Concepts versus Technique

Martial arts is always changing. This is good. There’s no improvement without change, and I’m certain most folks in the martial arts community want to see improvement.
One aspect that always comes under scrutiny is the notion of concepts versus technique. Some coaches argue for teaching conceptually – these folks explain things globally and how everything connects to everything else. Others argue for technique – drillers make killers is the cliche in that crowd.
The good news is both methods work – do either one long enough and students will improve. I’m not sure there’s any clear evidence one works better than the other though proponents of both camps are certainly willing to shout (in a mostly kind way) about how right they are.
My two cents is that for beginners, concepts are difficult to grasp because they have no context. That is to say, you can precisely and cleverly describe the idea of how to use frames and it might help some – and you probably as a coach should mention the concept behind the specific technique – but initial learning is probably best served with concrete techniques lightly sprinkled with concepts.
On the flip side of that, the further a student gets into training, the more concepts are important – but that’s no excuse to neglect technique and small corrections. Conceptual understanding usually arises from learning individual moves and connecting them together.
Maybe that’s a lazy conclusion, but there it is. Teach techniques and teach concepts. They not only work well together – I truly think both are required for functional martial arts.