On Thu, 3 Sep 1998 [log in to unmask] wrote:
> "Anna" <[log in to unmask]> wrote in reply to my posting:
>
> MEL
>
> >>***I also used to quote this popular saying until I realised that this
> >is perfect nonsense. If one has already achieved perfection in practice,
> >why would it be necessary to practice any more - to make perfection even more
> >perfect? No, perfection develops by allowing the body to practise its
> >error-correcting mechanisms on imperfect or approximate solutions to motor
> >problems.
>
> ANNA
>
> >****no, to maintain it
>
> MEL
>
> That still does not answer my rhetorical question. One still has to acquire a
> level of perfection before one can practise perfection, so how does one reach
> that level of performance in the first place? None of us has ever seen a
> beginner display perfection of movement in any activity, not even the world's
> greatest athletes, so one always has to begin from a state of magnificent
> imperfection!
>
> Dr Mel C Siff
> Littleton, Colorado, USA
> [log in to unmask]
>
Mel & Anna;
The phrase "perfect practice makes perfect" does not imply, at least to
me, that the performance of the motor act is perfect, merely that the
individual is doing everything possible to attain perfect performance.
Eventually, perfect practice will result in perfect performance, at which
point further practice may help maintain the perfection.
If an individual is performing a motor task but is not attending to (or
focusing on) the elements of the task, the practice is not perfect, and
will lead to imperfect performance. If the individual is focused on the
task, improperly executed elements will be noted and altered with
subsequent perfect practice.
It is the practice that is perfect, not the performance.
Does this make sense?
Frank Underwood
Evansville, IN
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