At Combat Shillelagh, we spend a lot of time talking about principles. Techniques matter, of course, but techniques are really just vehicles for learning the principles behind them. If you understand the principles, you can apply them in different situations, under different conditions, and against different types of problems. If all you have done is memorize a movement, then the moment something changes, you may not know what to do. That is why we believe strongly in principle-based instruction.
One of the most important ideas to understand is that when you are learning something new, you need to practice it correctly from the beginning. Most people have heard the term “muscle memory.” You have also probably heard someone say that it takes thousands of repetitions to really master a skill. That may be true to a point, but there is one very important piece that often gets left out. Those repetitions have to be good repetitions. If you perform something incorrectly over and over again, you are not moving closer to mastery. You are simply getting better at doing it wrong. That is why how you practice matters so much.
Start With the Big Frame
When you are first learning a new movement, pay close attention to what your instructor is showing you. Do not immediately add your own version of it. Do not change it simply because another way feels more natural. Try to reproduce what you are seeing as accurately as possible. Then slow it down. In fact, slow it down more than you think you need to. One of the biggest mistakes students make is trying to move too quickly too soon. Speed has a way of hiding mistakes, while slow movement exposes them.
This is where what we call the Big Frame comes into play. When you practice in the Big Frame, you intentionally make your movements larger than normal. Your stance may be lower, your steps may be deeper, your body rotation may be exaggerated, and your weight shifts may be more obvious. The entire movement becomes bigger and easier to see and feel. The purpose is not to make the technique look dramatic. The purpose is to teach your body how the movement actually works.
This is not sparring. It is not supposed to look like a real fight. You are not trying to prove how fast you can move or how hard you can strike. You are programming the mechanics. You are learning how your body shifts its weight, how your hips and spine contribute to the movement, and how your feet, legs, torso, shoulders, arms, and weapon all work together. You are learning structure, balance, angles, and how to create power without relying only on your arm.
This is why something that looks as simple as a #1 strike can actually contain a lot of information. The strike itself may be obvious, but underneath it you are learning footwork, weight transfer, spinal rotation, body alignment, timing, structure, and unified movement. There is a lot more happening than simply swinging the stick.
Then Move Into the Small Frame
Once you can perform the movement correctly and consistently in the Big Frame, you begin working in what we call the Small Frame. Now your stance becomes more upright, your steps become smaller, and the movement starts looking more natural and more like something you would expect to use in actual practice.
The important point is that you are not throwing away the mechanics you learned in the Big Frame. They are still there. You are still shifting your weight, using body alignment, rotating through your spine and hips, maintaining structure, and using your feet and body to generate power. The difference is that everything is becoming more compact.
This is why the Big Frame is so useful. Once you have learned the mechanics through larger movements, it becomes much easier to shrink those movements without losing what makes them work. Eventually, the movement becomes less obvious. Your opponent may not see the weight shift, notice the rotation, or recognize how much of your body is contributing to the strike. That is exactly what you want. You are doing the same things, but they are becoming more efficient, more natural, and harder to see.
Partner Training Comes After That
The third stage is Partner Pair Training. This is where a lot of systems actually start, and in many cases that creates problems. The student sees a technique and immediately tries to do it against another person. The problem is that another person adds a lot of extra variables. Your partner moves, distance changes, timing changes, you start worrying about being hit, and you start worrying about hitting them. You may begin speeding up or compensating for mistakes without even realizing it. All of that can make it harder to learn the movement correctly.
That is why we prefer to build the movement first. Big Frame, then Small Frame, then Partner Pair Training. Once you start working with another person, begin slowly. There is no reason to rush. This is your opportunity to see whether the principles you have been practicing still work when another person is involved.
Does your footwork actually put you where you thought it would? Does your structure hold up? Are your angles correct? Can you maintain your balance? Can you generate power without overcommitting? Can you move efficiently when your partner is changing the problem in front of you? That is where partner training becomes incredibly valuable. Now you are no longer just practicing the movement. You are beginning to test the principles behind it.
If It Falls Apart, Go Back
There is another important lesson here. If something starts falling apart during Small Frame practice or Partner Pair Training, do not simply keep pushing forward. Go back to the Big Frame. Slow the movement down again. Make it larger. Look at your stance, your feet, your body alignment, your angles, where your weight is moving, and what your spine is doing. Peel the movement apart, find the problem, and then rebuild it.
There is nothing wrong with going backward in order to move forward. In fact, good students do this all the time. Big Frame gives you the opportunity to understand the movement. Small Frame teaches you how to make that movement efficient. Partner Pair Training teaches you how to apply and pressure test the principles against another person. When something stops working, you always have a process you can return to.
Big Frame. Small Frame. Partner Pair Training. That sequence gives you a reliable way to learn, refine, and troubleshoot almost anything in the system. More importantly, it keeps your training focused on what really matters, not simply memorizing techniques, but understanding the principles that make those techniques work.