Practice Makes Perfect

	The student approaches the instructor and asks for a specific technique to be corrected.

As a Taekwon-Do instructor, it is sometimes frustrating to cover the same old ground over and over with students who find the art a challenging experience, while there are others who relish the challenge of attaining high pass marks in gradings and tremendous results in tournaments. To a good portion of students, the art can be frustrating to learn and perfect. Nobody can claim to be perfect, but through constant practice to correcting our faults, we can all become better practitioners of this art and understand more about each movement and its delivery.

To practice the art outside normal training hours takes dedication and commitment. It is hard to find time away from other activities and the necessary hours we may need to become more proficient with techniques we need to perfect. However, dedicated students will make time and put in effort to achieve the goals they set themselves. We can’t always rely on club training nights to improve our techniques – it is often not enough. Those who make time and commit themselves to extra training will reap the benefits.

An instructor’s duty is to teach Taekwon-Do to the best of his or her ability, to students who wish to learn the art. As students, it is your responsibility to learn the art to the best of your ability: by listening, watching, writing things down, and asking questions. One of the most important pieces of equipment all students should have in their kit bag every training session is a note book and pen. Why? The answer is simple: to write down any corrections that your instructor makes for you, so that when you practise at home you can refer back to your notes and make the adjustments necessary to correct yourself! This consumes some practice time, but it focuses your training on areas that require practice. As you become better at each technique, the time you spend practising it decreases, freeing time to cover other areas of training that you may enjoy more.

The student writes notes about key learnings, and things on which to work.

How then, should we practise? There are two ways: the right way and the wrong way. What’s the difference? If you have a faulty technique and you continue to practise without correction, you will only improve at getting things wrong! This is practising the wrong way. Instead, draw up a training schedule in a time frame that suits you and your partner (if you have one). Approach your instructor and discuss any fault that he or she may have noticed in your technique, delivery, stances, etc. Practise in front of the instructor to obtain all the information you need record in your notebook. Then practise the technique in your own time, focussing on these corrections. This is the right way to practise.

Quality of practice is more important than quantity. You can spend hours kicking and punching and working up a great sweat, but if the technique or pattern is wrong, your practice is more for fitness than perfecting the art, and can often be a waste of time. If you wish to improve techniques within each pattern, it is better to practise a particular pattern, kick or technique constantly for an hour, breaking down each part of the pattern, kick or technique and analysing each movement. You should then constantly practise the correct movement over and over until it becomes automatic. It helps to practise in front of a large mirror so you can see yourself and adjust things accordingly. Without a mirror, a partner can help you to correct your faults. Alternatively, use a video camera, then go over the recording and watch yourself perform the patterns or techniques, looking for the faults about which you were advised.

	The student practices the technique at home. A large mirror is a fantastic training aid.

A very useful practice method is to do each entire movement slowly, which makes it easy to identify mistakes. When practising you should analyse your stance: is it the correct width, length, weight distribution, are my feet at the correct angle, are my knees bent to the right degree, etc. Move onto your hand technique: are you crossing correctly, at the right height, at the right angle, are the wrists straight. Check your posture: is your back straight, bent, or perhaps leaning. During the movement: do you have a backward motion, is each technique coming from the correct intermediate position, are your eyes, hand, foot and breath finishing at the same time. Is your head up, are your wrists straight, is your reaction hand pulled back enough and in the correct position (eg, on the hip, fist clenched properly with the knuckles facing downwards). Do you make good use of knee spring to create sine wave, do you rotate your hips when necessary, do you relax and tense at the correct times, are you full, half or side facing. Is your foot shape correct when kicking. And so on. Considering all of this, one hour practising doesn't seem long if you wish to improve! You need to understand the biomechanics of each and every movement so you can deliver the technique properly, know its true potential, and its purpose.

The student practices the technique in the dojang: during class, before class or after class.

As you conquer each fault, move on to the next incorrect movement until this is also corrected. Keep asking for the instructor’s help – they won't mind! Once you are satisfied with a technique, approach your instructor and ask them to watch and correct you again. Do this until the instructor is also satisfied with your technique. Then continue to practise these moves correctly so that you don’t return to old habits. You can also pass the information on to other students who may have similar faults, which will reinforce your understanding. This way you are also contributing to the club and the instructor, maintaining the high standard of ITFNZ, and building your confidence to teach or demonstrate the correct movement.

Some of my best training sessions have been at home practising to perfect my own fundamental movements, patterns or step sparring techniques. Remember: to attain good marks in grading, and to achieve the goals you set yourself (perhaps in tournaments) is all about preparation. For grading, you should develop your training programme early so that you have plenty of time to correct mistakes (especially within your patterns) so that you are ready to grade at least three weeks before the grading date. For tournaments, you need to spend a lot longer preparing yourself so that you can peak at tournament time.

Students who prepare themselves physically and mentally are those who have done the hard work with the right attitude, perseverance, and determination. The preparation becomes easy, while the practice makes perfect.