One of my pet peeves about that phrase is that the reality is 'practice makes permanent, not perfect'. I was taught this when I was learning the guitar. If you practice something with bad habits you'll just end up retaining those habits forever.

> One of my pet peeves about that phrase is that the reality is 'practice makes permanent, not perfect'.

That's also false, as both the beneficial and detrimental effects of practice fade over time.

The better correction of the common saying (which I've heard from many different teachers and coaches over the years) is "perfect practice makes perfect".