is getting what seems to be a large number of corrections from what seems to be a large number of more junior students.
Let's say that a hypothetical person is is not as evolved as they wish they were, and experiences a defensive/irritated emotional reaction to this.
Let's say that this hypothetical person is very insecure about hir own skills, and feels that the defensive/irritated emotional reaction is feeding into the insecurity and vice versa.
Just curious about other people's experiences/views on the topic.
Do more junior students give you corrections in class? How often does this happen, and is it just one (or a few) certain people, or is it a lot of different people?
When this happens, how do you feel about it?
If it bothers you, how do you handle it?
Do you give corrections to students more senior than yourself? Do you think this is okay? Why or why not? If you do give corrections, do you do it to *any* senior student, or only certain ones? Why?
Does it necessarily follow that if you are getting a lot of corrections from more junior students, that is hard evidence that your jiu jitsu sucks? How do you know?
Any other thoughts?
I often get corrected by my juniors, sometimes even by people who have only been there a week or so. They are not always right with their advice, either. I think the reason for this is partly because I don't come across as having a lot of confidence in what I'm doing. I also feel like some of the new men think that just because they are male they inherently know more than I do (as if my blue belt means nothing because I'm a woman).
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem accepting their help if it's valid, but I have a hard time standing up for myself when I know they are wrong, and telling them so.
It used to bother me a lot, but now I just accept that they are trying to help, even though it sometimes makes me feel like they think I am the worst student in class. It's hard to not let it effect my own self-image (and it's one of the reasons I feel like I suck).
As far as correcting MY seniors, I tried that with one of them, and they actually yelled at me for it (individual ego issue). That makes me a little gun shy, so now I usually just tell them if I know they are doing a drill incorrectly, but I don't give advice beyond that.