One the things that makes up drop out of activities like music or sports is the feeling that we are not prepared for the class or didn't practice enough. 

 So we worry that we will look bad or the instructor will disapprove or perhaps that we are wasting our money. Sometimes this can be enough to stop us even starting.

Regardless of the activity it's all about getting better not about being at “the level”, whatever that is.

“When we stop getting better we cease to be good” said Oliver Cromwell.

Don't let your ego get in the way of your progress. To be a good student you need to stop worrying about yourself (the ego part anyway) and just think of (and enjoy) the thing you are doing.

 

Everyone has their ups and downs (including the instructor) and if the instructor senses you are tired or not prepared the lesson is instantly adjusted.

 

Your lesson or class time can be spent reviewing fundamentals, this will make it easier to practice later as you will have a better idea of what it is you have to do. It takes time to understand what it is we have to practice. New pathways must be created in our brains. Your lesson can be some time of guided practice, a workout if you like, that will show you how to practice later.

 

I may be a master of things musical but in my martial arts training I am the student ( actually anyone who has really mastered an art will tell you that they consider themselves to still be a student, but you know what I mean)

I may have a class Monday but for the next class on Tuesday I will have had little time to practice, I may be exhausted at the end of the day but I go to class regardless and a few things happen.

 

Since I am doing something completely different it is a nice change of pace, refreshing for the mind and the body. Because I am going to class regularly my mind will be constantly turning over information related to the activity and making sense of it (even though I may not be consciously thinking of it).

 

Practicing becomes less tiring as I don't have to work as hard trying to figure out what it is I am supposed to do.  
 Because the Martial arts are a true art and are in their own way just as involved as music, I know that even if I am not 100% prepared for the class there is still an infinite number of things I can learn.

All arts have basic principles. As we progress in our art we repeat these principles but with an ever greater level of awareness.

Of course practicing will increase your progress and enjoyment even more.

Simon Cole

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