I am going to post this here, because I feel that it is relevant to this thread. I had a short conversation with a co worker yesterday, and it got me thinking about training that we pay for, and do on our own.
As I said in a previous post, I believe in getting training from people who use (insert equipment) as their primary. That being said, here is something to consider about the way someone teaches. If I cannot easily understand why I am doing something, I likely not going to take it on faith that it is important. I have been very lucky in the instructors that I have gotten to train under. They were all very good at explaining not only the exercise itself, by why you do X a certain way, and also what that particular exercise is to designed to simulate in a real world scenario.
This helps a student progress faster in a few ways that may not be apparent at first glance. First, by understanding the application of a particular exercise, the student can now imagine a real world application in their own life. This instills the motivation to practice more, thus improve faster. Secondly it gives us a baseline for modifying a drill or scenario that is more applicable to our own personal situation.
Last, and possibly the most important is that it allows us to pass along our knowledge more effectively. When we fully understand what we are trying to accomplish we don't lose the forest for the trees.