Everybody
learns differently. Many people do not
know their learning styles or maybe just never have thought about understanding
what their learning style is. We learn
fastest and most effectively when we are taught to our primary learning style. Knowing your learning style and being able to
articulate how you learn to your instructor can make a huge difference in how
fast you comprehend and excel at any activity including martial arts. It will help your instructor explain
concepts/ techniques in such a way you comprehend better by focusing on your
learning style.
While
most people have a primary learning style, they usually do not learn only one
way. However, a student may learn faster
if in the beginning the instructor focuses on a student’s primary learning
style. And depending on the activity, the
primary learning style may change.
While
there are many different learning styles, the four major ones are:
Visual
- Visual learners think in images
and pictures and learn best through visual presentations, videos, slides,
imagination games, graphs, maps, etc.
- For students
that are primarily visual learners you may learn better through watching
others perform the techniques, watching yourself in the mirror, watching
videos, looking at picture’s to what the techniques should look like, and
visualizing yourself performing the techniques.
- Videos of all
the forms are available on the Han Moo Kwan Association website to support
students who learn in this manner (http://www.hanmookwan.org/hyung.htm).
Verbal
- Verbal learners think words
and learn best through lectures, discussion, books, tapes, dialogue,
debate, written language, etc.
- For students
that are primarily verbal learners you may learn better through reading
the on-line material on the techniques and forms that are available on
the Han Moo Kwan Associate website (http://www.hanmookwan.org/hyung.htm
and http://www.hanmookwan.org/basics.htm), writing down in your own words
how to perform the technique or hyung, listening intently to the details,
or talking through a technique with the instructor or another student.
Body-Kinesthetic (Experiential)
- Body-Kinesthetic learners think through
body sensations and learn better through moving through space, hands-on,
tactile experiences, actual physical activities, etc.
- For students
that are primarily body-kinesthetic
learners you may learn
better through physical feedback (through others pushing on parts of your
body or using shields/pads), being corrected physically moving your body
to where it needs to be including others helping you make the motion
correctly.
Conceptual
- Conceptual
learners think in logic and numbers and learn best through number games,
problem solving science experiments, critical thinking (the why)
- For students that are primary conceptual learners you may learn better through understanding why we do what we do, practicing the application and use of a technique, understanding the benefit to the technique / what is being learned from the technique or form, and the consequence if not performed correctly.
For
me, my primary learning style has evolved and is very dependent on my
activity. Growing up, in school my
primary learning style was verbal. I was
one of those students that were good at rote memorization. I could read or see something, understand it,
and regurgitate it very quickly. Given
this is the primary teaching method in the primary and secondary schools I
attended, this turned out to be beneficial to me to perform well in school. In the early part of my career, I continued
to learn more through reading the material and concepts.
Over
time, though, as my career moved more into management which is less concrete
and more abstract thoughts, I found I was better at grasping a vague or
strategic concept better visually
through drawings and pictures. For my
physical activities I never really thought about it growing up, but today I tend
to learn those types activities best through a combination of body-kinetics and
conceptually.
If
you do not know your primary learning style, I highly recommend you discover
it. The resources below can help you.. And once you discover it, I highly recommend
you share it with your instructors.
Certified Instructors in our club are taught the various styles and are encouraged
to teach as many of the styles as possible.
Once instructors are aware of your style, they can make a more concerted
effort to teach to your primary learning style to support you in your journey.
Regards,
Kelly
"Knowledge is not enough, we must apply.
Willing is not enough, we must do." ~ Bruce Lee, (1940 –1973)
American-born Chinese Hong Kong martial artist, actor, and founder of Jeet Kune
Do
References:
•
Intelligence Reframed:
Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century, Howard Gardner, 2000.
•
http://learning-styles-online.com,
accessed 24 July 2016
•
Martial Arts
Instruction: Applying Educational Theory and Communication Techniques In the
Dojo by Lawrence A. Kane
•
Teaching Martial Arts
– The Way of the Master by Sang H. Kim Ph.D.
