Learning online

BoothJ9 · White Belt

What are your opinions on people learning techniques/kata from the internet? Today there are so many videos and courses online that can teach you pretty much anything.

I've been thinking about learning some kobudo katas and techniques from courses but I know that if anyone would happen to see me pratising them in the dojo they would ask me to teach them.

This is where I feel the area of debate is. If I'm learning it for myself, why not? If I end up teaching it to someone else though, I feel a bit fraudulent if I haven't actually been taught in person and had the chance to ask questions and build a more full understanding of applications etc.

What do you think about learning from the internet? A fair option or something to stay away from?

Thank you

Edit: Spelling and grammar

Zaine · Black Belt

I learn kata from the internet all of the time. Of course, it is always better to have a teacher who is working with you to learn a kata as they will be able to correct inconsistencies and bad technique. However, if you're confident in your ability to learn something online, then I don't see why we shouldn't do it. Some of my favorite kata came to me from a video. Further, you can often find someone breaking down the kata to help you learn it online as well.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend learning a kata online to a beginner, but someone advanced to black belt should have no issues learning kata online if they don't have someone around to teach them a specific kata that they wish to learn.
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sensei8 · KF Sensei

I'm a very firm believer in learning in any venue just as long as the student receive effective feedback. Above all, feedback is very critical to the growth of the students MA betterment.

Imho.

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Wastelander · KF Sensei

It does depend on what you're doing it for. If you just enjoy memorizing new kata, go for it. If you want to use it in a tournament, go for it. If you're looking to actually LEARN the kata and its material, especially if you want to teach it, you NEED direct feedback from an instructor, and you usually can't get that from videos or most online programs.
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bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

I wrote an article on this topic several years ago, but I didn't cover the aspect of teaching what one learns online.

I would say that if someone approaches you and asks you to teach that particular thing to them, I'd be up front and tell them that you learned it online by watching and mimicking a video, and you wouldn't be the authority on teaching it. But if they are still interested in doing it to, then just agree to work together and offer each other feedback, do research into it, and the like. Just lay it out there; who knows, you might end up with a good training partner.
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aurik · KF Sempai

One of the interesting side effects of the COVID pandemic is the fact that many martial arts instructors started offering lessons either completely online or in a hybrid format. For 6 months of the pandemic, my son and I trained in our basement with an iPad connected to Zoom while our instructor led his virtual class. It was a much different style of learning than I was used to, and it took a lot more discipline to keep up.

Now we have a plethora of previously-traditional MA instructors who offer an online-only or hybrid experience. From my personal experience, it's much more difficult to learn something online, especially something with as much of a physical component. As others have said, definitely look for an instructor who will give individual feedback on your technique. Also if at all possible, pick an instructor that has an in-person presence. If you can at all visit that instructor every few months or even once or twice a year for an in-person tune-up, that will go far in helping you to learn.

My CI does have a couple of students that he trains remotely in both karate and kobudo. He sees them all in-person a few times a year, and they seem to be very satisfied with their experience. One of the karate students found him after spending a number of years as an ikkyu, and established that relationship so he could finally test for his shodan rank.
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KarateKen · Orange Belt

Kata is great to learn online, and you can learn and practice a lot of techniques without a partner, but to understand how effective you are at using them you will need someone to train with in person.

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