Learner driver | ||
classes qigong tai chi kung fu about us reviews a-z
Can't drive
Imagine that you don't know
how to drive a car... You have an idea of what is
involved.
But you have no experience, no
skill and no licence.
If you got into a car and tried to drive you would make a
mess of things.
Books & DVDs
Could you conceivably learn how to drive by watching a DVD or reading a
driving manual?
No.
You need lessons and you need hands-on practice.
Learner
To drive safely and correctly within the legal
guidelines, you need to have lessons.
These will probably be weekly and could take many months.
The lessons culminate in a theory test and a
practical test.
If you pass, you will become a novice driver,
not a skilled driver.
Step-by-step
Consider this: you cannot be taught everything all at once. Tuition must be incremental.
Just like in school.
Before driving
Before the car can be safely driven, the learner must
familiarise themselves with the vehicle:
Cockpit drill: what the controls are, where they are located, seat adjustment, the mirrors, the steering
Familiarity with the pedals
Handbrake
Clutch biting point
Use of mirrors
Blind spot
Are the lights functioning?
Remembering
A learner makes a
colossal amount of mistakes.
They remember one concern and forget
another.
Driving is akin to juggling:
trying to keep several balls in the air at once.
A high degree of concentration and
awareness is needed.
Making mistakes
The first step in learning from your mistakes is to accept the
mistake without being defensive.
The second step is to consider what went wrong and why.
The third step is to try again; this time with a
modified approach.
Habits
Eventually the learner gains an
increasing number of driving habits.
The unfamiliar becomes familiar and they gain
confidence. Practice is relentless.
Learning process
Learning involves:
Lessons/explanations
Practice
Heavy repetition of basic elements
Homework
Revision
Exams
Levels of proficiency
Regular feedback
Combining
To gain greater skill, a learner driver must combine different skills.
By combining different facets of knowledge, the student gains a far more
comprehensive picture of what is taking place.
They can then perform more complex skills, and re-evaluate/revise/refine
existing competences.
Competent driver?
When the learner passes their test, they are legally entitled to
drive a car.
But they are far from skilled.
With virtually no experience, the learner is
barely able to drive competently.
Refinement
If the DVLA instituted an annual re-testing of all drivers, how many
people would re-pass their test to the legal standard?
Many people lapse into bad habits of speeding,
distraction, not
indicating, poor lane discipline,
wrong use of gears, aggression, driving too
close to other drivers...
Some drivers avoid using their weaker skills such as
reverse parking.
Learning any real skill
Learning any skill in life is akin to learning how to drive.
There are no shortcuts.
You cannot just sit down at a
piano and play.
You cannot travel to Spain and speak fluent Spanish without learning the
language beforehand.
You cannot watch tai chi
form (or
applications) on YouTube and expect to be doing the same in the first
months of class.
Commitment
When starting tai chi classes, treat it
like driving lessons.
You will only get out of the class what you put
into it.
If you just attend once a week and neglect to practice between classes, then
progress will be slow.
If you have conviction, then your progress will
be steady.
Combat
If you are competent with tai chi, you should be quite
comfortable having an instructor test your
tai chi skill any day of the week, at
any time.
This is quite reasonable.
Your skills should be active and
present at all times.
Otherwise, you are not really capable of using
the art in combat.
Page created
18 March 1997
Last updated
16 June 2023
▲