Why is there such a focus on technique without an equal or greater focus on training cause-effect?

I'm not necessarily disagreeing, but I do know I've been trained differently than you described and see it just a bit differently. External appearance isn't what I was told to focus on. It's actually very much the opposite on what makes a good technique. For basic principle, the external appearance can be misunderstood as solely that, but internal purpose is all there for technique. You're talking about the beginning basics of learning technique. Cause and effect as well as application comes after good technique, otherwise applying good application with bad technique equals crappy martial arts. To answer your questions, I suppose some people just don't know how to teach properly and what you described is what it ends being. For me it wasn't years later. It was as soon as I understood the technique and in good form. The basics are always the basics. They're important. That's way it's focused on so strongly. It's the very foundation where any advanced technique, principles or application is going to go over it. Most people can't see so far because they don't understand the basics and it's purpose. These people are the types that think it can all be squashed together into the same mold at the very beginning. That's sort of the attitude gotten from a lot of the self-teaching instructional videos. People want the advanced stuff and skip the basics, then they dont' understand it like they should.

People tend to focus on things visually so that is the reason why for a lot of it for both instructors and students. However I avoid this to some extent and I have said more than once in this forum that a person when working with the heavy bag needs to listen to the sound the bag makes and note the feeling when they hit or kick it. Those things will help tell you when you are doing something well or not as well as can lead to knowing what you are doing wrong or poorly when kicking, hitting, or striking it. I also encourage students and fighters to learn to feel how something is when done properly and with good results and a good example of that is like when you do a side kick and you feel that hip slip into place as you extend your kicking leg and the hip, leg, and foot getting to the target all at the same time. I was just talking to a fighter yesterday who is a big, strong, tall guy that weighs 260. He was hitting like a cream puff a month or two ago but is now finally learning how to hit with real power and speed by using the right muscles for punching. He now understands what I mean when I say that when you hit something hard and well you won't feel it and can see a huge difference in how hard he is hitting the heavy bag and focus mitts. I have always been careful to use a combination of things when teaching and coaching students and fighters to bring about the best results possible for them and in them. Also sometimes the examples I use also especially if they are ones that people can more easily relate to from their own every day life and experiences can be extremely helpful I think. I was just using the example of a person driving somewhere unfamiliar and looking for a street or address and so their mind is working and focusing on so many things when in traffic and doing that. That kind of focus, concentration and thinking is much like a fighter's in the sense that there are several things he is mentally thinking about at the same time when fighting as well as making adjustments to as he needs to just like that person driving. I would even keep things in my school and handy like a baseball bat, wash bucket, towel, or other such tools to use when explaining and showing students and fighters some aspect so that they more fully could understand something that I was saying and for them to better relate to and learn something from. Even using these items in teaching still put a heavy emphasis on them learning about things visually speaking. However using and relying on them, students and fighters would grasp certain aspects and certain ideas more easily and quickly. In closing I would look at my students and fighters in general and if seeing a problem that a group of them seemed to be having or exhibiting in general I would then look at their training and what approach I was taking with things. Sometimes that would be the cause and so addressing that in their training would better insure that others would not adopt or have the same problems later. At the same time I would also address and fix the original problem that had been exhibited by that group and would do so. So I don't think good teaching and coaching just happens. It is instead something that a good coach, teacher, or instructor makes an effort at doing and accomplishing. Also understanding how your students and fighters best learn is an equally important aspect to this and goes hand-in-hand with you teaching or coaching them.

Because we live in a highly visual ("appearances matter"), fast paced society. The primary form of entertainments are visual in nature.... TV, movies, video games. People are trained to "think" in a visual or auditory way.... In other words, in mediums that are very intellectual in nature. We don't spend as much time learning HOW to think in a kinesthetic way even though there are people who tend to do so anyway. So when people learn a physical skill.... They tend to think about how it looks. How it "should" look. And the learn the dogma (the language / jargon / rap) that goes with it. BUT.... Not as much effort is put into learning how a movement feels. And learning to ask the question.... Does this feel right? Does it feel in balance or out of balance? Does it feel stiff or tense? Does it feel relaxed? That's my take. It also explains why society doesn't seem to know how to deal with "feelings" and has to rely on medications to manage pain, regulate our emotions, and have so many problems with emotional problems (anger managment, for example). We do not learn how to "listen/feel/have awareness" to our body and feeling what our bodies are telling us.

Perhaps my experience has been different. I have always been taught to understand the why and how of what we do. Function is entangled with the how of what you do. If you don't do something correctly it will likely fail to do what you intend. Some instructors I have known do not take much time explaining why something is done in a particular fashion. Some I doubt even know why some of the things they teach are done in a particular way. Many techniques have multiple applications. This is where attention to detail is so important. It is equally important to stress why a detail is important. It can be frustrating for an instructor to have a student constantly questioning everything. I get them sometimes and I find that with time they will trust you when they begin to see that you are understanding what you are teaching and not just being a nit picker or doing something because "that's the way it always has been done". Like the best architecture form and function go hand in hand. With attention to detail of the form the pole block in Taekwando's Poe Eun becomes a hip throw for example. Or the simple forearm block becomes a arm grab and jerk the opponent off balance. Well that is my response in short form. Edit: Possum most Martial arts are for self defence. Hence most forms start with a block, redirect, or counter. Sometimes the simple is the best answer. As for turning away. If an attacker is throwing full force than you block as you are turning this should put you at the oponents blind side. If you are not doing your drills in this maner I recomend you shope around for a school that does. If you are just doing your forms than it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. your forms are just a mock battle where every thing you do is perfictly efective. It is for showing how to transition from move to move. Over time when you lean enough forms you should be able to mix them up and still keep the flow going. I see a lot of back and forth drills and cringe everytime. I could schream at those destroying my art. Too much point sparring not enough aplication!

Not for me...I train krav maga. But concerning martial arts, I agree.

I have no idea I immagine it is for the kids to learn the physical aplication and get it down before they know why so they don't start killing eachother. also so drunkards and ruffians to not learn to kill is a big thing. you don't want to teach these people how to kill lol