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JuhaK
JuhaK's picture
Drill length

Hi all

Any ideas how long drills should last? Should one drill cover up full kata or just few movements?

I am struggling with long lasting drills because I just can't remember what is next movement. And therefore I feel that I am focusing to wrong things. Only trying to remember should I punch or grab or kick next rather than actually developing my skills.

JuhaK

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

Hi JukaK

JuhaK wrote:
Any ideas how long drills should last? Should one drill cover up full kata or just few movements?

That would depend entirely on the objective of the drill and the needs of the practitioner. Drills can be used for developing a specific technique, a specific concept, the methods of a given kata, to replicate real world violence as it happens, to develop sensitivity, explosiveness, flow, endurance, speed, etc, etc. There’s no optimum length that applies to all drills. The key is that the drills are fit for purpose and develop the attributes and skills being sought.

JuhaK wrote:
I am struggling with long lasting drills because I just can't remember what is next movement. And therefore I feel that I am focusing to wrong things. Only trying to remember should I punch or grab or kick next rather than actually developing my skills.

It sounds like whatever drill you are doing there is inappropriate. Longer drills can be good for efficient maintenance of existing skills, but they are not good for developing skills in the first instance. I would focus on the component parts individually.

All the best,

Iain

Neil Babbage
Neil Babbage's picture

My mental trick for long drills is to think of them as separate drills, performed one after another. Develop them (or learn them) individually, then eventually string them together to create a longer drill. For example, I can only remember  Iain's flow drills for whole kata because I first learnt the individual drills for each part of the kata. Sticking them together is then much easier. 

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

Neil Babbage wrote:
My mental trick for long drills is to think of them as separate drills, performed one after another.

Same here. That’s also normally the way we teach them too. The shorter drills are the most important ones, and it is only after they have been learnt thoroughly that we can link them together for time efficient practise and “repetition by stealth” (i.e. news ways to drill old things).

All the best,

Iain