Students Worried About Getting It Wrong- An Article by Joshua Haigh Instructor WCMA

In my time I have heard many students say that they didn’t want to
practise something at home “in case they got it wrong”.
Well, let me remove this weight of expectation you have placed upon
yourself: You have done it wrong, you are doing it wrong and you will
continue to do it wrong for years! Do you feel better now?
NOBODY does ANY technique PERFECTLY. Not even me. I know! I’m shocked too!
When an instructor tells you that you are doing something right, what they
mean is, you are doing it WELL ENOUGH and that they are happy with the way
you are doing it FOR NOW. It’s still not perfect. But it’s better than it
was, and those little improvements regularly made over a long period of
time will work wonders.
So when you practice at home, and now you have no excuse not to, don’t
worry about what you are doing to the point of giving up! If you can’t
remember exactly how it was done in class, just make a decision to
practise it a certain way that makes sense to you, as close to what you
did in class as you can remember. We don’t expect anything more. Really.
You will not create a muscle memory that you are unable to overcome by
practising something incorrectly. Even if you have practised it a certain
way for years.
Then when you come back to class, you should ask your instructor if you
were practising it right. We are happy to answer questions like this, that
show us that your kung fu training doesn’t stop the moment you leave the
training hall.
Enough reading! Go practise!

Josh Haigh
Eastbourne Instructor