Sometimes you find out that you wish you were just a little bit dumber. Life is so easy that way, and so are the martial arts. In this video I talk about why realising how much you don't know is the moment you can truly start to learn, and why that is too much for many people.

It is for martial artists of any level, and especially for instructors and long-term students who have reached the point where the more they learn, the less certain they feel.

The Comfort of Not Knowing

When you know very little, everything seems simple. Your style is the best, your techniques always work, and anyone who disagrees is wrong. There is a certain comfort in that. You never have to question anything.

But it is a dead end. If you are certain you already know, there is nothing left to learn. You stop improving, and you never find out which parts of your training would fail you when it matters.

Where Real Learning Starts

It is only when you begin to realise how much you don't know that you can truly learn. That stage is uncomfortable. You see the holes in your technique. You question things you were taught for years. You realise that some of what you believed simply is not true.

Many people cannot handle that, so they retreat into certainty. Especially in this day and age, when people feel they have to pick a side, red or blue, and be either for it or against it.

Avoid Being Dumb Dave

In the video I talk about dumb Dave. Dave never questions anything, so Dave never improves. Don't be like Dave. Instead:

  • Accept that you will always have more to learn
  • Question your techniques, and test them honestly
  • Listen to people who see things differently
  • Keep the parts that work and drop the parts that don't
  • Stay humble, but keep striving for the best

How This Applies to Training

In practical terms, this means testing your techniques with a resisting partner, not just a cooperative one. It means asking why a technique works, not only how to do it. It means being willing to change. A martial artist who keeps learning at fifty is far more dangerous than one who stopped at twenty-five.

So sometimes, just wish you were a little bit dumbererer. Then get back to work and keep learning.

Take It Further

If you want honest, hands-on feedback, my Private Mentoring and Training Camps are built for exactly that. Or start learning the principles behind my teaching in Pressure Point Fighting: The Complete Guide.