Back To Basics

My question here is really posed to those of us who are black belts or high-level instructors, but as always, everyone is welcome to comment.

As an instructor, how often do you take yourself back to basics and train on the little things that are often regarded as insignificant to some students and instructors?

I ask this because I go back to the basics quite a bit. I think that it is imperative that we review our basic techniques in order to a) be good instructors and b) be able to act on basic instinct rather than have to think about a technique.

So many of my students ask why we have to continue doing a drill over and over, or why we have to do the same drill week after week. I simply tell them that this way it will be permenantly glued to your instinct.

For me, training on the basics is a part of my daily training routine. I start with basics, and then I branch off to the advanced techniques that I am currently working on or experimenting with. Many people that I have trained with in the past have expressed their disinterest with this style of training, as they are anxious to get in to the meat of the training. I simply state that the basics are the core of our training, and that everyone should go back to the basics every time they train.

How does everyone else fare with this? How often do you start your training at a high level and forget to review the basics?

Gambatte!

I still practice the basics for three reasons

1 My basics are still not as good as I would like them to be,
2 They would get worse if I didn't practice them and
3 I still enjoy doing them.

I don't understand why some instructors can't see this. I know a few instructors that never train at all.
Sharon

[This message has been edited by still wadowoman (edited 11-11-2004).]

I have to agree as well. Every night we go through basics before we go to anything else.To me, basics, principles and concepts drive the training in Martial Arts. "The bigger the base, the taller the building" is a concept we stress. So we constantly work foundation. My dynamic in class is also tough. I have 5th Dan, 3rd Dan, then drop to Browns belts, then another gap to Blue Belt. It was tough at first to get everyone on the same page. But through the years, I found a way to have each person working on their base, and their basics. To me, my students reflect what I do, so I want them technically sound. In order to do this, basics must be practiced. So every night, at the beginning of class, we go through our basics.