Back To The Basics

I've got a virus and it's beginning to upset me. No, it's nothing contagious or deadly, it's just a glitch in my bagpiping technique. A simple and basic movement that I've done a million times has suddenly gone astray and now I have to work to get it back under control. My piping instructor, who is normally pretty understated, even commented, "Wow, that sounds like shit".

These things come and go with any physical skill; they're nothing new to golfers, place kickers, pitchers, or anyone that requires a finely tuned repetitive motion. I've often experienced viruses on the range when my shooting skills just headed south for no good reason. I've gotten them in the pool when my stroke fell apart. They arise out of nowhere and I have to struggle with the basics again to get things back under control. It's hard on the ego to go back to square one and break things down all over again, practicing slowly, repetitively, over and over and over. I want to just charge ahead, but that's how these things develop in the first place, by not paying close enough attention to the basic skills.