Huh!

When driving on the freeway, you never notice the number of PT Cruisers on the road until you buy one, then you notice one everywhere you look. You have never paid any attention to the mole on your arm until you see a television show about moles that are precursors to cancer, now you look at the mole on your arm many times every day. There is so much information around us that we tend to ignore all of it except that in which we have a piqued interest.

While in training, students of the martial arts are hammered with the same phrases, theories, claims, etc. repeatedly. Their minds tend to gloss over and they perform as zombies, regurgitating the standard gibberish as if it were the truth. To help them break out of this cycle, students need to have a seed doubt planted in their minds so they may begin looking around and seeing new things or seeing the routine things in a new light. As the students begin to question the status quo of their teachings, the seed of doubt may grow into a total rejection of the status quo or into a rejection of just a part of the status quo or it may grow into more support for the status quo. TKDTutor tries to implant these seeds of doubt.

Status quo is insidious; it infects your mind through constant exposure. Think about some of the names of popular locations or businesses in your city or town. You have heard the names all your life, but if you are similar to most people, you do not think about the actual names, where they came from, or what they mean; you just repeat the names without conscious thought. If you ever have cause to consider the names, many times they do not make sense.
After each class, martial arts students should stop and consider what they just learned, not just blindly accept it because the “master” said it. During their consideration, they should:

• Consider the source. Look at the credentials of the source; for more information on this, read this link. Even if the information is coming from a credible source, do not blindly accept it. Many famous, important, and highly educated people have far-fetched ideas and beliefs that are so far out of the mainstream that they are borderline psychotic
  
• Question the source to see if the information may be stated clearer or more proof offered.
  
• Consider what other credible people have said about the same subject.
  
• Consider whether the information is logical, reasonable, and makes common sense.
  
• Consider the science surrounding the subject.
  

TKDTutor encourages students of any martial art who are told something that does not make common sense to stop and say “Huh!” and then research the subject.