Technique repetition

[chriscrudelli]

[Paul J]

Without doubt! This form of practice takes huge discipline and has always been part of my training both in and out of class. Repetition is not only vital for learning but also for maintaining good form whilst avoiding bad habits (provided the practice is done mindfully!). It's also great for exercise, building stamina and as a form of moving meditation.

Do modern classes still drill basic techniques this way or are class times too short to fit them in ? Are they considered too boring for the fast pace of today's classes I wonder?

[Ljgale]

Aikido classes i attend doesn't tend to have significant repetition during the classes, i believe they have changed the teaching style within the last generation (so some of our seniors experienced some of this type of training).

I am intrigued around what this style of training can bring since training with Sifu Crudelli. Once i understand what it can bring to my kung fu training more, i think will be trying this training concept with my aikido training to.

[BenWillJones]

Completely agree that repetition in training is important, most if not all of our techniques stem from core fundamentals which if not mastered affect the rest of our techniques. My only input on this type of repetition training is to do it little and often, the more repeats that are completed in one chunk of time, the more margin for error and learned bad habits/errors. It think there is value in frequently stripping everything right back to our fundamentals, drilling them then build back up.

[robg]

Repetion is critical - I learned karate that way and apply it even to teaching my (videogame) artist apprentices today.

Even with t'ai chi which is primarily a long form of fluid movement as a set, we break it down to certain moves like "wave hands like clouds" or "part the wild horses mane" and will do those moves up and down the space, for 20 minutes at a time.
One of the benefits of repetition is that you can play with the mechanics a bit - I also like to do the form in reverse, or focussing on the feet, or hands, or eyes, or a certain extension or rotation in each move. Sometimes I do the form fast and hard with power pulsing on the surface of my limbs, at other times like an old man with flu - conserving energy and shortening movements, and putting less mass into my feet.
I guess playing with the mechanics teaches you an internal language for better control and coordination.