Respect the man, challenge the material.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012 Filed in: Techniques & Training, Personal opinions

I received a couple of critical emails in regard to last week's post about the double tap and its applicability to realistic defensive training. The gist of both, and sadly predictable, was that I wasn't fit to polish the boots of Jeff Cooper, who was an advocate of the practice.

My reply: one can question an opinion without being insolent to the person who holds it. As individuals we should do so, but as teachers we must.

I then referred them to an article called "Respectful Irreverence" by Rob Pincus, which I first read in 2008 and which marked a turning point in my outlook on the training world. It's a classic that deserves a few minutes of your time to read.

Just because I happen to disagree with someone doesn’t mean that I don’t admire them or appreciate their contributions to the field. At the same time, I don’t engage in hero worship - it is not conducive to independent, critical thought.

-=[ Grant ]=-

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