Semi-interestingly, my MMA school taught that it’s best for the punch to arrive before the leading foot lands so that the punch carries your full weight. Many people at advanced levels weren’t aware of this because we did not introduce it right away—if you try to do this before learning a few other details (and building strength), you run a risk of hurting your wrist by punching too hard.
Yep, and to spell out the general case: there are techniques you shouldn’t use unless you’re confident you can use them correctly, because they do not degrade gracefully. Often these techniques aren’t taught unless the instructor is reasonably sure the student has the other pieces to use it well.
As a note of pedagogy I usually prefer when the teachers says something like “This is the basic way to do it, and we’re going to practice this first. If you’re unsure, do it this way. We might get into variations later.”
Semi-interestingly, my MMA school taught that it’s best for the punch to arrive before the leading foot lands so that the punch carries your full weight. Many people at advanced levels weren’t aware of this because we did not introduce it right away—if you try to do this before learning a few other details (and building strength), you run a risk of hurting your wrist by punching too hard.
Yep, and to spell out the general case: there are techniques you shouldn’t use unless you’re confident you can use them correctly, because they do not degrade gracefully. Often these techniques aren’t taught unless the instructor is reasonably sure the student has the other pieces to use it well.
As a note of pedagogy I usually prefer when the teachers says something like “This is the basic way to do it, and we’re going to practice this first. If you’re unsure, do it this way. We might get into variations later.”