Sensei Brooks "Said"

Often the instructors at the dojo reinforce the idea of perfect practice. The idea says, practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. But what is perfect practice? It's hard enough to practice yourself, or to get your child to practice. But perfect practicing? That might be a stretch. However, practicing the wrong way can be a good way to build bad habits. When a student practices one thing over and over again, it becomes muscle memory. Typically this is a good thing. However, when a student practices the wrong thing, or in many cases, the wrong way, bad habits develop which are often as bad, if not worse than not practicing. I do not want people not to practice, but rather to practice well. PERFECT PRACTICE. Practice everytime to the best of your ability, not just running through the moves. Not rushing, or being sloppy, but concentrating and seriously trying to make an improvement everytime you practice. Perform while practicing like the day you will test, with power, and high kicks, chambers and stances. Perfect practice means looking at each move of your form, individually. Before you leave the dojo, make sure you, or your child knows the form, and not only that, but knows each move. Often we skip, or change a particular move during practice if we don't remember which move to do. So within the next two weeks, as the students are learning their new forms, have them practice each move, individually, and properly. Do not hurry to learn the entire form. Perfect what you know. Last but not least, have fun. Thanks for listening.

When it comes to practicing, many students find it boring and tedious, and often skip practicing, or do a really "cheesy" job at it. I have found that some of my most productive practing comes when im having a good time, almost like playing a game. I like to put on music while im practicing, and sometimes even do my katas to the beat of the music. Also it is important to remember that some things simply cannot be practiced inside the house. Things like fliying side kicks or tornado kicks, but iIn particular, weapons like the jo, bo, nunchuka, or sword. I love to go in my back yard, or sometimes even the front yard and practice my favorite weapon or empty hand kata. The neighbors may give you funny looks, but i find it very relaxing and enjoyable to practice outside in the fresh air. One other suggestion is to try practicing your form or self defense techiniques during the commercials of your favorite T.V. Show. Typically during one commercial break you can do your form once and even all 4 self defense techniques. It only takes a minute. 3 commercial breaks in a half hour show, and now you have practiced both ur form and self defenses 3x each. The key is to have fun, my last suggestion is while your practicing at home, don't be afraid to try something different with ur ki-ai's. I enjoy mixing up my ki-ai's sometimes doing them on every move of a kata, or making some ki-ai's really long. The next time your in edison, look for the guy outside on his front lawn with a sword yelling at traffic, thats me. =) Remember to have fun, but concentrate. Happy Practicing!