Spontaneous Improvisation Drilling

Improvisation is the ability to take the drills beyond a mere repetitive drill and into the type of skill needed by anyone forced into a defensive posture. It is a skill whereby one must use sophisticated decisions making on the spur of the moment, without the benefit of any scenario or strategy or tactics - it is about that instant surprise attack.

Improvisation is the lead into spontaneity and that is only possible when you first come to an agreement with your partner, i.e. the senpai-kohai thing. You have to agree to accept what ever comes from either the senpai and/or the kohai. Before you do this you must spend time, lots of time, in repetitive practices using drills that are structured and highly repetitive in practice. You use drills to perfect your abilities then you introduce the concept of improvisation and thereby introduce spontaneity. 

When the high stress conditions of a violent attack occur you will have trained and developed your rapid cognition through the practice of improvisational drilling. This is what is meant by the spontaneous introduction of differences within a drill, i.e. changing some small aspect of the attack and defend nature within the drill so as to create acceptance from senpai-uke to develop and condition improvisational spontaneity while being subjected to high stress conditions. 

Then you introduce the drills with greater and greater speed and constantly changing improvisation to achieve a more realistic ability to act in accordance with what ever is thrown at you. Simply, after a long period of repetitive practice in drills, introduce some simple change that results in acceptance and spontaneous improvisational actions appropriate to the improvisational introduction of change, etc. One rule, if a change is introduced both must accept it without reservation. 

Creating an environment with the right framework (drills), all of a sudden, engaging in the kind of fluid, effortless, spur of the moment surprise changes makes for good training and practice - and it will be easier as time and practice continue until you can improvise in any situation with any strategy, tactic and technique(s). 

Create the conditions in the dojo for successful spontaneous improvisational actions!