Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.

[jks9199]

I just read Brian VanCise's blog where he describes practicing hundreds of repetitions of a single technique...

He's making a great point. Too many people training in the martial disciplines today haven't fostered a love of repetition. It takes doing a single technique hundreds and thousands of times to really move it into a useful skill. It's not something you can do in 5 minutes. You won't master every skill in a single day. In fact, you won't master ANY skill in a single day. You might reach a sudden realization in a single moment -- but that's not the same as truly owning that realization.

My teacher used to say that "repetition is the mother of learning" and taught me that one measure of a person's seriousness was their willingness to practice through repetition.

 

[Big Don]

. It takes doing a single technique hundreds and thousands of times to really move it into a useful skill.

I'd say hundreds OF thousands of times...
If you don't practice, you will never improve. If you don't practice often enough, your skills will deteriorate.
If you don't do it over and over and over, you might not every really understand it.

 

[Hyper_Shadow]

Yeah, your skills are liable to serious deterioration if they aren't kept practiced. Just like a blade with no oil.

Think of it like this:

If you train with a sword and you're out of practice, you do Tameshi Giri and fail; result, you damage your sword.

If you train with your fists and you're out of practice, you enter into unarmed combat and get your **** handed to you on a plate.

My favourite exercise for repetition is Kata. All your basic techniques in one easy to use package. Also comes with hidden bunkai and in the higher tiers, esoteric nature.

All your basic techniques in one easy to use package. Also comes with hidden bunkai and in the higher tiers, esoteric nature.

Did that sound an advert or what?

 

[stickarts]

I can tell which students may go far by their willingness to practice their material over and over before rushing on to new material. Repetition is the mother of skill.

 

[jkembry]

Repetition is the mother of skill.

Never heard it that way...our way of saying it is:

"Repetition is the mother of perfection"

Since perfection 'never' happens you just keep up the reps.

 

[terryl965]

repitition is the mother load for all martial artist. Without it one can never improve.

 

[MJS]

I just read Brian VanCise's blog where he describes practicing hundreds of repetitions of a single technique...

He's making a great point. Too many people training in the martial disciplines today haven't fostered a love of repetition. It takes doing a single technique hundreds and thousands of times to really move it into a useful skill. It's not something you can do in 5 minutes. You won't master every skill in a single day. In fact, you won't master ANY skill in a single day. You might reach a sudden realization in a single moment -- but that's not the same as truly owning that realization.

My teacher used to say that "repetition is the mother of learning" and taught me that one measure of a person's seriousness was their willingness to practice through repetition.

Couldn't agree more with this. There are no quick fixes in training. Its hard work, blood, sweat and tears.

 

[Imua Kuntao]

Any martial moition can be turned into a drill. All drills are repetitive moition, drills should be done at least twice a week for students, the other time is for learning and practice of skills/techniques taught from drills.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I just read Brian VanCise's blog where he describes practicing hundreds of repetitions of a single technique...

He's making a great point. Too many people training in the martial disciplines today haven't fostered a love of repetition. It takes doing a single technique hundreds and thousands of times to really move it into a useful skill. It's not something you can do in 5 minutes. You won't master every skill in a single day. In fact, you won't master ANY skill in a single day. You might reach a sudden realization in a single moment -- but that's not the same as truly owning that realization.

My teacher used to say that "repetition is the mother of learning" and taught me that one measure of a person's seriousness was their willingness to practice through repetition.

Hey jks91991 thanks for posting this over here. You and I are on the same wave length in that repetition is extremely important.

You are also correct in that many people just do not want to put in the rep's it will take to become proficient in something. For myself I enjoy performing moves repeatedly and eventually just seeping in to the training and moving then without thought. I probably enjoy that more than anything!

 

[zDom]

I like the analogy of an airplane:

If an airplane isn't motoring, it is losing altitude. It must motor just to keep altitude. Must motor harder to gain any altitude.





The ONLY thing better than repetition is even MORE repetition

 

[Shotgun Buddha]

Repetition then pressure testing. Followed by more repetition and more pressure testing.
Then repetition and pressure testing. Then get married, have children, and move into a house with a white picket fence.
Then repeat the whole process all over again, with new wife and new children.
Then repetition and pressure test again.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I beleive I read somewhere that once you do something 2000 times it becomes habit so... do once and repeat 1999 times.. I would say that is a good case for repetition.

 

[Big Don]

Repetition then pressure testing. Followed by more repetition and more pressure testing.
Then repetition and pressure testing. Then get married, have children, and move into a house with a white picket fence.
Then repeat the whole process all over again, with new wife and new children.
Then repetition and pressure test again.

But, I don't want more children. One is enough for me!

 

[Mimir]

Funny this topic would come up now. We have spent the last week of class focusing almost exclusively on the back leg side kick. We have worked on the fundemental movements, the alignment of the body through the technique, pulling of the toes back, the angle of the foot at the extension, not dropping the shoulder or arm, you name it. From the white belts all the way up through the 2nd Dan Black Belts, we have all found something that we needed to work on and improve.

As a 1st Dan, I thought I knew the back leg side kick - Until this week...

 

[Josh Oakley]

But, I don't want more children. One is enough for me!

You must. It is the only way you will learn.

 

[Big Don]

You must. It is the only way you will learn.

But, but, go look at his post, it clearly advocated bigamy...

 

[Darren]

I just read Brian VanCise's blog where he describes practicing hundreds of repetitions of a single technique...

He's making a great point. Too many people training in the martial disciplines today haven't fostered a love of repetition. It takes doing a single technique hundreds and thousands of times to really move it into a useful skill. It's not something you can do in 5 minutes. You won't master every skill in a single day. In fact, you won't master ANY skill in a single day. You might reach a sudden realization in a single moment -- but that's not the same as truly owning that realization.

My teacher used to say that "repetition is the mother of learning" and taught me that one measure of a person's seriousness was their willingness to practice through repetition.

In your training you must get to the point where your conscience turn’s to the subconscious when your in that state your mind clears it’s self of all thought and emotions and your on a different plain and your body just moves, every body weapon seems to have a mind of its own! Its just plain weird!!!

 

[Gyakuto]

I’ve always thought of repetition as being equivalent of rote-learning in academic subjects: vitally important but almost universally hated.

I think it was Voltaire who said, …”rote-learning is the trellis upon which free-thinking grows.” Perhaps repetition is the foundation upon which martial artists are built.

 

[isshinryuronin]

Repetition is good, much repetition is better. The danger is that after doing it over and over one tends to get lax. Like a good singer or stage actor, each performance must be done with spirit as if it was the first. That's one thing...

But repeating it exactly the same way will not give optimum benefit. A simple reverse punch has perhaps 30-50 or more "data points" that can affect the result. A little more or less hip, how the weight is transferred with the legs, the exact amount of tension or relaxation at each point of the punch, breath control, etc. And each of these have various inflection.

Like cooking, there is a basic recipe that should be followed, but beyond that, experimentation is needed to come up with the exact taste that's best for any particular individual. A little more of this spice, a little less of that, how much time at what temp, how much stirring, and so on. It requires a lot of tasting on the way to your own perfect dish.

The same in MA technique. You won't know exactly what it is until you feel it. It may take 5,10 or 20 years (as in my case) to stumble upon it. (Not that it wasn't excellent to begin with.) It's not what you do, but how you do it. Sometimes it's not a physical thing, but an attitude or spirit that can make that tiny adjustment that yields a big change in the nature of the move. A 1% change can make a 10% difference. All the above, mind you, is just for a single technique!

Some have posted questions on what there is to learn after 5th, 6th or 8th degree black belt. This is an answer.

So, in doing all those reps, they don't have to be all the same. Each one can be a journey of discovery.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

But repeating it exactly the same way will not give optimum benefit.

If you train 3 punches combo, you may train

- jab-jab-cross today,
- jab-jab-hook tomorrow, and
- ...

If you use jab, cross, hook, uppercut, overhand as the basic tools, you may come up a maximum of 5 x 5 x 5 = 125 different combos. Some comb may not make sense but it covers all cases.