Sunday, May 9, 2010

Looking at yourself on video is really a valuable study tool; you may not know what you're doing right or wrong until you actually see it objectively. According to some learning theory model (I forgot which one), there are stages of learning that you have to take one by one:

1. Unconsciously doing wrong
2. Consciously doing wrong
3. Consciously doing right
4. Unconsciously doing right

So unless you know what you're doing (wrong), you can't transit from the 1st level to the 2nd. I can help you find out what you're doing wrong, but ultimately you have to realize it yourself so that you consciously fix it (level 3). When you reach the level 4, it just "happens" and the feeling of it is different from "forcing" it. Perhaps some of you have felt it one time or another during our training (i.e., "I don't know what I did, but it worked and felt effortless"), and all you need is to increase the chance of that happening. The key? "Regular training"!

Today's subjects:

Kihon:

• Age-uke, Gyaku-zuki
• Soto-uke, Gyaku-zuki
• First 3 moves from Heian Nidan

Kata:

• Heian Shodan
• Heian Nidan

Free-style:

• Kizami-zuki
• Gyaku-zuki
• Kizami Mae-geri
• Mae-geri
• Pads (with above 4 techniques)

Kumite:

• "Sen" timing against a half attack

Just to let you know, I'm available to teach private lessons. Amy & Jon have taken it just before their exam, and Nate & Chris are going to take one this Tuesday. I charge $30/hour and can teach 2 at once, or 30 minutes each for 2 people, so that you can split the cost. I can also teach 30 minutes for 1 person for $20. We can rent the studio (you have to pay, of course), or I can travel to your place if it's reasonably close. Group lessons work well for most of you, but some of you can definitely benefit from more personal attention. Let me know if you need some pointers for the coming exam!