Practice Habits to Improve Your Handler Mechanics

A few years ago, I recorded this podcast and I'm back at with Molly Gebrian's new book: Learn Faster, Perform Better and applying proven practice techniques to how we learn and maintain handling skills. 

You can listen to three practice ideas or read this quick summary: 

1. If you make a mistake, stop immediately and assess. 

What is the problem, and what do you need to do differently in order to get through cleanly? Once you've solidified in your mind, it's time to go back to the beginning and work through it in context. 

Instead of fixing the mistake quickly and without speed and continuing on, you are rehearsing what you'll actually need to do in competition: get it right from the beginning. 

2. Overlearn your handling mechanics. 

In order to create the neural pathways we need to build fluency, I encourage you to overlearn something. Overlearning happens when a learner continues to reinforce a skill after they have figured out how to do it. Overlearning is necessary to make it stick long-term. 

You need at least half as many correct responses as you have incorrect ones. 

3. Amplify the error. 

If you get consistent feedback from your instructor, but you are unable to change it, it's likely because you are rehearsing it without realizing it. By exaggerating the error, you can learn more about why you don't want to move your body in that way and become more aware of it. This awareness will allow you to self-correct your behavior and move you on your way to replacing it with a more desirable one. 

This is just the beginning of what I'm learning about how to practice well, and I'm excited to bring this to my training programs in the future! 

Let me know if you try any of these and how they work for you!