Practice Knife Skills

Recently while participating in a wood carving show, I noticed a carver at the next table whittling away on a 1x1x6 piece of wood. Upon closer observation I saw that he was carving a ball at one end of the 1x1. As soon as he had what appeared as a perfect ball carved he began carving the ball into a square. This got me interested in what was goin on; so I asked him. He said that he had just got a new knife and was learning to master it. This fellow had blue ribbons all over his carvings. He said he was 86 years old and had been carving for 50 years. I got to talking to him and discovered a wealth of information. One of which was the practice that he was doing. Seems he had learned that carving a ball on the end of a square piece of wood was an excellent way to learn to handle your knife. I have tried it myself, and I agree. I've shared this practice with several newer carvers and it works....