A journey of discovery

Thought Provoking Process

by Tuhon Uli Weidle, November 2018

Armadong Kali is a martial arts system with simple guidelines:

1. Attack before defence
2. No idle hand, no idle feet
3. Thought provoking process 

Each of these guidelines has important practical implications for the performance of the system and each one will be discussed in a separate article. The article you are currently reading focuses on the Thought Provoking Process (TPP).

Thought Provoking Process in Filipino Martial Arts

The first time I was practically exposed to Thought Provoking Process teaching was when I started exploring Filipino Martial Arts. By that point, I had already spent 15 years training in martial arts, mainly in karate, kickboxing, Wing Chun and Western boxing.

My reason for training in Filipino Martial Arts was to learn a pragmatic way to defend myself against knives or sticks. I did not expect to be exposed to a new way of thinking that would change the way I perceived the world.

Responsible for this change was what my FMA mentor called teaching by thought provoking process: His method differs from other teaching methods in that he does not give the students forms or movement sequences as ready-made solutions. Instead, the system should be taught by letting students experience practical situations in a safe and controlled environment. In this process, the teacher's purpose is to help the students penetrate the task, find initial answers, further refine their questions and encourage them to remain active in the search for better answers.

When the Thought-Provoking Process is used as a teaching method, a person actually discovers and validates the system by their own personal experience and logic. In this process the teacher's purpose is to help the students to further refine their questions and to inspire them to remain active in the search for better answers.

Form vs. Thought: The Quest for Better Training

The opposite of teaching by thought provoking process is teaching by forms (kata, poomse, drills,…). Teaching by giving the students prefabricated solutions (solo forms or two-person sets) is quite common in Martial Arts all over the world. In fact while writing this article I can only think of Western Boxing and Western Wrestling as examples of well-known martial systems, that do not use this type of forms. 

So it seems forms are the predominant teaching method in most well-known martial arts schools. And there are reasons for this: One reason is, that teaching forms is easy. No matter how small or large the training group, even if they are disinterested: if instructors have a set pattern, form or drill, they will always be able to teach. Another reason why forms are often used is that learning a form provides students a strong sense of accomplishment: "I've memorised it" – "Yes, I've got it". Learning and repeating forms is convenient and sometimes weirdly satisfying. I jokingly refer to that as the Nike effect: "just do it" (no need to think).

Using TPP keeps the system alive and valid 

When the system is taught through a thought-provoking process, each generation of students not only reconstructs the system, but actually they verify its truthfulness. As a result the teaching process keeps the system alive and valid. Teaching by thought-provoking impulses causes students to discover for themselves. This gives the student the pride and confidence of having accomplished constructing their own system.

The use of thought-provoking teaching is a very effective tool, but it also has some disadvantages. 

One of these disadvantages is that the results depend heavily on the quality of the mentor-mentee relationship. Each lesson requires a high level of commitment and honesty, especially from the teacher, but also from the student. Thought-provoking teaching only works well in small groups if it is possible to respond to the individual. In fact, this is the main reason why I prefer to teach Armadong Kali in small groups.

It is a journey of self-discovery

Thought provoking training is actually a learning process: it is a journey of self-discovery. It requires courage, confidence and determination.

It is about realising that you are a unique and precious original. You must take care of yourself. You have the ability to do so!

Sometimes it seems like there are no easy answers: maybe it is because we are asking the wrong questions?

Sometimes there is frustration: our training, based on our own experience, intelligence and logic, enables us to transform our frustration and our anger into constructive action.

About finding courage for everyday life

Training through thought provocation is about finding the courage for everyday life.

Who do you want to be now?

How do you want to be in the future?

Armadong Kali and teaching through discovery will empower you to find your answers. 

Tuhon Uli Weidle 

Nov 7, 2018