Something in martial arts that is being debated back and forth all the time is the effectiveness of distance learning versus traditional training in a dojo and one can learn martial arts to any degree of proficiency through distance learning. In an age where online communication and learning are staples of everyday life and being able to learn anything efficiently is available to everyone because of this, my answer is “Yes!”.
Consider this… One of the recent arguments I’ve come across is that getting rank Dan takes years and years of blood, sweat and tears and that only after you have spilled blood on the floor of the dojo can you be considered trusted to wear a Dan, which you get from XYZ organization, school, federation, etc., and only through this method can you become a better practitioner. While I agree with the idea in general, the argument against distance learning is that there is no way you can advance as a black belt, or as a color belt for that matter, unless you are training in a school under the old traditional methods. There is no way you can learn any self-defense system through “home study” methods.
Hmm.. well… let’s say a person has spent 15-20 years training and now wears a rank four or fifth dan. This person has trained and completed all requirements to move up his/her rank. I think some may say that because of the rank and the years he has spent in training, he is worthy of praise and respect, being of great honor and integrity because of the progress and time spent in training in the arts. This person has clearly learned what it means to be a better practitioner and is now credible in the eyes of his peers. Seems like a solid point.
Now, on the other side of that coin, let’s say this same guy on the outside looks and acts like the rank he wears and talks about talking about a true black belt but underneath he has a drinking problem or a drug problem or worse, both. They treat people disrespectfully behind their backs and are full of arrogance. Every time something goes wrong in his life, all they want to do is get out, rise, and fight. Just so you know, I don’t speak hypothetically. I was trained by someone like that. Does this mean that he deserves to wear the rank of Advanced Dan just because they spent their time in a traditional school and passed the curriculum? Does this make him/her better than me or someone else who wants to open up their education to a reliable, comprehensive distance learning program taught by forward-looking, committed, and respected individuals? I don’t think as we all know martial arts is about much more than just the belt one wears.
The traditional thinking is that if you choose to train like this, it is lacking in many respects, for example: quality of training, lack of training partners, it is very easy to slack off and not train, there is no one to make sure you are actually doing the stuff, and then, there is no way this can work, and once you get your rank, it is just a “piece of paper” from the “black diploma mill” or in the case of “paper mill” dan. Well let me ask you this question, what takes more effort, dedication, perseverance, integrity and personal commitment, going to a local school and having someone tell you what to do or taking a course and splitting it up yourself, creating a training schedule based on your school or work schedule, providing yourself with a place to train and then effectively completing the training for each belt rank? I realize this question is rhetorical but the point I am trying to make is that both methods of study, in class and home study, are equally effective in learning any kind of subject, and being so closed off to knowledge through “outside the box” sources, especially in this day and age of high technology, is a real disservice to the progress of the arts as a whole.
Traditionalists fail to recognize the doors that this can open, and it will surely open up for students all over the world just as it has with all fields of education. Now… Today… You can earn the highest level of accredited, accredited and accredited college degrees online from the most reputable colleges and universities – WORLD WIDE! This is an absolute, indisputable fact that even the most dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists cannot disprove. In my opinion, it is not about how you learn what you learn but how to apply this knowledge after you have learned it. I have always said that certificates and degrees are just pieces of paper but ultimately what makes them so valuable is the application of that knowledge and how it is presented to others in the future. We must always be advancing with our knowledge, always ready to embrace new ideas and concepts. If we stop learning, we stop growing.
As the sport is constantly evolving, its practitioners must also evolve. We can no longer accept traditional coaching doctrine as the norm. The simple fact that hand-to-hand combat have only become more advanced in the past ten years should compel us as practitioners of the arts to be more open and willing to enhance our learning from as many sources as possible outside our own backyards. Distance learning offers such a solution by eliminating the geographic boundaries that currently exist in limiting student training and learning to just one place, in one style, and from one teacher. With the Internet, video conferencing, online tutorials, forums, blogs, etc. at our fingertips, the possibilities are endless. Students no longer have to be referred to learning options that only include the local dojo. Imagine being able to practice with students from all over the world and share information and ideas about developing the arts with students from all over the world in real time!
Of course, to this extent, traditionalists would argue that there would be a problem with time differences as well as differences in training disciplines and that there was no way for this to work. always sorry. I’ve heard this argument for years but that’s because they fail to see the potential in people to come up with long-term solutions to these problems, and the solutions that are being offered by a group of dedicated individuals at the AKPKF… the American Karate Federation, headed by Sensei Danny Hill. This is an organization that leads by example and it’s all about keeping the arts intact while connecting 21st century thinking to the age old problem of offering training and discipline to students all over the world who wouldn’t have access to information doing it for free!
Now, I understand that traditionalists want to keep training in a dojo… well… but what about an aspiring student who wants to dabble in martial arts but doesn’t have a place to train, or who lives in a remote area where it’s 50-100 miles away from the nearest dojo? What about people around the world who live in villages with no training for thousands of miles? So how do the traditionalists solve that geographical problem? They solved it by continuing to argue about classroom training as the only useful means of learning self-defense. In my opinion, what this argument really boils down to is money.
think about it. They insist that getting your degree by distance learning is not credible, yet they take “Little Johnny’s” tuition every month, usually an exorbitant amount, and pass the student through the system whether he learned the material or not. Again, I am not speaking here hypothetically. I’ve seen this first hand even at the black belt level. This problem is widespread and getting worse every day. Traditionalists say that distance learning has become a blight on our beloved art form and that it discredits all that is sacred about our beloved sport, even to the point of “calling out” what the arts stand for, while they do the same thing all the time by charging outrageous monthly fees and offering mediocre training at best. To me, this business is deplorable and not even remotely deserving of respect and honor, yet the practice continues to grow by the day with new “McDojo’s” popping up on almost every street corner. The traditional view has become about “selling the product” rather than “teaching the art”. Anything that doesn’t “fit” with their way of thinking is rubbish and just their style and the way it’s taught by them, is “be all to end all” and the only path towards martial arts excellence. In my opinion, there is nothing credible about this practice or this way of thinking, it only harms the arts, not promotes them.
In conclusion, let me state that I have had very successful personal training in both mediums. Each method has its place in education and each, in my opinion, is equally effective. I think both methods can coexist peacefully. I have personally continued to expand my self-defense knowledge through many different learning methods such as books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, online tutorials, and traditional mat training with practitioners who are also open-minded enough to see the positive impact that distance learning could have on all of us if we would only embrace the need for this type of study. I have my own dojo and I’m about to start my training in Renzoku Jiu-Jitsu, a program taught by Seok Jun Kozat who happens to live on the East Coast (I live on the West Coast) and yes, it’s a distance learning program, a program I can advance to 5th Dan and since that’s the highest level of achievement in that discipline, that’s my goal. Instead of this program, in order to train in a “trusted” traditional jiu-jitsu class, I have to drive 100 miles round trip 3 nights a week at great cost to accomplish what I can do in my dojo via distance learning. Whether or not I make it to 5th Dan is totally up to me but that’s not really the issue. The point is, the opportunity is there for all of us to take advantage of modern technology to continue to advance our training and help advance the sport into the 21st century. We must continue to be open to new training methods and learning techniques so that martial arts can continue to grow and survive. I will do everything I can to be at the forefront of that movement.