I really like this article “Beginners are people too” which I recently came across on the Backcountry Blog. The author, an experienced climber, finds herself reconsidering her behavior towards new climbers after she becomes the rookie on the surfboard.

For many sports I do, I still consider myself a novice; therefore I appreciate all the suggestions and comments I can possibly get from the pros. At times, I have to share my experience with or instruct a pure newbie to some sports I indulge, for example, I taught a few friends how to ski and last Saturday I ran a beginner gym rock climbing session for my club. Facing beginners, I usually find myself worrying about two things: 1. I worry whether I can help create a good first-time experience so that they will decide to come back; and 2. I worry whether I am giving them too much information which they might consider worthless. Then I start to worry that maybe I worry too much.

It is a common plot in many Chinese martial arts novels that an aged kung-fu master gets excited and gratified when he finally locates a quality pupil. They always say that people naturally know that it’s difficult to find a good master but people don’t usually understand that it’s more difficult to find a satisfying pupil. Even so, skilled kung-fu masters never stop searching because they don’t want their skills to fail to pass down to later generations. We might feel “the frustration of attempting to help someone who is completely unreceptive to suggestions” from time to time but we know we’ll never stop sharing as long as we’re passionate about what we are doing. Also there is always someone like me who really appreciates advice on safety and efficiency.