Saturday, January 25, 2014

Transmission of Knowledge



Imagine that you aspire to be a TENNIS STAR
(and let’s say you have unlimited resources).

Where would you go for your training ?
Would who be the best trainer or coach ?
Who has the best knowledge; and who might
have the rare ability to teach (or transmit)
that knowledge to someone else ?

It has been proven that the best way to learn
something is to learn it from someone who
already has that knowledge.

So let’s say you use your best resources
to obtain John McEnroe as your coach--
tee, hee. McEnroe can probably speed you
through the training in ways the YMCA
just can’t. Five years of training (without
injury) under the tutelage of a great
master will skyrocket almost anyone’s
skill.

How did McEnroe become the world's
number one champion ? His coach was
Harry Hopman, a world-acclaimed coach.

And how did Alberto Tomba, a rich kid from
the city of Bologna, become the best ski
racer in the world ? His dad hired the ski
racing legend Gustavo Thoeni.

Was Mike Tyson destined to become the
greatest boxer of all time ? Or was his
skill carefully developed by his amazing
coach, Cus D'Amato ?

Some of the very best skiers I know
cannot teach a damn thing to someone
else.  I don’t shame them for it. They
just don’t know how to teach.

Of course, Venus and Serena Williams
learned tennis from their dad, who was
not a premier coach--
so not all stars are created by another star.

And there are lots of other variables.
Most people do no become tennis stars,
nor do they have the resources.

This blog is about the transmission
of knowledge. Because that’s what
they call it in the internal martial arts.

If you want to learn something, go find
the best teacher you can. If you want to
learn Tai Chi and martial arts, go see
Grandmaster Fu.

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