Hello, I am Sugawara, your instructor.

In the last issue, I wrote about how to improve in Aikido from a preparatory perspective.

In this issue, I would like to share with you an efficient way to improve your aikido in terms of review.

three steps forward, three steps back

You're practicing and you get the same point wrong as you did last time, or you can't do something you could do, and you wonder, "Why am I so bad at remembering?" Have you ever wondered "Why am I so bad at remembering?

The feeling is like "three steps forward, three steps back. Many people do not feel that they are moving forward, and I think that many people are driven to think that they are not suited for aikido. So, how can we let aikido soak into our bodies without forgetting to practice one practice at a time?

KPT method as a review of training

Before concluding, I would like to tell you that there is a fun way to review the KPT method, which is to simply list three items to look back on.

The KPT method, originally used in the engineering domain, can be used not only in Aikido, but also in sports in general and business in general.

In the KPT method, the following three items are written in a notebook at the end of the practice.

Keep = Do it well and want to be able to continue doing it next timeProblem = something that is not done well and needs improvementTry = Specific action plan for improvement

The end! It is very simple. 

By the way, my summary is attached at the bottom.

What you could have done is just as important as what you couldn't have done.

When it comes to "review," many people focus on the question of what they could not do. Perhaps this is due in part to the fact that the Japanese educational process uses a method that focuses on what was not done.

 Therefore, the KPT method may appear to be a method of reflection that is different from the Japanese intuition. This is because it also focuses on "Keep=what was done.

Improvements are considered down to a concrete action plan.

The KPT method even considers "Try = concrete action plan for improvement. Make a small promise to yourself to do this next time. Before the training starts, you check the Try and try to execute it. If you continue to fail to do well, you promise yourself a new Try, do it again, and repeat.

The "Way" of Martial Arts

By constantly repeating the process of improvement, the path will eventually become the way. Martial arts, which were born to defeat people, have become a way of life, a way to train the body and mind, called Budo.