08 Nov How do we address challenging training partners?

Hello everyone,

This talk is a great one, not just about rolling with the opposite sex, but all training between all different types of people.  Rener and Eve talk about how there are 4 main undesirable training partners.

1) Smashers, 2) Stenchers, 3) Senseis, and 4) Snipers

I would venture to say that there could be a further breakdown of the Senseis; there could be a sub group called the “Peter Pans”.  These people tend to change the moves they learn, and then become a Sensei  to their new partner.  In fact, what I do see from these practitioners, is that they believe with the limited training time and exposure to the art that they have, they feel they can alter the move in a way that they consider superior to the move being taught.  They are caught in a blind spot.  They obviously appreciate the instruction otherwise they would not train at that school, BUT, it seems that they might have an inherent need and desire to create a power dynamic with their partner under the guise of improvement.

Although the Peter Pans are very well meaning, they do not realize how much harm they might be doing.  They could be decreasing the confidence of the student in the school, the main teachers, and the moves being taught, they are decreasing repetition time by changing and reteaching the move.  After one repetition or less of the move being taught, they will tell their partner to do the move another way (basically pretending they know the real way the move should be done).  I feel for these students, and worry for their improvement since they believe they know the move inside and out so well that they are at master level and have now generated a new way to do the technique or the way they saw an internet star do the move is better (although it may be good, valuable, advanced, and useful, it is not the move being taught).

The best thing to do with these training partners is to politely ask them if you can practice the move being taught at least ten times.  The problem is, that sometimes the Peter Pans will actually try to prevent the person from performing the move being taught, because they know how to prevent the move being taught and the move should be done their way because their variation is basically unstoppable.  Which is not true, or useful.  In fact, it is harmful to both students practice time.  If they continue to behave this way, they should not be chosen as a training partner in the future, and the teacher should be privately made aware that this is the case.