Focused Practice, Ninja Challenge, & Performance 25s
Tapes – What are those?
As students learn curriculum, they will earn the colored tape associated with it. A half tape means they have been introduced to the material. A full tape means they have passed it off and that so long as they keep practicing it, it is ready for testing. The colors are as follows:
Why Practice?
In order to perform their best at testing, students should be doing an hour of practice outside of class each week. This is the bare minimum. We have created these exercises to give you ideas on how to accomplish that practice. You will notice that each one is tied to the tape we are focusing on at any given week during the testing cycle. Even though these practices are set to last a week, some, such as conditioning and stretching, should be done throughout the cycle if you want to see any real improvement. Other assignments can be extended on an as-needed basis. Struggling with your rolls or breakfalls? Practice them more often. Struggle with memorizing your form? Have at least 1 poomsae ready for evel each time you come to class. Adjust these as needed to become the best martial artist you can be.
The Side Bar:
Each week has the same sidebar, as seen below. These explain the purpose of each section and any other pertinent information.
Focused Practice
Thoughtful, goal-driven practice designed to make specific improvements. Keys to focused practice:
- Be specific: What exactly do you need to change/fix/learn?
- Make it measurable: How will you be able to tell if you have accomplished it or not?
- Repetition. Lots of Repetition: Do it correctly over and over to build muscle memory and make the changes stick.
Ninja Challenge
For when you’ve completed your focused practice and want to go above and beyond. By completing the Ninja Challenge you make yourself a stronger martial artist.
Performance 25s
A form of Focused Practice specifically for improving Poomsae.
- Do a single poomsae 25 times.
- Get that poomsae evaluated by an instructor.
- Do another* single poomsae 25 times.
- Get that poomsae evaluated by an instructor.
- Put initialed & signed Performance 25 sheet in the fishbowl at the front desk.
*If students do the same poomsae 50 times on the same sheet then they need to get an eval between the first 25 and the second 25. That way we can catch any mistakes before they get it too engrained in their body memory!
We encourage students to turn in a Performance 25 each week. At Rank Advancement Ceremony every 3 months we have a raffle for prizes, and every completed Performance 25 counts as an entry to win!
The Schedule:
Click on the desired week to see the practice schedule.