01/04/2018
In my early training in Shindo Muso Ryu Jojutsu in Japan, I was taught to make every repetition of every drill count. The appropriate mindset was to approach training as if the current repetition was your only chance to survive in that moment. As such, striving for a flawless repetition was how we trained. Not to do more repetitions, nor more vigorous repetitions, but to make each repetition flawless because your life depended upon it.
Very different from the video game culture mindset where you know you always get another chance to do it right.
This method of practise can turn into a kind of brain-lock where you try harder and harder to get it right, layering in tensions physically, mentally, and emotionally. Avoid this. It is unnecessary, unproductive, and unhealthy.
Rather, cultivate the ability to perceive your actions as they occur without interfering weigh their ex*****on. After each repetition, decide what element you wish to correct and make the change.
A good book on this topic is "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle.
Practise as if you only get one chance.
Fist in Palm,
Shifu Yancy Orchard
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"Have I ever told you how I lost my eye?"
"I was little. My father was a samurai who was really into the old ways. Her would have sympathized with the ronin of Ako. Incredibly strict.
"He was also famous in his youth for his ability to shoot archery from horseback. I tried to imitate him by entering various competitions. On one occasion I was so nervous I forgot to check the saddle straps. The saddle came loose and I was thrown to the ground. A sharp rock cut my eye and they couldn't save it. I was devastated, but my father was unfazed.
"'You're lucky,' he told me. 'Because now you have only one opportunity left to do things right.'"
From "Rashomon" by Victor Santos
