“Any fool can know. The point is to understand”. ~ Albert Einstein
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The quote attributed to Albert Einstein can apply to many things, karate included. For many karate practitioners, one of the most challenging elements of karate is learning the nuances found deep within the techniques, drills and principles. Few have the time or the inclination to delve into the depths that karate has to offer, and even if they do, finding an instructor with the knowledge to help them can be very difficult. There is often a misunderstanding of the application behind techniques, which comes from just physically training in karate and not studying karate.
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The majority of people know a good number of techniques, but they understand very little. Anyone can memorize by rote and repeat it back to you, but that doesn’t mean that they comprehend what they are doing.
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For any information to really be useful, you have to truly understand what it means and how to put it to use.
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In our modern world the Youtube-sensei rules and many students are utilizing the instant ‘knowledge’ that the Youtube-sensei gives you. Using this method to learn can be beneficial in helping you to remember ‘which direction to turn’, but to find the deeper meaning of karate techniques, you need a teacher who can help you to understand.
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“When you cease to strive to understand, then you will know without understanding.” ~ Chinese proverb ??