Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.

Caveat: This article is mine and mine alone. I the author of this article assure you, the reader, that any of the opinions expressed here are my own and are a result of the way in which my meandering mind interprets a particular situation and/or concept. The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of other martial arts and/or conflict/violence professionals or authors of source materials. It should be quite obvious that the sources I used herein have not approved, endorsed, embraced, friended, liked, tweeted or authorized this article. (Everything I think and write is true, within the limits of my knowledge and understanding. Oh, and just because I wrote it and just because it sounds reasonable and just because it makes sense, does not mean it is true.) 

Please make note that this article/post is my personal analysis of the subject and the information used was chosen or picked by me. It is not an analysis piece because it lacks complete and comprehensive research, it was not adequately and completely investigated and it is not balanced, i.e., it is my personal view without the views of others including subject experts, etc. Look at this as “Infotainment rather then expert research.” This is an opinion/editorial article/post meant to persuade the reader to think, decide and accept or reject my premise. It is an attempt to cause change or reinforce attitudes, beliefs and values as they apply to martial arts and/or self-defense. It is merely a commentary on the subject in the particular article presented.

Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.

“There are those that know who do, there are those who understand who teach, there are those who know and understand then there are those who did it and who do not do it now but still teach. Some think that it is about those who can, do; those who can’t, teach but they forget those who can, did, and teach even if they can do, they chose not to do and still teach. 

What this is about is that old maxim of, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” It is because this maxim is totally inaccurate because there are so many who can, who do and who did; all dependent on how one approaches and does that thing. There are people who do something well who can do that something for a living but make a conscious decision to not do that something for a living. Often, they do that something well, they can do it, but choose to do it for the pure pleasure of doing that something, while some will assume that people who are not able to do that something will still make a living by teaching, something. That is ludicrous, to do something whether for teaching or for doing you still have to have some level of knowledge and some ability of doing that something in order to do either. 

Often what I find to be true is one person will present this statement from a perspective and understanding that is nonexistent in regard to what it is someone can do vs. someone who can’t as a means to encourage them in a negative way through suppositions to force one to do something or not do something. 

Example: I am so discourages. My teacher said my attempt at writing a story is hopeless. Person: Don’t listen to that teacher, remember that those who can do, do; those who cannot do, teach. Pure unadulterated bullshit. On the surface it sounds good, a good sound bite but in reality it is a controlling verbal negative given often by those who are trying to self-sooth and promote their own agenda’s. 

In my life I have experienced many who can do, who teach, yet who shouldn’t teach simply because although they are highly proficient in what the can do they are not highly proficient in teaching - anything. Granted, those who cannot do may not want to be a teacher but in reality they could be a teacher and a doer, just not very good at either then sometimes that person through their efforts can be an outstanding teacher. 

Then there is the whole entire perspective that those who can do, do. Those who can do, often teach either in tandem with doing or after they are done, doing. Take football, many professional and successful football players will retire from “Doing” and take a position either teaching as a coach or presenting the game through a media position where they are NOT DOING but commenting and/or teaching. Does this make them less a person who can do, i.e., those who can’t, teach or comment/present commentary? 

Maybe this is why such statements are called, “Idioms.” An idiom is a statement that usually does not make sense such as “Kick the bucket or hand one’s head.” They are meant to convey some type of meaning as indirectly expressed by an individual but since it is not meant to make sense you have to wonder why they would say/use such a statement or idiom. 

It may be that the person uses such idioms to disguise there true meaning. It may be that such idioms tend to present a personal presupposition where saying it is actually a verbal attack toward who it is directed, i.e., in other words because you teach you must not be able to do that thing therefore your input is wrong or stupid or false or whatever the recipient might insert from their response of the attack. It is a way to attack another person while appearing to be magnanimous, enlightened and experienced in the thing doing or done or taught. 

Some who teach, teach from academic ability while some who teach, teach from experience and some who teach, teach from experience and knowledge both from that experience and from an academic study of the discipline. 

If you hear the statement, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” look at it as a verbal attack by someone who lacks confidence and self-esteem who has to resort to such underhanded presuppositions to attack the integrity of others while self-soothing themselves in lieu of accepting their lack of confidence and esteem. Know that the attack is from such a person, it is not personal and then allow your human brain to deal with it accordingly. 

Personal Example: I have practiced, trained and taught karate for a long time. In the first few decades I actually did “Do” and actually did “Teach.” Then I decided to stop “Teaching” so I could focus on my personal practice and training in karate as an art, as a philosophy and as a means to apply self-defense should I ever have a need for it. It was not until I stopped “doing (as in teaching with others)” that I started a wholehearted study of martial systems, disciplines and arts. It was then that I took up another discipline, the art of writing. I can, do writing and I don’t teach because like my early years in the dojo I would “Do my karate and Teach it.” I was a student the first part, an associate teacher the second part and a teacher who did “Do it” as well until I reached this current part of study and writing about this subject. No where is there a distinction that is separate as to what one “Does” vs. what one “Can do or cannot do” as it applies to “Doing and/or Teaching.” 

Like the concept of yin-yang, it is a matter of doing and teaching be it doing it in the dojo vs. doing it in seclusion along with teaching hands-on in the dojo or teaching through the medium of the written word via blogs and social media outlets. It is often a blending of many things and often the degree and level of what you do and what you teach or what you do and teach. It is NEVER such a distinct separateness that divides and isolates either or to achieve a goal. 

I look at it as a blend where doing and teaching are symbiotic in nature that give to each other to gain mastery. I like to have students teach new students and such because they will see things from another angle allowing them to learn and understand, teaching will do that. 

Example: Mr. was a doer and still is a doer but what he does has changed. He began doing by doing and that taught him a lot and over time he actually stopped doing one apsect of his profession to “DO” another aspect of his profession and that entailed “Teaching.” As a teacher he was not denigrated because he was no longer “Doing” an aspect of his profession even tho he was “Doing” while “Teaching” in another aspect of his profession. Now, he has taking off or retired from “Doing his profession, both aspects (or even more aspects as I am not familiar with all that he did in his profession)” and now is doing other things where he teaches by both doing it as a teacher for hands-on training along with doing it as a writer in his books. Then we add that he is doing in other media like videos but that also involves his teaching. Kind of what I am saying, the best of both worlds but in the beginning he was”doing his job” and thereby increasing his knowledge, abilities and proficiency that lead to his doing and teaching today. That kind of takes that idiom and puts it out to pasture.

So, if you hear someone say it or you find yourself saying it, “STOP.” Find something else to do and leave the ones you were saying it to or going to say it to alone, they don’t deserve such verbal violence.