Leglocks in Retro - Thinking for yourself

"kneebars don't work."

Yes, there were people who actually said this back in the day. It was an idiotic statement then and it is an even more idiotic statement now. But what was shocking was how many people would simply accept this notion that knee and ankle and foot submissions did not work. So, what was the empirical data that was used to prove this assessment? A proclamation. In other words, an instructor said it so it must be true. And people believe for reasons that have nothing to do with biology or physics (when you bend the knee or foot over a fulcrum it will start to break) but rather on subjects of finance and psychology (My instructor is the best and I am on the best team and I paid for this damn it so it must be true)I remember when I was a white belt and asking an instructor about a footlock I saw on the UFC and the instructor (an expert with a blue belt) about footlocks and his response was "That's not jiu jitsu. Stick with armlocks and chokes." ok, fine. Now, how does sticking with armlocks and chokes make you a better wrestler? In a way, I can understand his response (he probably didn't know the difference between a footlock and a padlock), but what was thoroughly annoying to me was looking at the faces of other people in the class and seeing BLANK stares. They didn't care about learning about footlocks as thir instructor made a proclamation. Ok, fine...someone tells you something and you swallow it hook, line and sinker with no thought or critical analysis. This really isn't about armlocks or footlocks. It is about common sense and it is about a time when people flat out refused to think for themselves or approach the art with basic common sense. Good Lord, sometimes I wonder what these people were like in the workforce. Nevermind. I already know. When something goes wrong, it is always the other's guy's fault....but I digress.