Shared vision: Teaching technique is one thing, teaching an overall vision of the sport is another. When I work with my advanced students we constantly talk about our own approach to the sport. Any technique we learn is done so in the broader context of that vision. One day I will get the time to outline exactly what that vision is to a wider audience – but I am sure the more astute observers can look at the work of my students and make a good guess already. When there is a general vision that a team follows I find the optimal training environment develops – students can express their individuality in technique while showing their allegiance through conformity to that broad vision and its principles. My role as coach thus has two main areas. The first is technical – the refinement of existing technique and development of new systems to maximize their effectiveness. The second is directional – to give those techniques and systems a guiding philosophy that creates a group of students who have their individual differences, but also a recognizable similarity that's suggests a lineage and a particular approach to the game that stands out for the norm. Here, eddie cummings and myself make observations of the next opponent at EBI 10 as Mr Cummings gets ready for another match. When he goes onstage he will be ready to express more than technique- he will be trying to express a philosophy that we all share.
