The Four Stages of Learning and their Relevance in Martial Arts

The Four Stages of Learning are a general psychological model that apply not only in academics but to the learning of any skill, and that includes martial arts.

The Four Stages of Learning

Unconscious Incompetence: You don’t know that you don’t know.

In martial arts, this truth is often hard to overcome due to a lack of humility in acknowledging one’s lack of knowledge, and worse, one’s lack of skill. You cannot see your own flaws and thus are blindly unaware of them. This cannot be fixed easily unless you approach learning with a beginner’s mind.

Conscious Incompetence: You know that you don’t know.

In martial arts, being aware of your lack of knowledge and gaps in your skills allows you to take the proper steps to improve a skill through correct repetition and analysis. If you have an interest in the historical background, culture, and philosophical concepts that influence your chosen art, then you apply yourself to researching and learning about these aspects.

Conscious Competence: You know that you know.

In martial arts, this stage is achieved through years of hard work, perseverance, and discipline with your training. From having built a strong foundation to having mastered your skills through tens of thousands of repetitions, you achieve a sense of confidence, which is not to be confused with arrogance. Even at this level, the performance of your skills still requires conscious effort. You need to apply yourself with steely determination. The further up the mountain one climbs, the steeper and harder the climb, hence the Gong Fu saying Chi Ku (吃苦), which translates as “Eat Bitter” but implies that one must endure hardship.Sadly, few people go past this stage.

Unconscious Competence: You don’t know that you know.

In martial arts, as with any other skill, at this stage Unconscious Competence simply means that one has achieved a high level of mastery,where execution of techniques is both effortless and natural. Then you are able to respond to an adversary effortlessly, without thought or hesitation. Skills are so engrained that they are automatic. Think of placing your hand on a hot stove; you don’t stop to think about what is causing the burning sensation; you instinctively and immediately withdraw your hand.

The pyramid below illustrates these concepts. The areas progressively get smaller for each stage.

Final comment

As a martial arts practitioner and teacher, I continuously strive to deepen my knowledge and skill. I have often looked outside of the martial arts field to broaden my understanding about the learning process and how to become a better learner and teacher.

The transmission and acquisition of knowledge require a subject matter, a teacher, a method of transmission, and a learner.

The subject matter is martial arts.

The Shifu or Sensei is the teacher.

The method of transmission in martial arts requires a language and physical demonstration.

And finally, a student who is a willing learner.

For both teachers and students, I recommend the book, first published in 1886, called The Seven Laws of Teaching, by John Milton Gregory. This classic book has been in my possession for more than 50 years.