Always Be Clear
I met Andrew the first time at a tap dance master class he taught in 2010.
The class was a mixture of people of different ages and different levels, but most of them were teens and tweens who were agile and experienced. As a clumsy adult newbie, I felt really shy and uncomfortable about my inability to keep up. Together with a few others in the same boat, I resigned to hiding at the back of the class as I struggled to figure out what Andrew was doing.
I bet Andrew has met a lot of shy newbies like us. Like a good teacher would, he encouraged us incessantly to come forward to watch and to try. Many times, he would come to the back of the class to break things down in slow motion so we could see the steps. Still, some really shy people would give up and only stood there to watch.
"Don't just watch. Give it a try, even if you cannot get everything. Watching does not improve your skills. Doing does," pleaded Andrew.
At one point, Andrew stopped the class and said the following which I remember to this day:
"Always be clear. Watch carefully what the teachers do and be clear about it. Be clear about what you are doing. Even if you are wrong, be clear that you are wrong and what is wrong about it. This way, you can keep correcting yourself and improve. This is the only way you can learn."
I have since moved from a beginner to an intermediate student. I still have a hard time capturing the steps when I watch demos because the demos now are faster paced. Yet, I always try my best to imitate what I saw -- or, at least, what I think I saw.
The teachings by Andrew Nemr, the renown tap dancer, applies not only to learning tap dancing. It applies to Aikido and pretty much everything else.
Please remember: If you truly want to be good at something, keep doing it and be clear always.
The class was a mixture of people of different ages and different levels, but most of them were teens and tweens who were agile and experienced. As a clumsy adult newbie, I felt really shy and uncomfortable about my inability to keep up. Together with a few others in the same boat, I resigned to hiding at the back of the class as I struggled to figure out what Andrew was doing.
I bet Andrew has met a lot of shy newbies like us. Like a good teacher would, he encouraged us incessantly to come forward to watch and to try. Many times, he would come to the back of the class to break things down in slow motion so we could see the steps. Still, some really shy people would give up and only stood there to watch.
"Don't just watch. Give it a try, even if you cannot get everything. Watching does not improve your skills. Doing does," pleaded Andrew.
At one point, Andrew stopped the class and said the following which I remember to this day:
"Always be clear. Watch carefully what the teachers do and be clear about it. Be clear about what you are doing. Even if you are wrong, be clear that you are wrong and what is wrong about it. This way, you can keep correcting yourself and improve. This is the only way you can learn."
I have since moved from a beginner to an intermediate student. I still have a hard time capturing the steps when I watch demos because the demos now are faster paced. Yet, I always try my best to imitate what I saw -- or, at least, what I think I saw.
The teachings by Andrew Nemr, the renown tap dancer, applies not only to learning tap dancing. It applies to Aikido and pretty much everything else.
Please remember: If you truly want to be good at something, keep doing it and be clear always.
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