Proficiency - what does it mean?

MatsuShinshii · Black Belt

When you were a beginner what did this mean to you?

When you started teaching what did this mean?

For those of you that are Kodansha, what does this mean to you?

My definition of proficiency has changed as I traveled along my path in the MA. Its meaning changed the longer I trained and even more so when I started teaching.

Proficiency can mean many things to different people. In this context it means the proper execution of technique and perfection of the art.
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The person who succeeds is not the one who holds back, fearing failure, nor the one who never fails-but the one who moves on in spite of failure.
Charles R. Swindoll

sensei8 · KF Sensei

"Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick.
After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick.
Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."~Bruce Lee

That, to me, right there, is what proficiency is to me with its ever changing context. As I mature, so does my acquired understanding towards proficiency, as well as in its execution.

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**Proof is on the floor!!!

singularity6 · Pre-Black Belt

To perform something correctly, repeatedly, and with ease. I dunno, something that takes a lot of practice?

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5th Geup Jidokwan Tae Kwon Do/Hap Ki Do

(Never officially tested in aikido, iaido or kendo)

JR 137 · Black Belt

IMO proficiency is being able to do it correctly from a textbook standpoint, and being able to use it.

Take something very basic - the front kick/mae geri. Knowing how to do it, being able to do it in the air, being able to kick a pad/bag with it, and finally being able to use it effectively (from a power and strategy perspective) against a partner who isn’t allowing it. That’s proficiency IMO.

Mastery of it would be being that person who can effectively use it at will against practically everyone. They can take it and easily adapt it to practically any situation. In other words, they can easily make the technique fit the circumstances rather than abandoning it for something else when the situation gets difficult.

People say shodan means you’ve mastered the basics of the art. I say it means you’re proficient in the basics of the art. You can demonstrate them, you can effectively use them against an opponent; but you can’t adapt it freely and at will. You can adapt things, but to a rudimentary level.

One more way to describe my proficiency vs mastery views...
A person gets into a fight and has an opponent who is a handful. Someone who’s not proficient won’t look like they’re using anything they’ve learned. You won’t be able to tell they’ve got any training at all. Someone who’s proficient will show a decent level of training. They won’t resort to desperate haymakers or that stereotypical backing up and turning away, dropping their head and hands, stuff like that. They won’t look like Bruce Lee, but to most people, even the untrained eye, it’ll be evident that they’ve got a good idea how to fight. Someone who’s mastered the art should be in full control of the fight the entire time. They don’t have to look flashy and athletic by any means, but if you know what you’re watching, you can easily tell they’re dictating what the opponent is without looking like they’re trying rather than having to fight the other guy’s fight.

Where am I in this pecking order? I’m pretty sure I’m proficient.

Edit: One last way to put proficiency into perspective

A proficient fighter will get the little things right against a higher ranked opponent. He won’t run around like a chicken with his head cut off. He won’t be cornered constantly. He won’t be going into the standing fetal position when punches are thrown at him. He won’t drop his hands and give any easy targets. He’ll stick to the basics and trust the training. He’ll stand his ground. He’ll make mistakes that’ll get picked apart by higher ranks, but he won’t get outright embarrassed by most people. It’ll be obvious that he trains and he’s not throwing that training out when it gets really tough.

Fat Cobra · Green Belt

As a teacher, I believe proficiency means that you are able to show and explain the how AND why behind what you are teaching.

If I can't explain to my students what I am teaching than I am not proficient (e.g., if I can only say, "do it like this" by showing them but don't know the meaning or explanation behind it).

If I can explain it to my students but can't perform it then I am also not proficient.
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Yondan in Ryukyu Kempo
Head of the Shubu Kan Dojo in Carthage, NY
(United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance)

JR 137 · Black Belt

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

This is a tough one. When I was a beginner, I looked to higher ranks, especially the black belts, as being proficient. They made things look so easy.

When I got to that rank myself, I liked to view myself as proficient, but still with a lot to learn (I still feel that way).

As an instructor, being proficient means being able to hold your own at the front of a class, demonstrating, teaching, and helping the students learn the things that they probably assume I make look easy.

I think the quote Bob had from Bruce Lee sums things up quite nicely.
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