Rant: Can you learn from a video or can't you?

Okay this is more of a rant than a question, but I feel it needs to be said. We can call it ';Common Sense';.(Maybe I'm just blowing my stack because this is over my number 1 pet peeve.)





So can you learn from a video or can't you? Whenever a question about good websites/videos to learn martial arts from comes up, everyone sounds in one big chorus ';CAN'T LEARN FROM A VIDEO OR THE INTERNET!'; Okay. Fair enough. I agree.





But then when someone asks a question of ';I have this guy bugging me. If I have to fight him, how do I do it?'; Suddenly two billion people are up there saying ';Kick him here, and punch him there, and that should show him.'; ';If he tries to hit you, simply side step, and then knee him in the ribs while he's off balance.';





Okay, so what is it? Can you learn from the internet, or can't you? If you can, okay. You have a right to an opinion even if it's the wrong one. But if you say you can't, then don't you think it's a little irresponsible of you to attempt to TEACH over the internet, knowing full well the dangers of a technique learned incorrectly. Especially if you should know better than to think techniques can be properly learned off the internet.





I guess what I'm asking is, why aren't people honest about what they really believe.Rant: Can you learn from a video or can't you?
As far as martial arts and ANY type of remote learning - video, books, articles - goes, I believe the following: once you have a solid foundation of what is being discussed, you can learn remotely. If you do not have a solid foundation in the topic, you can't learn anything effectively.





Simple example:


A. You don't know Brazilian jiujitsu or any basic ground fighting concepts. You try to learn from a video. I promise you, you just won't get it. You can 'learn' all you want from it, but the first time you set foot on a mat you will probably be less far along than a guy who has only been to one or two classes.





B. You know BJJ pretty well. You've been to maybe only a few classes, but you have a good grasp of what is going on. You go look at some videos for new techniques on the internet. You go back to the mat and try to pull them off - you probably won't do well the first few times, but you can work on it with someone and learn it quickly.








Replace ';BJJ'; with any art in that example and you'll find the same result. This isn't just what I believe, but it's also what I've observed for many years.Rant: Can you learn from a video or can't you?
If you have some fitness, power, and speed, along with basic training in some credible art, you can learn from a video. Obviously, the more equipment you have at your disposal (heavy bag, uppercut bag, punch dummy,


thai bag, double ended bag, mook jong, speed/reflex/power timer, etc.) the better you will be with solitary training.
jesse's right. before i started bjj i tried videos to get better but couldn't understand them. i tried to use them the first day and got beat up.then after a few lessons i can do them ok,but still made mistakes. now im pretty good and could understand videos the first time i see them. so videos can help u but only after u have done training or classes
I won't say that you can learn it but I will say that it can be used to guide you when you have a question... Like which way is my foot supposed to be facing during this move of my kata??? Youtube.com could be helpful for this situation... But the testing over the internet and stupid stuff like that is all bogus...
Just like anything else you can learn a lot by watching the pros and doing what they do. People who disagree mostly just wont give a way other then learning in the dojo (which is my method don't get me wrong) just like them a shot.
for the most part, the people who say 'you can't learn from a video/book/website, aren't the ones saying 'do this this then this.'


the people saying that are the ones suggesting books and links and videos.
You can learn things from a video such as motions, techniques and training methods, but nothing will ever replace strict the training and discipline you get from training in a gym.
Of course you can learn but only up to a point.There is nothing like hands on experience. It's like sex.You can tell somebody all day about what it's like but until you experience it you dont really know.
You need to look more at who's answering the questions.


Most experianced ma people won't give advice on beating someone up.


it goes against the pricipals of martial arts.


The ones that say kick him here, are mostly the children on here
a question can be answered from a link, but true learning is going to involve an aspect of the teacher teaching specific lessons to a specific student.
I know that many don't agree but I do believe that even a total beginner can learn from video.
hello,





the question is ';what can you actually learn from the internet or a dvd?';





well, a lot actually. the problem is that most of the stuff put on video isn't being taught properly, EVEN IF EXECUTED PROPERLY.





with that said, most videos instructionals are intended as reference material for those already training with said method. therefore, it is assumed that the primary audience will already have some knowledge of at least the mechanical fundamentals of whatever method is being taught.





still, many (possibly MOST) of the videos on the net are teaching things incorrectly (a good example of this is bjj - don daly on expert village). you allude to the irresponsibility of attempting to teach over the interent... well... if you don't know how to teach, it is irresponsible of you to do so no matter the medium... internet, in person...





a crappy instructor is a crappy instructor no matter WHERE they teach.





as to your question about asking strangers on the interenet for advice on how to fight... well... who here thinks that is a smart thing to do?





why can't people be honest about what they really believe? this is a subject thing, neh?





you can't assume you know what anyone believes, despite the things they say. people tend to be straight about what they believe, they just don't always approach subjects with a critical mind. this leads to opinions that are made without due consideration of the material at hand.





this isn't necessarily a crime... just be aware that even those who mean well don't always ';get it right';.





does this make sense?





thanks
I don't think people are being intentionally dishonest about this. I think the difference is that many people consider martial arts more of a ';craft'; than just beating some random guy up.





If you want to learn martial arts, then it's important to respect that there is more to it than just the motions. There's discipline and mental toughness involved, and I don't think those come across very well over online videos.





You CAN learn a lot of things from videos, but not everything.
Lex,





A person can learn from watching a video. We have the ability as humans to visualize and process what we see and read. here's an example: when your watch something on TV no matter what it is. whether it a cooking show or a arm bar from a ufc fight, we all have the ability to retrieve what we want and store it into our memory and if you continue to repeat the move or how to cook a turkey with stuffing over and over then you learned something and our most likely really good at it. so please don't let these closed minded idiots tell you that you can't ... lex thats was a very good question,