Shinobi Martial Arts in Plaistow NH | Learn Ninjutsu Self Defense | 603-382-9456

I heard some martial arts students speaking about an instructor at a recent event in our area. The comments ranged from how amazing he was to how dangerous he was as a fighter. But as I watched them work out it was obvious they were having difficulty with the material being taught.

I watched as their teacher demonstrated over and over for them to no avail. He was a strong athletic person and his students were trying to do exactly what he was doing but they were not all strong and athletic. Some of them could simply not physically do what their teacher could.

Martial arts instruction for self protection has to adapt to the student. It has to meet their needs and capabilities. I’m not talking about lowering standards, I’m talking about presenting and adapting principles to meet the understanding of each student. It has to work for them.

The ability to adapt martial arts concepts to individual needs is rare. Most instructors just follow a set of memorized techniques and teach their students to do the same. If you look at it from a business point of view you can understand that it is much easier to force everyone to do the same thing then to provide customized teaching to each and every student.

My teacher Mark Davis helps us to take apart the art and understand why it works. He does this with each of us in a way that makes sense to us. Each of us is very different.

Mr. Hayes did this with an entire art when he created To-Shin Do to help make ninjutsu principles more understandable for our society. Dr. Hatsumi did too when he added the concept of nagare or flow to our system to deal with the larger foreigners training in the art.

All great teachers adapt their presentations for the student so that it works for them. The art only lives on if it can be passed down so the next generation understands.