Duty of a Training Partner

The "martial" in martial art lies in the interaction between two opponents trying to best each other.  While it could be said that all martial arts are transmitted from teacher to student, I would argue that the real learning happens between students, between training partners.

As a training partner, I have a responsibility to my partner to work with him in such as way that we mutually benefit.  My job is to find that threshold where my partner's skill is at its peak, and try to push it just a little further.

Either end of this spectrum is detrimental. If I'm passive, feeding weak strikes, giving no resistance, I'm doing my partner a disservice by creating an artificial feel to the technique.  On the other hand, if I'm too aggressive and just trying to "win", my partner is not able to learn what the technique is supposed to feel like when done correctly.