Posts made in December, 2009

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I started breakdancing around half a year ago.  When I started, being way more reckless and trying to show off with very limited technical ability, I was the student that nearly fell on my face many times, asked maybe one too many stupid questions and overall brought elements of mucho-randomness into the class.

The teacher was a high energy, high powered guy who plowed through us students, technique after technique after technique, always giving us the best he had, the methods he used to teach was just crazy… basically a non-stop hour and a half lesson, maybe 20 seconds on the basics (six-step, Brooklyn style top rock) straight to ass-whooping knee-twisting, elbow-bending madness that usually led to increased awesomeness in everybody involved.

I had a great time, attended every class until… the teacher retired.  Now, it was a funny time when he left, because I strongly felt that it was just when I was at my peak of learning, just when I was getting good.   There was another teacher that subbed sometimes and he took over.  It wasn’t the same, he focused way more on the basics, which was awesome because I had none, but he didn’t really “LOVE” breakdancing, his preference was more about locking, tutting and waving. 

When someone who LOVES what they do, and is so grateful about getting to teach you, it shows.  It changes things.  And when that person is obviously all about encouraging you to be unique, to follow him, but only to a certain point because he knows you need to do your own thing to shine, that’s something else.  Now that’s not to take away from the basics teacher, but sometimes in your life you meet someone who just blows you away with their awesomeness, and that’s the guy I’m talking about today.

After one particularly disappointing class with the replacement teacher, where I basically was not taught anything at all, I didn’t come to any more breakdancing classes.  Granted, every other class aside from that one class the teacher was technically awesome, so I really should let it slide.  But for me, I feel like for some things, for massive improvement (which is what I’m often all about), I have to feel that connection with my teacher in order to learn amazingly.
   
I don’t think I’m alone in this. This is basically how a super good teacher who encourages the heck out of you to be the most unique and best you can be brings everything out of you and then some, and can even inspire you to get into the flow.  A “good” teacher only teaches you what’s necessary to get the job done.  That’s the energy you get from them.  You have to go with their flow, you have to go with their preference.  You get the vibe from them that they feel that “their time is valuable”, they only have so much time for you… that everybody’s got a role to play, that everybody’s got an agenda.  You hear vague excuses from these “teachers” of how “it obviously takes longer to grow in area x or y, or that something can’t be done or they don’t have the energy…”.  

Today that amazing teacher came again.  The class was phenomenal, it was so good, I took my dance not only in breakdance to a new level but felt that every single movement of my body improved just about 10, 000 x higher.  As I breakdanced today, I was completely in the flow, I had many compliments from the man himself about how I improved massively since he last saw me. Well, that’s definitely true, but what he didn’t realize was my massive improvement came to shine through on that day, heavily inspired by him.  Everything else before was just a set-up.

So I guess if you want to get amazing at anything, simply do what’s obvious.  Get an amazing teacher.  Simple enuff