On Expectations, part 3

Continuing along on the topic of expectations, I want to touch upon some of what a student ought to be able to expect at a practice from their teacher. This is only part of that total list, but they are critical parts-- without them, nothing else will be enough to make the practice worth your time.

Expect to be told what to do.

If you are a newer fencer, you really shouldn't have too much unstructured or unsupervised time at a practice. Even if you do spar, it should be under specific conditions with explicit goals, and you should be sparring with someone in a teacher or teaching assistant role. 

This is important, because you simply won't know what to do otherwise and you'll end up ingraining errors that take tremendous effort to unlearn. If you are at a practice where you aren't given direct instructions on how to spend your time, consider that a red flag.

Expect to be told how to do it.

It's ok to have temporary confusion or miscommunication. If anyone ever figures out how to be totally clear all the time, please, tell me! But, as a newer fencer, while you might not always understand instructions right away, your teacher should be working hard to ensure that you know exactly how to do what it is they've told you to do. 

"Take the initiative more" is not good advice. It explains a consequence, not a process for achieving it.

"Make sure to form a counterposture out of measure, then find their sword on the outside as you begin to advance. Feint an extension to cover your step into wide measure, then lunge or cavazione as appropriate to their response" gives a clearer picture of how to put an opponent into obedience. It may have some jargon and associated techniques, but you'll have learned those beforehand. 

The former example can be useful, but only to someone who has already internalized all of the processes for how to do that. Otherwise, it's a recipe for frustration as the "teacher" gives "directions" that the student can't follow. Imagine, in such a case the student is often blamed and called unreceptive!

Expect to be told how you're doing.

Improving without evaluation is exceptionally difficult. If you have a healthy attitude and a good guide, all feedback can be useful as some kind of data point, even if you need help interpreting it. Importantly, at a good practice you'll get steady feedback about what's being done well and what needs improvement-- and how. You'll be told if the problem is the result of a flaw in technique, where you did the right thing in the wrong way, or if the problem is the result of a flaw in strategy, where you did the wrong thing and the way mattered less.

Evaluation doesn't need to be stressful. If it's treated as formative (a check-in, more or less) by both the teacher and student, any evaluation is fuel for improvement. 

Expect for these statements to always be true.

These are really always true and need to be accepted as an ongoing reality. I recently reread the Fabris manual and got more out of it than I did on my first, second, or even eighth reading 16 years ago. I am always finding new bits and pieces as I continue to study rapier fencing, and I expect this will always be the case. 

If you're a moderate teacher with a fair amount of experience, you'll have to come to terms with your ego and still be willing to learn from experts. It's how you get better: it's not possible to teach someone beyond your own knowledge and skill. You owe it to your students to keep learning so they don't stagnate either. 

If you start your journey in a good environment with a healthy approach, you will be better equipped to guide others along, to say nothing of how much further you will go. You owe it to yourself to keep learning, too.