One size fits all
I read about this kingdom many years ago. It had a crazy king. All the subjects lived in fear of him. But one day the king decided to build a new palace and all his subjects would be invited to stay one night in it.
The subjects were excited. They said, “Perhaps he’s not so crazy after all.” The palace was soon completed. But there was just one catch. Whoever stayed in the room had to fit the bed perfectly. If he or she was longer than the bed, two strong men would come in and cut off their legs until they matched the bed’s length, and if the legs were too short, two strong men would come in and pull them until they fit the bed perfectly.
Sounds crazy, but I know of a country where all the children are expected to behave perfectly according to rigidly prescribed standards of what is considered ‘normal behavior.” And if they do not fit the model, they are medicated until they do.
In the guitar world, I know of teachers who demand their students follow fixed and rigidly prescribed ways of playing. And if their playing do not fit that standard model perfectly, they have to modify it until it does too.
One-size-fits-all. So convenient for those dishing out the rules and enforcing them, not so convenient for those on the receiving end.
When we buy shoes, we do not buy them based on some arbitrarily predetermined size and force our feet to fit into them, we try several pairs until we find the pair that fits the best.
It’s the same thing in life and in guitar playing. Instead of forcing our body to follow some predetermined generic model of what constitutes “good guitar technique,” we should find a method that works for us and takes advantage of our unique strengths.