Martial Arts Anorak
I am an anorak, a sad individual who collects things, in my
case old martial arts instructional manuals, videos and DVD's. The videos and
DVD's are played, one sees them by watching; the old "monkey see monkey do
method" taught by traditional Japanese Sensei's'. To learn from a book takes a
lot more effort, you need a note pad, pen, the manual, two mirrors (one small
hand mirror and one large full length mirror). Firstly read the book through
once from cover to cover, this gives you an idea of the author's thoughts and
what he wants you to learn. The next time you read the book carefully, a chapter
at a time, this is when you make notes in your note book, the technique, where
it is in the book, and the essential points of the technique. The next time you
read the book look at the illustrations and pictures, this is when you use the
hand mirror, if the technique is shown on the left side by using the mirror the
illustration is reflected on the right side. The full length mirror is used to
see if your form resembles the photographs within the book. Then read the book
slowly doing the exercises in the book one at a time, don't progress from one
technique until you have mastered the previous one. It helps if you have an
interested friend to act as your training partner; if not you can learn by
visualisation, using an imaginary partner, kata like, you will have to take the
position of attacker and defender, using the full length mirror to give feedback
to your form. Remember this activity should take place in the privacy of your
own home or where you can practice unobserved and undisturbed, you don't want
the police called due to the neighbours fears.
If you follow these notes you should be on the way to
learning a new technique, practice, practice, practice the technique until it
becomes a part of your subconscious memory, like driving a car or riding a
bicycle a skill you no longer think about. A final thought if you can afford it
get a video camera, filming yourself can provide valuable feedback if you are
doing the technique right, especially if you have been studying videos and DVD's
of your chosen art; also have someone you trust to watch you, as long as his or
her criticism is constructive you can learn.
Yours in budo
Ian "Lurch" Durie.