Speaking as student in kung fu of 10 years and a teacher for 5, I can say this does happen, and it does work. When sparring, I had several instructors find a weakness in me, and exploit that weakness until it went way.
They never abused me, but as a hotshot 17 year old, was humbling to have my ass handed to me by an overweight, half blind 50 year old man.
Re:Get Out of My Building
by randallsquared on Thursday October 08, 2009 @07:22PM
(#870228)
I would say that's a result of practice, rather than enlightenment.
Depends on the situation. Often, you aren't aware of the flaws until the teacher points them out, and sometimes insight comes very quickly.
Re:Get Out of My Building
by cookiecaper on Thursday October 08, 2009 @07:48PM
(#870260)
Difficulty and adversity are frequently conduits to enlightenment if the recipient will forgo bitterness and seek to be taught by his experiences.
I'm unconvinced that this actually happens, so I, at least, would expect that it's very, very rare to use verbal or physical abuse in a way that produces enlightenment of any sort. Discipline, I would understand. Enlightenment or understanding? Doubtful.