Practical Vs. Theory

You go to school and study something and then you go into the real world and find out that most often things are not like they are in theory. This is the case in most fields of study. Medicine, Law, Mechanics, Cooking and Fighting. In martial arts, so many practitioners get got up in how things are supposed to work. I see guys over thinking and talking about what they think will and won't work. I am of the mind set of learning through doing. I don't think about strategies and pre plans in combat. I believe in having an open mind and being adaptable to the situation. There is no specific way you have to do anything. There is no script to how things will play out. You figure it out through doing and then you use that experience to build on. When choosing a surgeon, patients will ask for referrals to find a doctor who has the experience and reputation to make them comfortable. When you look for a builder to redesign your home, they usually come through referrals. These let you know that they have experience. You usually don't go for the new inexperienced guy. In martial arts, I am amazed that people will join a martial arts school with the intention of learning how to fight from instructors who have never fought. These same consumers will go to the barber shop and ask for a Master Barber. They don't go to the barber school for the free cuts from the up and coming barber. Now it would make sense to get free lessons from the new martial arts instructor with zero fighting experience. But, a lot of people pay a lot of money to somebody who has some stripes on his belts and no fights. I'm not saying that one can't find quality instruction from such a guy. But, in most cases I would never let somebody with less experience at doing what I'm trying to learn teach me anything. I've they don't have the practical experience, neither should you.