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Training Tools

Updated: Nov 4, 2022

There are so many things out there to help you train and having a variety of ways to train helps make Practice sessions less mundane while challenging you to adapt your skill.


Things I have found useful:


Keeping a notebook. I can be useful to keep notes of your experiences and insights as they come up in training as well as record frustrations and roadblocks so you can find the right help. This is different then taking notes when being instructed by your teacher. Its a diary of your training. Tablets where you can both type and free sketch are great.


Designing a routine. Feel free to design your own training routine. Sets and reps, 10 minutes on this, 20 on that. Chart it out, track it and make it part of your note booking habit.


Using a fitness tracker. Tracking steps, heartrate and duration of training sessions is so easy now. You can even compete in challenges with others and who knows what else in the near future.


Use reminders. Put your training sessions on the calendar, get reminders via text or on your watch.


Self observation is useful. Use a mirror, video and/or shadow box. Something that often happens when I share recordings of Zoom training sessions with my students is they are surprised at how they are often not even close to doing the movement the way I asked. Further, we all have limits on ranges of motion and blind spots covering up what we are doing with what we think we are doing.


I particularly like using the shadow. Set up a very bright spotlight in a darkened room where your shadow will be projected on the wall. The silhouette is very useful for spotting stuff as it forces everything into 2 dimensions.


Get toys. Punching bags of all sorts, fitness bands, yoga balls, lock, kettlebells, medicine balls, shaking poles, dummies, balance boards, etc. can all be made part of an effective training regime.


Get a partner(s). While there is a great amount of progress to be made in solo practice, working with a partner helps to inform and accelerate solo practice by allowing us to experience what works and what does not work in a controlled environment.


This category is only really limited by your imagination. The point is to use what is available and useful to make things easier and more engaging.


Just make sure not to fall into one of the all time classic traps - where you get all the tools but don't do the training.


Build your kit bit by bit, investing time and money only in the things you will actually use in the near future.

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