In the process of mastering a skill, you will first learn the rules, then master the rules and eventually break the rules. You sometimes make an excursion trip to another stage, but there is one primary stage you’re in for that particular skill. This order in the bigger picture is unchangeable and the same for every learner. Breaking the rules is usually considered creativity, but the previous stages are necessary to reach this rebellious phase as they form the foundation for creativity.
As a beginner you’ll have to know which basics exist and how to train them. You get to see the framework within which to work. You get taught tricks that work and make you progress, but you don’t understand why yet. Include understanding practice in your training as soon as possible and slowly switch focus towards the mastery phase. If you stay in the beginner stage for too long, you’ll learn many cool new tricks, but don’t know why they work.
After you’ve learnt some rules, you will train more to fully automate them and integrate them into your routine. At this stage, you can start to think about why these rules work in a certain way and which aspects of these rules are mandatory and which are optional. While learning to do a partner dance, you get taught how to lead your follower into a turn by preparing their body, holding your hand up, and giving them a push. Later, you’ll understand that the push was only there in the beginning when nobody in the room had an understanding of the structure of the dance, but now they can turn themselves. Maybe you’ll even get to the point where the hand is just one of many ways to have any body part give the follower the signal ‘OK, go now’. You could replace the hand with your foot and still give the signal. The only mandatory aspect turns out to be the preparation of the body, through which the follower understands (but also feels most naturally) to turn.
In the breaking the rules phase you understand why rules are put in place and why certain patterns go well with other patterns. Now is the time to break the rules by combining rules and by doing the exact opposite of the rules. The difference with ignorant rebellion is that you come from a place of mastery and understanding now. You’re deliberate in what you break when. You will probably still follow rules for the most part, but introduce a slight mismatch. Or maybe you combine two rules via an unusual link between the two, but still the two rules are original and valid.
When you change the order and start by breaking the rules you act in ignorance. You can dabble in the other phases here and there to change up your practice, but be aware of the true phase you’re in. Try out the mastering phase when you’re still in the learning phase by asking yourself or a teacher: why does it work like this? In the mastering phase, try to combine other mastered techniques to create your own pattern to get a feel for the breaking the rules phase. Dabbling into the breaking the rules phase while you’re still in the learning phase usually doesn’t get you any understanding other than ‘this didn’t work under these circumstances, but I don’t know why’. This trial can serve as a useful reminder or exercise later on in your development when you recollect this situation. Some understanding from the mastering phase is required to be able to locate the error.