Stay Hungry, My Friends

by Cori Tyler

Nature abhors a vacuum.  That’s one of those phrases we've heard for years.  Have you ever thought about that?  Wherever there’s nothingness, it’s either a bad thing, or nature scrambles to fill that void.  When it comes to self-defense training, I think there are two kinds of vacuums we might find.  The first is pretty obvious.  It’s simply a complete lack of training.  Nothing learned for one’s own survival.  The other vacuum, in my opinion, is stagnation.  Failing to continue learning, growing, improving, and moving forward is just as bad as failing to prepare in the first place.

In fact, I think that second vacuum is more dangerous to us than the first.  Another word for stagnation is complacency.  Both of them are no good for self-defense.  When we grow complacent, we become lazy.  We take shortcuts that we should never be OK with.  We forget why we avoided those shortcuts in the first place; why we chose to prepare at all.  With this, we can undo all of the work we may have previously done, while still believing ourselves to be more prepared than the person living in the other vacuum – with nothingness.

False confidence can be a killer, or at least an ass-kicker.  Either way, it’s stupid, and stupid hurts.  I’ve been kicking around long enough to know that hurting might be one way of knowing you’re still alive, but it might also be a sign you’ve done something worth reconsidering.  In the interest of working smarter, not harder, I think that’s a pretty sound path.

One of the challenges of being an instructor, especially in an area as remote as ours, is providing for one’s own ongoing training.  It’s easy to teach the courses I’ve been teaching for years, and feeling like I’m on top of my game because I can easily answer students’ questions.  The problem is, I’m not faced with a differing perspective, knowledge beyond my own experience, or even from a different cultural perspective.

I broke out of that rut a little bit a week ago when I spent the weekend learning hand, stick, knife, and gun combatives with Hock Hochheim.  We hosted this two-day seminar, and I couldn’t be gladder for the opportunity.  Previously, the last time I was a self-defense student – on paper, at least – was at an instructor recertification in 2012.  Of course, all that did was recite what I’d been using, and teaching, for years.  The intent was that I be able to pass a test at the end of the recertification course.

I believe I’ve mentioned how I feel about the goal of a class being to pass a test at the end.

So, that was little more than practicing the old stuff, from the old perspectives.  That means the last time I was learning something new, from a different instructor’s perspective, it was Summer, 2010.  FOUR YEARS AGO!!!  I hadn't even realized.  Talk about stagnation.  Talk about a major, sucking vacuum in my knowledge, skills, and abilities.  Shame on me!  For shaaame!!!

There was once a time when I lived in a place that I could get fresh practice and training a couple of times a week.  It really was a self-defense Utopia.  I miss that.  It just isn't an option out here, on the edge of the prairie, where it literally – not figuratively – snows three days before Easter Sunday.  Not only is there no practical opportunity within 75 or so miles but the money for it, and for that drive, just isn't there.  It’s up to me to find ways to stay fresh.  Now, I realize it and pledge to do all I can toward that end.

Last weekend, I encountered philosophies on combatives strategy that were different from what I’ve followed and preached for years.  I encountered preferences in technique, and differences of opinion that gave me some real food for thought.  In fact, I found so many different views, new (to me) ideas, that I’ve been mulling them over ever since.

And . . . I love it!!!

Along with getting a lot to think about, I also came away with a lot to practice, break down, examine, and digest.  With these added tools, I will be that much better prepared.  With practice and understanding, I’ll become a better instructor, as I become a better student.  And you know what?

I really missed being trained.  I miss it again already.

I know now that I must keep finding these opportunities to improve myself, keep my skills fresh, and learn to practice more effectively.  Now that I got a fresh taste, I’m hungry for more.