Many years ago I was invited to a black belt workout by my instructor, Alan Feldman. The stated goal of the session was to review all of Imi’s black belt material in detail over the course of 5 hours. As you might imagine, all of us who gathered were enthusiastically looking forward to diving deeply into all of the more complex motions and detailed tactics of the Krav Maga system.
What transpired was unexpected.
For the first 3 and 1/2 hours, Alan painstakingly reviewed all the material in the white, yellow and orange belt curriculums. I, along with my fellow instructors, were confused and a little frustrated that we were spending so much time on the basics. Obviously, out of respect, nothing was said to Alan, but we were all growing a bit impatient. Just like any of our own students, we wanted to get to do the “cool stuff”.
With 90 minutes to go, Alan suddenly jumped right into black belt material. As we reviewed each specific advanced technique, however, Alan made a point of pausing and asking all of us in attendance which white, yellow or orange belt principle was being showcased. With a smile on his face, Alan reinforced something we all should have remembered as instructors; The only way to correctly execute advanced level movement patterns is by practicing and perfecting the basics.
By the time we had completed our 5-hour journey, each instructor was reminded of the correlation between every black belt technique and its corresponding supporting beginner level principle.That day was a great reminder of what instructors need to emphasize for their students. Students should continue to drill the basics NOT until they get it right, but rather, they must work them until they can’t get them wrong!
Let my story be a lesson to you as well. Whenever your instructor has you reviewing footwork, stance, rotation, hand discipline or any other technique which is considered foundational to the system, use it as an opportunity to perfect it…even if you “already know” the material.
Always remember, the amateur constantly wants to do more complicated things to feel accomplished. The master realizes that the most complicated thing is perfecting the fundamentals. Alan was always a consummate master of the basics and, as a result, impeccable with his technique.
