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Contributed by: cejames

There are six important area’s within training one must adhere to if training is to be most effective. They are observation, memory, experimentation, imagination, language, and broad-mindedness.

Observation:

This one is the most critical as this is the mainstay of learning waza or technique. All the verbiage in the world will not teach you the technique yet action does teach very well. What I mean by observation is the students ability to see the technique in the practice of others.

As students of budo we must be most observant when training by seeing others who are of equal skills, and especially those of superior skills, as they practice the waza we are currently learning.

To have a technique briefly explained helps us to relate the physical with the mental, initially, and then by practicing the waza four or five times, initially, causes the muscles and mind to store the waza in memory. Then we must continually practice with an eye on observing ourselves for improvement and thus when we observe others we have a point of reference to see ourselves and make appropriate adjustments.

This does not mean that Sempai and Sensei will not help you by physically adjusting what you do but also by their own actions in practice provide you with a frame of reference as to the path you should be taking in the practice of budo.

This requires a good deal of deep reflection.