"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" - Danny Corr ZKJ (February 14, 2007)
Usually when this is said it ironically refers to someone who tries to gain attention by copying someone else's original ideas. Fortunately for us fighting types we cannot or should not ever lay claim to originality unless we are misinformed, misguided or a downright ego maniac.
This being said there are those who have went before us who have guided us in the right direction or wrong one for that matter, who should be given the proper credit. We must also never loose sight of the fact that our aim should not be to merely imitate our teachers but to be better than them. Surely thats what any good coach wants for their students.
If after 20 years or so the biggest test of your skills phsyically and mentally entail you drilling up and down a hall or even worse drilling a class up and down the hall just as your teacher had done then surely you have done your teacher and yourself a grave disservice.
Its a natural, albeit lazy trait that man always follows in the footsteps made by others in the spirit of imitation, however there is a famous saying that "imitation is suicide" which I believe means if you do nothing more than what you were taught then surely your skill will die through no-ones fault but your own.
Its always easy to blame our teachers for our own shortcomings but look at the knowledge we now have at our fingertips which our poor internet free teachers of 20 years ago didn't. I am not just talking about the reems of information available on the fighting arts, I am referring to sports science, child development and protection and downright sharing of knowledge of what works and what doesn't. If we choose to ignore it because it doesn't fit with the past then shame on us. Afterall its true that experience is not what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you you that counts.
In my own upbringing in the world of karate most of the ideas and methods were imposed on myself and all those who wanted to learn, to the extent that any originality of thought was lost or caged away and for years I personally got lost in an even more watered down form of imitation. But as I said already I am the guilty one if I don't learn from that and encourage thought and development from the experiences I have had.
Another problem that attempted imitation throws up is that trying to do just as our teacher did is virtually impossible. No-one is the same so trying to emulate the accomplishment or mastery of someone you reverred will undoutably end in failure or at least will give you a lifetime of blurred thoughts of your own personal views and ideas. I am not saying that all imitation is bad but imitation without further thought and development is dangerous and counterproductive. Machiavelli gave good advice when he said "behave like those archers who, if they are skilful, when the target seems too distant, know the capabilities of their bow and aim a good deal higher, not in order just to shoot high but so that by aiming high they can reach their target".
So to sum up, in essence there is nothing wrong with imitation as long you progress further with that carbon copy with your own ideas and those of those who are outstanding in that field and give credit to those who really helped you and not those who you may think will look better on your Martial CV.
"Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds. I may be given credit for having blazed the trail, but when I look at the subsequent developments I feel the credit is due to others rather than myself" -Alexander Bell
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