Variations

For a bit of a change I taught a class built out of variations. Starting with our first leg throw (o soto gari) and the related ninth (o soto otoshi) I led the class through about 8 variations. We repeated the dose with around a dozen related hip throws and variations, all emerging from our nfirst hip throw (uki goshi).

Because we practice osoto gari and uki goshi so much, even for the beginners this was viable. The related principles form a bridge to the variations. It is not a case of learning something completely unrelated, but rather building on what you already have. At the same time, learning a new variation is not just accumulation; there are distinctive points and refinements to be learned and most everyone runs into a particular variation that poses problems that need to be worked through.

After this tour, we went back to some rapid-fire throw-for-throw practice on the first leg and hip throws with a variety of partners, which were -- gasp! -- now a bit better and more robust thanks to the exploration through the wider world of variations.

It's a bit like a chef experimenting with all sorts of flavors, but then going back to his speciality and making small adjustments, leading to significant improvements.

A few reliable techniques, or a smorgasbord?

I say both.  Despite our large syllabus, we spend most of our time practicing the fundamentals, both techniques and drills.  The higher techniques are practiced less often, but build on and compliment the principles instilled in the fundamentals.  This maintains interest, adds scope, and reinforces the fundamentals (example).

At first only the basic techniques will be sufficiently internalized to pull off under pressure, but over time one's applicable repertoire becomes richer.

An analogy is learning another language.  Maybe you only learn a handful of words and phrases by rote at first -- traveller's French (or whatever) -- but if you are serious, in time you will want to develop a richer vocabulary, a sense of the grammar, idiom, etc.  Even learning those first few phrases may be really difficult (at first), but it is not clear that restricting yourself to a small set that intensive practice of a small subset will lead to better results than a serious, broader study.

Of course, if you don't have the time/dedication to pursue a broad and deep study of a language (or a martial art) attempting to do so will lead to shallow and disappointing results.

If it doesn't work ... change it

Even a very well-honed and skillful technique won't necessarily work on everyone.  There are some flexible people in my class who certain joint locks won't work on; others are fairly impervious to strangles; various throws are more difficult to pull off against heavy, short or tall partners; particular pressure points are "dead" on some people.

So:

1. practice with many partners;
2. learn variations;
3. learn to flow into other techniques.

If a technique doesn't work, work on it and improve it, and figure out what else it sets up.  I haven't met anyone yet who is impervious to all techniques.  When I do I'll ... run away!

Distract, distract, distract!

Last night we spent the bulk of the class applying jiu-jitsu tactics to escaping from common holds: An exhaustive variety of wrist grabs, plus a few chokes.

The beauty of being grabbed is that you can feel exactly where your partner's hand or hands are, and with a little sensitivity the rest of his or her body too.  If (s)he moves you can sense that as well.

On the downside, you are now under attack, so distract!  Strikes and kiais are the obvious way to go, but off-balancing and mis-aligning can help too.

Now: In every class of any size there will be people who are strong enough and non-cooperative enough (at least when starting out) to prevent some of the basic leverage tricks of jiu-jitsu from working in their unadorned form.  They know what to expect in terms of the specific escape being attempted -- it's a pre-arranged exercise! -- and use this knowledge plus their strength to foil the technique.  They are in fact cheating.  So it's reasonable to tell them to upbraid them, but there is an alternative: Distract!  Take their mind somewhere else.  Strike and off-balance, and -- if necessary -- strike again!   Even threatening a vulnerable area (please don't make actual contact in training) should be enough to weaken the grip.

If you are skilled, you can use their resistance to flow into something else, ideally making use of their force.  But early on, to keep it simple, distract!

After a while everyone should learn that when practicing this kind of self-defence that the name-of-the-game as the attacker is to provide appropriate levels of force to allow the defender to refine his or her technique.  It's the Goldilocks principle: Not too little, not too much, just right!

Once the technique is technically excellent and second nature for the defender, it is fun to play with high levels of resistance, but to be realistic this should be during practice where the attacker does not know what the defender's response will be.  Don't try to skip to this stage straight away!

That's a key difference between learning or refining a technique vs. testing out your self-defence capabilities under a bit of stress.

Efficient use of strength

I am not against the use of strength, rather I want to explore and develop its efficient use.

When technique is refined and application is sensitive it can be surprising how little force is needed to execute a technique successfully.  Conversely, if you find yourself straining to perform a technique, there is usually a failure of technique or sensitivity that you are trying to compensate for with additional "brute" strength.

Here are some inefficient uses of strength:

1. Opposing a push with a push (as in an arm-wrestle)
2. Opposing  a pull with a pull (as in a tug of war)
3. Tensing up (so that our own muscles fight each other)
4. Relying on isolated muscles groups (local strength)
5. Mis-using levers (e.g. trying to open a door by pushing/pulling near the hinge)
6. Unnecessary lifting

Here are some ideas that can help increase efficiency:

1. Accept a push, and use it to help power a pull or a turn
2. When pulled, press forward on  a diagonal
3. Use whole body strength to power movements: The large muscles (legs, buttocks, abdomen) supply most of the power, and the whole body conveys it to the point(s) of application
4. Push or pull in directions where your opponent can muster the least resistance; e.g. when standing push or pull perpendicular to the line connecting the feet
5. Get your opponent into a position of serious disadvantage before applying significant force 
6. Apply a two-way "push-pull" action
7. Use a weight-drop to add additional power

See whether you can find places where you are using strength inefficiently and see what else you can do instead.  Practice the techniques to increase efficiency individually and in combinations.

Bored!

A post by Littlefair: Practice, practice, practice... has a great piece of advice:

When I feel myself drifting off during lessons I like to focus using this idea of always checking form and movement, getting feedback from my body and knowing that I'm staying on the path.

Like many people, once I have achieved basic competence in a skill, and can do it "without thinking", my mind tends to wander off as I go through the motions. I may even feel a little bored ...

But what martial arts has taught me is that this is usually the first plateau in learning. Looking back, I struggled to get to this point, and am relieved to have gotten even this far. Perhaps I am a little drained from the effort, and need time to consolidate.

Looking forward there are many more challenges to come. Littlefair's tip is one way to open up the training and to start exploring sensitivity, details and principles.

Nowadays, with a busy life, going through the same routines that I have followed for years is less frustrating and often somewhat comforting (like slipping on a comfortable old pair of gloves). But it is also exciting, because I no longer take my competence for granted, and know that with a bit of creativity I can exploit my familiarity as a starting point for a fresh climb into further learning and understanding.

Structure and chaos

In commenting on a nice article over at Mokuren Dojo --  Heads up: Drills ARE kata -- I made the following observation:

Broadly speaking there are two poles to training: kata and randori.

If it's pre-arranged, it's kata. Otherwise there must some uncertainty (i.e. "ran" or chaos) so it's randori.

And it is not just true of the martial arts.  Other disciplines also show this division.  

Take music: Classical music is primarily pre-arranged; jazz is more improvised.  But it is not entirely clear-cut: A classical concerto usually has a section -- the cadenza -- where the soloist gets to show-off with an improvised solo.  Conversely, there are jazz standards that jazz musicians improvise around time and again.

Take theater: Plays are usually written down and brought to life in productions, but in impro(v) there is no script (really!) and invention occurs on the spot.  Again, the division is not absolutely clear: The expression "the show must go on on" comes from theater, and seasoned performers must improvise in written-out plays when something goes wrong.  In an interview with the actor Michael Caine he explained how he learned to "use the obstacle".  For example if a chair unexpectedly obstructed his entry into a scene in a play Caine would either get angry with it (in a drama) or fall over it (in a comedy).  On the impro side there are many games (think Theatresports) and set-ups to give some structure for the creativity to hang off.

Take science: From school science many (most?) get the impression that science is about learning what has gone before -- Newton's laws, rules of chemical composition, what bits make up a frog -- or following set recipes to recreate an experiment.  But original science is about discovery, formulating and testing hypotheses, making sense of a bunch of observations, bringing order to chaos.

Which brings me to my first point: 

Once upon a time the structured stuff was the product of a creative act (or acts), more akin to improvisation than recapitulation.  

The masters who formulated and codified katas, Mozart, Shakespeare, Newton etc. although "standing on the shoulders of giants" were playing with chaos, and bringing forth structure.

What about the rest of us?  Perhaps partly because of the lofty standards set by the luminaries who came before we shy away from even attempting to be original, or deliberately put down the old stuff as being worthless or out-of-date, but surely both attitudes are too extreme:

Most of us will do well -- in whatever field -- to study what came before, and also attempt to not only recreate, but create anew.

Pablo Picasso was first a wonderful draftsman, in a realistic style, and then he started to play with the rules.

Personally, in the areas where I have manifested more talent -- that is, where things came easily -- I have wanted less structure.  Let me figure it out myself!  Let me play!  On the other hand, where I have shown less ability, then I have craved structure to help me learn.

The traditional martial arts are complex and difficult.  Structure is needed, but so is chaos.  Traditionally randori, sparring, push hands, etc. have supplied the chaotic element in the form of competition.  But alternatives like simple games; figuring out combinations,counters, and self-defence applications; researching bunkai for kata movements; inventing new kata; etc. offer additional scope.

This year I will be giving more time to tuning the balance between structure and chaos in my own training and also in my teaching.

First class back for 2009: New mat cover, kuzushi

Last night we had our first class at Monash Caulfield for 2009, and it was fun. Three regulars returned (including Ash in his new colored belt -- congratulations!), two apologies were sent, and two newcomers came, joined in, and got off to a flying ;-) start.

Our new mat-cover
The first notable thing that has changed is that we have a new mat cover -- at last! This is an enormous (and valuable) canvas sheet that we use to keep all our judo mats together during training. It's an important piece of safety equipment because it prevents toes from getting caught between the mats, and stops the mats from slipping apart.

Spreading out the new cover for the first time

The previous cover -- manufactured out of painters' drop-sheets by myself and my-beloved -- had been lost by the university while reorganizing storage areas at the beginning of last year. While making do with a borrowed replacement that was too small, I spent a ridiculous amount of time last year negotiating compensation, navigating bureaucracy and arranging a new cover to be specially made. Even so the club had to make a significant co-payment. What a hassle!

Tucking it in

It was worth it! The new cover is great: Heavy-duty and soft at the same time -- kind of like jiu-jitsu! It looks good, feels nice, and works well (no readjustments needed during class). And, importantly, it is safely locked away.

Theme of the month
We started off with kuzushi as the theme of the month (our first), and it worked well. Having a "point of focus" is helpful for me because besides having planned some material to emphasize the theme, I just seeing the theme pop-up everywhere in our regular techniques (I hope my students do too!). These observations can lend themselves to some improvised segments in my teaching.

For example, when first learning the come-along arm-bar to beginners they often have difficulty in getting their partner to tap. The technique has lots of bits and it easy to subtly resist it if hand- and arm-positioning is even slightly out.

A come-along armbar featuring excellent technique (including kuzushi)

I would normally focus on the technical points needed to make the lock work actively: Correcting positioning, two-way action, etc. Last night it seemed natural to instead work on ways to increase kuzushi to kill off resistance; in this way the technique can work despite imperfect positioning etc.

It seems to me that kuzushi can be thought of as part of a tactical two-way action:

1. Positive: Correct technique and positioning, good timing, use of force, etc.
   
2. Negative: Kuzushi (in all forms) lessens the opponent's ability to resist

Another nice example of this was when Chris, one of the newcomers, did something only vaguely related to the demonstrated throw, but successfully threw his partner (me!) anyway by dint of having applied effective kuzushi.

* * *

The only downside I can see with the theme-of-the-month is getting too carried away. Just a few morsels each class should be plenty for us all to chew over.

Urban Training: Part II

I would love to train every day, but at the moment my life is very full, with a young family and career taking up the majority of my waking hours.  Martial arts is what I do in "my time" and other interests take a back seat.

While I am working on breeding my own regular training partners they are both still too young for serious practice.

So what to do?  

Most weekday mornings I get up at 5.30 am and practice some of my hung gar kug fu sets (kata), before breakfast and work.  But I am also on the lookout for mini-training opportunities throughout my work-day.  This has the following benefits:

• It's exercise, fun and relaxing
• It offsets an otherwise sedentary chunk of the day, giving me energy and de-stressing
• It helps me in my quest to apply what I learn in the martial arts elsewhere in my life
• It helps me to rack up more "training hours"

How I do it

Each morning I drive to the local train station.  If I have to wait a while I get to do some loosening exercises.  Alternatively, if I haven't done my early morning work out I might wait until the train comes in horse stance.  Then I take the morning train into town:

I like to catch an early train so that I can get a seat and do some reading, but if I miss out on a seat standing up on the train is a good way to test my balance.  Inside the 7.10 am train:

I always walk up the long escalators from the underground city loop.


I have read that some of the Olympic Judo guys find themselves compelled to  go up the down escalator, but that's a bit demonstrative for me!  Stairs are also good:

There's also a pleasant walk to the office, downhill in the morning, but pleasingly uphill on the way home:

Because I get in so early I rarely have to share the lift (elevator in American) to the 9th floor:


I am in the habit of using the 40 seconds of privacy to practice either horse stance punching or circular punching. The mirrors help me to check my alignment.

But wait, there's more ...

Roof-top practice

Withour doubt, the training highlight of my day is roof-top practice.  Having obtained the code for access to the roof of the office building:

I was delighted to find an area ideal for a spot of lunchtime practice:

The views of the city of Melbourne are terrific:



so on most days I take 10 minutes before my lunch-break to do a couple of runs through the 1st set of hung gar kung fu, plus a few minutes of standing relaxation.  Some more views / stances: 

These photos were taken on a hot sunny day, hence the sun-glasses, shorts, sandals, and shadows.  

Among my colleagues this time when I disappear is known as "going off to fight ninjas on the roof".  Actually I am yet to spot any ninjas, or Spiderman, for that matter.  Occasionally I have also had resting window-cleaners as an (appreciative) audience.

I find that doing the set in the middle of the day results in extra energy in the early afternoon, where in the past I found I would often find my energy levels flagging.

Also: Before I go to bed at night I also try to do this set two more times.  The routine suits me, and adds up to a little bit of extra training every day, in addition to formal training in-class, even on those days when I sleep in and miss my morning work-out.

Over to you

So that's how I do it.  What do you do to weave some extra training into your day?

Taking notes

It's an oldy, but a goody:  Make notes.

This year I have resolved that very soon after I attend any martial arts class run by someone other than myself, I will make notes.  In the past I have made notes, true, but only occasionally.  This year I will do it every time.

After class, usually when I get home, I jot down the main points.  Some nice aspects of this process are:

1. My attention is not split during class (unlike e.g. making notes during a lecture)
2. It sharpens my memory
3. It only takes a few minutes
4. It helps turn reflection into a habit
5. It is transferable to day-to-day life

Interestingly, every class so far has prompted me to make at least one small page of notes.  And seminars and advanced classes have me filling pages.

Naturally, reviewing the notes later also turns out to be really useful.

Theme of the month ideas

Over at the Mokuren Dojo blog instructor Patrick Parker has committed himself to "emphasizing a different broad principle each month" when teaching his judo and aikido classes, starting with relaxation in January 2009.

I think that this is a great idea, and for my jiu-jitsu and classical judo classes I plan to trial an explicit "theme of the month" starting in February, when I re-start my class after the summer recess.

Here are some ideas for candidate monthly themes:

• Juicy kuzushi
• Beautiful breakfalls
• Push and pull
• Minimum effort, maximum effect
• Divine alignment
• Whole-body power
• Sense and sensitivity
• Do try this at home!
• Come along, come along
• Wriggle like a piggle; squirm like a worm
• Groundhog month -- rejected: instead we occasionally have Groundhog day
• Combine and conquer
• Countermeasures
• Striking thoughts
• Distraction is a good thing
• Get smarter through kata
• Creative kata
• Mind and body
• Jiu-jitsu geometry: Circles, spirals and spheres
• Jiu-jitsu comes from the sword
• Ju, jitsu and do
• The higher goals of judo

Ok, at one a month those should keep me going for about two years!  So I'll try to rationalize, combine and prioritize.  And report back on what I do choose each month.

As always: Comments, suggestions and requests are welcome.

Evening up

In sports a constant problem is the mismatch. One competitor is stronger, bigger, faster, or more skillful than the other. To make things interesting sex, weight, and/or age and experience categories are often used, and sometimes a handicapping system is introduced.

In competitive training in the martial arts the mismatch is also a problem, for identical reasons, but it can also be an asset. In competitive practice -- such as judo's groundwork randori -- you can gain much more if your main objective is to learn rather than to win at all costs.

Let's say that you are big and strong, and your opponent is not. You have the option of using all your strength and weight to literally crush your opponent. That is the short road to victory, but a very long road to learning. So don't do it! Put away that advantage; wind it back to the same level (or just above) that of your partner and work on other aspects: Movement, technique, sensitivity.

In this way, when you go up against someone bigger and stronger than you (for example), you will have developed other sides to your game. The size and strength will still be there, but overall you will be more even.

The same advice applies to mis-matches in knowledge. If your arsenal of techniques is vastly greater than your opponent's, you should limit your repertoire of techniques. Concentrate on delivering a few techniques with finesse (for example), rather than relying heavily on the surprise factor of a technique that your opponent has never seen.

* * *

Even when I have the opportunity to evenly match students I still like to mix things up, creating mis-matches as well as even matches between partners. Why? Because having experienced people work with beginners is safer than beginner v. beginner, provides better learning for the beginner, and gives the more experienced partner freedom to experiment; smaller people should be exposed to larger partners as preparation for self-defence; brutes need to learn to be gentler, etc. And we all should practice with lots of different people.

In actual self-defence don't hold anything back, but in training learn today so that you can win (or survive) tomorrow.

To summarize: In competitive practice we need to even things up, and by doing so in a creative we can create opportunities for significant learning and development.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly

I have been exploring my breathing. This is a huge area, so consider this article an introduction.

Breathing methods and practices are widespread and varied. Breathing can be automatic or controlled, and is widely believed to connect the body and the mind: Many people take a few deep breaths to help calm themselves; counting breaths is a popular meditative practice, as is observing one's breathing; Pranayama -- breath control -- is a significant part of yoga. Going in the other direction: If you start to panic you may find yourself taking shallower breaths, and possibly hyperventilating.

Specialized breathing techniques are also widespread in the martial arts. There are many different -- and conflicting! -- approaches to training and becoming aware of your breathing.

Caution: You do not want to mess up your breathing. Becoming aware of your breathing patterns in different situations would seem to be a reasonably benign step to take; forcing significant changes on yourself, more risky. Take care.

My approach to this topic consists of background reading, asking questions, and a degree of observation of myself and others.

Modes of breathing

There is more to breathing than inhalation and exhalation. Let's look at some of the different aspects.

I am aware of two very natural modes of breathing:

1. Abdominal breathing: This is what babies and young children do when they rest on their backs. As they inhale, the abdomen expands; as they exhale, it contracts. By comparison, the chest does not rise and fall noticeably.
   
2. Reverse breathing: When I cough -- or growl or kiai or sing (loudly) -- my abdomen expands during the accompanying exhalation. This is the exhalation part of reverse breathing. On the inhalation the lower abdomen contracts, but as with abdominal breathing, the chest does not dramatically inflate.
   

These are by no means the only possibilities. To take another example, if you always keep you stomach pulled in, neither of these modes will be available to you, and the expansion / contraction will be largely confined to your chest.

My take is that abdominal breathing is good and natural for relaxation, and reverse breathing for exertion.

Rather than consciously controlling these patterns, I simply try to be aware of them during training.

For example: In jiu-jitsu and judo classes we recover on our backs between warm-ups in a position similar to yoga's corpse pose, but with our eyes open and arms at right-angles to the torso. You can tell if you are doing abdominal breathing by feeling your belt tighten on the inhalation and loosen on the exhalation.

Nose or mouth?

A normal person can inhale and exhale through both the nose and mouth. Surely there is a situation in which each combination is appropriate. However, in the martial art styles that I practice we advocate inhalation through the nose and exhalation through the mouth, for training and self-defence. The question is why? I cannot be definitive, but

• In-through-the-nose is generally slower and steadier than in-through-the-mouth, and the nasal hairs and passages provide a degree of filtering and warming of the incoming air.
• Although out-through-the-nose is slow and steady -- hence good for relaxation -- out-through-the-mouth can also be slow and steady when you touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, and I find that it is easier for the body to switch to reverse breathing when exhaling through the mouth. Certainly a kiai demands a mouth exhalation.

This is what I do in training, but at other times I find myself reverting to nasal inhalation while relaxing, and mouth inhalation during periods of intense exertion, and when I have a blocked nose!

Other pointers

Holding your breath is a good idea while diving, but not while taking impact. For example, in jiu-jitsu and judo we train to exhale when executing a breakfall. This is only natural: The air will be driven out anyway, so you do not want to fight it.

You really do not want to be struck while inhaling or holding your breath, so by extension having very apparent breathing is not good in combat against a sophisticated opponent.

Breathe through your feet!?

A helpful tip that I picked up from Philip Starr's book, Martial Mechanics, is handy when practicing stance training -- such as holding a horse stance -- for an extended period:

As you breathe, imagine that you are inhaling up from your feet into your abdomen, and exhaling the same way. More specifically, the point on your foot to focus on is the yongquan point (see left).

I find that this helps me to gently relax into the stance, helping me to release tension and sit more solidly. It also hints at the potential power of combining visualization techniques with breathing.

Other places to look

For self-exploration and observation:

• Place your hands on various parts of your torso -- stomach, chest, front, back, sides -- while engaging in different activities and motions.
  
• How does your breathing in-flow and out-flow coordinate with different physical actions?
  

Further reading:

1. Philip Starr's Martial Mechanics (mentioned above) has a good chapter on reverse breathing and some of its applications in the Martial Arts.
2. There are many Feldenkrais lessons that include gently explorations of breathing, and there practice should lead to breathing that adapts well to the situation. I would start with Feldenkrais's Awareness Through Movement or Shafarman's more accessible Awareness Heals.
   
3. Systema, the Russian martial art, is built on explicit breathing practices. See Vasiliev's Let Every Breath... Secrets of the Russian Breath Masters.
   
4. Lastly but not leastly, for a book that explores the function, practice and anatomical basis of breathing, look no further than Calais-Germain's amazing Anatomy of Breathing.
   

Finally
The title of this post -- Smile, breathe, and go slowly -- is a quote from the highly quotable (and readable) Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh. Words to live by.

And remember, keep breathing!

Cooperative combinations

In Jiu-jitsu and Judo, having learned to fall and the rudiments of some throwing techniques it is fun to attempt some free practice (randori): You and your partner take a grip and try to throw each other.

However, there is a tendency for this type of training to degenerate through excessive resistance and defensiveness. There are various means to getting over, through or around this obstacle.

One approach that I have found useful acts as something of a bridge between cooperative practice and free practice, by injecting a smidgen of uncertainty into a basically cooperative exercise...

Note: The usual disclaimers apply. Do not attempt this except under qualified supervision.

Let's say that you and a partner are practicing a combination technique cooperatively. A simple combination consists of an initial attack which is somehow foiled or evaded, and then followed up by a second attack. For example: The 1st leg throw (o soto gari) can be combined with the third leg throw (hiza guruma) as follows: The thrower (tori) attempts o soto gari on the receiver (uke) who evades, preferably through skillful stepping and body movement. Tori then fluidly moves into hiza guruma, and throws uke to the mat.

Two problems almost always crop when this kind of exercise is first practiced:

1. Tori applies the first technique with insufficient vigour, and/or
   
2. Uke evades too early.

Both defects arise because of the pre-arranged nature of the exercise. In the first case tori is over-concerned with the second-part of the combination, so the attack is reduced to a feint, and in the second case uke is able to take advantage of the unrealistic knowledge of what the first attack is going to be.

These can be overcome with practice and good focus, but I would like to offer a variation on the exercise which works well and is lots of fun besides.

Tori is to attempt the first technique with reasonable vigor. If uke evades, (s)he follows up with the second technique. With each repetition uke has the choice of allowing him or herself to be thrown, or to evade. Uke's job is firstly to decide whether to attempt an evasion or not, while the second, should (s)he elect to evade, is to do so as late as possible.

This is not a competitive exercise in the normal sense because -- whatever happens -- uke is the one who gets thrown, if not by the first technique, then by the second. But the element of uncertainty from the thrower's perspective helps to eliminate the original defects: If the first attack is half-hearted, uke can elect not to evade; and, once the attacks are coming fluidly, uke can leave the evasion later and later until (s)he is thrown despite trying to evade.

This exercise can be varied and extended in many ways. Examples include:

1. Use a different pair of techniques
2. Uke varies the type of evasion
   
3. Allowing tori a choice of second-attacks
4. Allowing uke the option evading the second attack, in which case tori now throws uke with a third technique
   

As these exercises are pursued the resulting practice starts to look less and less pre-arranged and more like free practice, hopefully of good standard. Adding a bit of uncertainty helps to develop spontaneity within a structured framework.