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I've studied iaido for five years, and practiced a variety of styles under one teacher (that's how much my words are worth). In general, parries, blocks and deflections are done with the side or the back of the sword. It provides a very convenient yin/yang balance to the movements, where you can draw from your opponent's strike and smoothly deflect it, then ...

Videos don't teach technique Learning from videos is just not an effective way of learning technique. It can work, but it's wildly inefficient and can produce bad habits. One of the primary reasons to avoid video-based learning is that without an excellent feedback system (e.g. great training partners at home, or near-daily practice where you test the ...

I've found videos very helpful when I already knew a particular technique (or especially a form), and very unhelpful when I did not. On those occasions when I became stuck and couldn't remember the next move in a form, it was great to see a video of someone practicing the form in the exact manner I was taught. I have a video set from one of my sifu's ...

IMO observing techniques, even if from other styles, is more helpful than harmful. Of course you should be able to find techniques from whatever style you practice, assuming a reasonably well-known style. "Should" you practice another style's techniques before "mastering" your own? That's a separate issue, and it depends entirely upon your goals. Would I ...

Japanese martial arts traditionally do not block. The theory is Evade and Strike. An easy way to consider this is to look at the footwork. In Aikido, your hanmi is not a strong stance to block, but it's a great stance for moving and evading. With this mindset, I have trouble believing that there is a proper "Block". I can't think of any time I've been ...

I'm a beginner at Aikido as well. Personally I find looking at lots of videos and reading lots of books very enjoyable, and pretty helpful, particularly when it comes to remembering the Japanese names for attacks, techniques, etc. (for our 5th kyu we have to do 9 arts from 2 attacks omote and ura, so that's 36 combinations to nail down). From reading ...

YouTube may be a valuable tool in learning how to do something (much like this site), but that will vary depending on the student and the teacher. I don't know much about the variance of aikido styles, but I know that there are hundreds of different kung fu styles. While some fundamental movements may be similar or the same, there are lots of different ...

I've never heard of a good instructor (of any subject) recommending students not learn something. There's nothing wrong with watching youtube videos to get different technique ideas. Unless you engage in serious 'offline' training, though, you're not actually 'learning' them. Just learning that they exist. I just dont see what the issue is - if you show ...

Northern styles have more legwork, acrobatics, and jumping moves. Contrastly, Southern Chinese kung fu systems focus more on short moves and stable stances. Actually, that describes the differences between the unarmed techniques, to an extent the weapons forms are the other way around. The way I heard it (at least 20 years ago, and I have forgotten the ...

A good part of the answer seems to genetics, distance, and culture. Northern Chinese people are, on average, inches taller than people of Southern China. Body breadth, skin coloring, and other patterns of physicality are often cited as being clearly different North to South. Different physical builds naturally lead toward different athletic expressions. ...

Geography, population differences, influences, etc. Same reasons everything is different over space. For example, one reason I've heard is that southern styles were influenced by ship-board fighting, for which large, sweeping moves are contra-indicated, and short, stable stances are a necessity because of deck motion. Oceans in the south, mountains in the ...

Not to take away from any of the other answers here, but I would like to add another perspective. I think visiting other dojos and watching videos is something that everyone must do at some point in their martial arts career. The question is what is the right time? In my opinion, it is about the time you are a nidan or a sandan (2nd or 3rd degree black ...

My teachers also object to learning from videos, because they say one should learn in class, during training. I, for one, disagree. I think videos can be a great resource because they show you exactly what should be done, not what you remember from what the instructor has said should be done. They allow you to see the details of the movement, and you can ...