overthinking it

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Shana Moore
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Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:42 pm
Location: Virginia

overthinking it

Post by Shana Moore »

In your opinion, how much mental preparation and review is a good thing, and when is it too much?

Clearly, when you are practicing kata over and over in your head or techniques and never doing any phyiscal application, that is "overthinking it". Also, I've had moments where I'm simply doing a technique, hojo undo, or kata again and again and something "clicks". There is benefit from simpy DOING.

But I do believe mental review and attention to what you are doing is also useful...but is there a point where it's not?

Hope this question makes sense. Thanks!
Live True, Laugh often
Shana
jorvik

Post by jorvik »

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harlan
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Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2006 2:10 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Post by harlan »

Shana...you must be a mindreader! I was thinking the same thing today about last night's class:

Journal 2/25/2010

'What do you want to work on?' I've never been comfortable with sensei's practice of asking me this question. I suspect the average student is acclimated to 'top-down' learning, and expects to show up and be told what to do. I soon realized that the only way around responding with a blank stare was to find something in daily practice to bring to class. But most practice is mundane, years of the same activity, and despite 'looking' - no great insights or questions have ever presented themselves. It is what it is, and I've found that the constant mental review seems to foster an everpresent dissatisfaction...a disconnect. Always looking, never finding - sometimes one just wants the freedom of 'doing' without having to think so d*mn much about it.

Last night's Goju class worked out well in that regard. 'I'd like to do anything that requires two people. Not kata. I'd like to do those two-person drills, kumite, bunkai; Kata I can do by myself...I need to work the techniques.'

I didn't want to think...I wanted to feel.
maxwell ainley
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Location: england

Post by maxwell ainley »

Finding that balance is part of learning curves .
Kanbun " We had to follow the masters movements "

kanbun very rarely spoke during class .
max ainley
maxwell ainley
Posts: 1690
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2001 6:01 am
Location: england

Post by maxwell ainley »

maxwell ainley wrote:Finding that balance is part of learning curves .
Kanbun " We had to follow the masters movements "

kanbun very rarely spoke during class .

For me the key to learning and of course your development is: balance ,and I don't mean just physical types of balance .

During those first actual observations of learning Uechi-ryu ,the above quote sums up those basic learning impressions ,and note just basics ,but basics are the key to more advanced forms of learning .
max ainley
MikeK
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Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 9:40 pm

Re: overthinking it

Post by MikeK »

Shana Moore wrote:But I do believe mental review and attention to what you are doing is also useful...but is there a point where it's not?
The trite answer is "when it gets in the way of just doing". A relaxed mind and body seems to be the best way to learn, but it's one of the hardest states to get and stay in for a lot of folks (I'm in that group). If your mind is busy reviewing on the fly you're thinking on something that happened in the past rather than being in the moment.

The time to mentally review your performance is when you are not working on the physical part and also when you really understand how something works.

In today's training I showed a technique and it wasn't working right for one of the guys. He did everything right but did a move in two parts instead of simultaneously. I don't think review would work if all he was doing was going over the incorrect method, which by the way he was doing because of how I initially explained the technique (doh!). I think dwelling on wrong technique, or mistakes, is a waste of time, and a person is better off focusing on getting closer to getting it right.
I was dreaming of the past...
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