The martial arts requires practice (shock)…… And the way anything is developed is through regular, consistent practice. It is that simple….. But how many hours a day should you practice? 2 hours? 4 hours? 8 hours? 12 hours? How much is enough? Is there an optimal number of hours that you should practice?
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Have you heard of the 10,000 hour rule? ……. The 10,000 hour rule states that 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” are needed to become expert in any field.
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The 10,000 number originates from the work of physiologist Anders Ericsson. His research is the basis for the “ten-year rule” and “10,000-hour rule” which suggest that it requires at least ten years and/or 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve an expert level of performance.
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The real key here is NOT the actual amount of practice required, but the type of practice required to attain an expert level of performance. In other words, just practicing any old way doesn’t work.
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You have to apply the IMPORTANT concept of “deliberate practice”. Deliberate practice refers to a special type of practice that is purposeful and systematic.
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While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires FOCUSED ATTENTION and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance.
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In the beginning, just training and putting in your reps is the most important thing. But after a while we begin to carelessly overlook small errors and miss opportunities for improvement.
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This is because the natural tendency of the human brain is to transform repeated behaviors into automatic habits. The more we repeat a task the more mindless it becomes.
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Mindless activity is the enemy of deliberate practice. The danger of practicing the same thing again and again is that progress becomes assumed. Too often, we assume we are getting better simply because we are gaining experience. In reality, we are merely reinforcing our current habits — not improving them.
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So keep your practice sessions limited to a duration that allows you to stay focused. Keep track of times during the day when you tend to have the most energy. Track your practice goals and what you discover during your training sessions.
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It doesn’t matter if we are talking about perfecting technique, performing kata or drills. Anything which encourages smarter, more systematic, active thought, and clearly defined goals will help cut down on wasted, ineffective practice time…… So PRACTICE… but practice smarter…… and not just in the dojo. 
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