Two stories stand out in my mind when I think about the Japanese practice ethic:
- I used to occasionally play with the ping-pong club in one of my junior high schools. After playing a couple matches with the 2nd and 3rd years, I noticed some 1st years in the hallway adjacent to the gym. I went over to talk to them and realized that they were all standing in a line, holding their paddles, and practicing their swing at an imaginary ping-pong ball over and over for an hour.
- My friend who was an ALT in the high schools in my town decided to participate in the kyudo (Japanese archery) club. He learned that for the first three months the students don’t even touch a bow. They just practice the arm movements with an imaginary bow. Then the next three months they have a bow but no arrow and they practice the movements over and over before they finally learn with an arrow.
These stories always fascinated me. I think they get at some of the fundamental cultural differences between Japan and the U.S. (or most other countries for that reason.
What “practice” stories or observations or memories from JET days do you have?
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2 comments so far...
I hate to burst your bubble about Japan’s uniqueness regarding practice, but it sounds to me as though what is going on here is nothing more than image training; which has been used in nations around the world. It is not unique to Japan.
Though Howard has a point, I think it comes down to were we ever taught that method of practice when we were in training for sports or even school work. For me, in the US, that is a resounding NO! Only time you heard about visualizing the goal was from professional athletes when they spoke about how they prepared for a major competition.
I love that the Japanese do this. You see it on the train platforms when the men take their umbrellas and sock that imaginary golf ball into the nearest rice paddy. You also see it in the schools when they practice over and over again. When you visualize yourself doing the action you have little to none hesitation in actually accomplishing what you have all ready conquered in your mind.