Everywhere you look, colleges are advertising distance learning programs. Let’s face it, in today’s highly technical, intensely demanding society, who really has the time to maintain a family, hold down a full time job, and go to school full time? The answer is nobody. Enter distance learning. This increasingly popular trend allows the student tremendous flexibility on an unprecedented level. Distance learning has opened up educational opportunities across the globe, and students never have to leave home.

I use the collegiate example because of its proven effectiveness. Yes, there are pros and cons to distance learning, but there are also pros and cons to a traditional classroom setting as well. It’s strictly up to the individual student’s learning capabilities and the competency of the instructor to determine the quality of the educational experience.

The martial arts too have become a major source for distance learning opportunities. Martial artists now have access to nearly every style imaginable on a global basis. Good or bad? Much depends on the instructor. If they are a great teacher, then chances are they will offer a great distance learning opportunity. If they are a bad teacher, then the instruction will be poor. In person, or on video, the quality martial arts instructors will always shine. And the bad instructors can’t fake it.

Before we go any further, please keep in mind that learning physical techniques is only one very small part of the martial arts. The majority of what the martial arts are all about have little to do with physical techniques, and those things cannot be learned from a video. What I mean by that is videos, just like heavy bags, don’t hit back. To really understand a technique, you must have it applied to you hundreds of times, and you in turn must apply it hundreds of times yourself. Additionally, applying a technique on a willing partner is dramatically different from trying to do it in a free fight scenario. I reiterate, videos do not hit back. They will give you “book knowledge” not practical application knowledge. It is through the practical application and the path to that knowledge where the springboard from which you begin your lifelong journey in the martial arts can be found. In order to walk the path and gain true personal insight and understanding of what the martial arts really mean to the self and to all, you must truly be a part of it physically, emotionally and spiritually. But if you’re just simply looking to learn how to bend, twist, punch, kick or throw someone and are not looking to become part of something much larger than yourself, then distance learning may be the right thing for you. Remember that just because you may know a few martial arts techniques, that does not by any stretch of the imagination make you a martial artist.

Having said all of that, let’s focus on the positives of distance learning. It offers the experienced martial artist the opportunity to add additional techniques to their existing skill set. I use the term experienced martial artist because they already have a foundation to build upon. A solid base knowledge of martial arts technique is required to truly get the most out of distance learning. The programs can actually be a valuable learning tool if used as a supplement to an established training regimen.

Distance learning is here to stay, so we might as well accept that. Don’t waste everyone’s time whining about it either, the martial arts are the definition of adaptation, so accept distance learning as a new tool and in the true spirit of the martial arts figure out for yourself the best way you can use it to your advantage. One possible example of utilizing distance learning to our advantage may be illustrated as follows. With the rise to popularity of MMA style tournaments, the need for cross-training has been overwhelmingly proven to be an absolute necessity. Martial artists can no longer say that their style is best, because it has been proven beyond any doubt that the best fighting style is a combination of many styles. This alone creates a fantastic niche for the distance learning industry. Most places on earth do not offer championship quality instruction or theory on striking, submission grappling, and wrestling in a single location. Distance learning allows the modern-day martial artist to pick and choose instruction from some of the best martial artists in the world. And they can learn on their own time at their own pace. The techniques can be studied over and over again, in slow motion if needed.

Nothing should ever, or can ever, take the place of hands on, in person qualified instruction. But distance learning definitely has it’s place and that place is going to be different for each martial artist.