Yes pulse can be tricky at first.... You're talking about the rhythm that goes to 6 right? or are you referring to the rhythm that goes to 3?

Also I forgot to mention… never use Bluetooth headphones or Bluetooth speakers when using these online rhythm tools.. there is a significant delay that can cause confusion.

@Kanokrat Suksompoth This is a great observation, and honestly what you described is very normal in the learning process. When we are learning new shines, patterns, or combinations, the brain often goes into “counting mode” because it’s trying to organize new information. Counting becomes a temporary tool to keep things structured so you don’t lose the sequence. But as you noticed, once the movement becomes familiar, the counting naturally fades and you start moving with the rhythm instead of managing numbers. That shift—from counting to walking with the rhythm—is exactly the transition we’re working toward in this training. What you experienced with the Afro-Latin gait is also right on track. That soreness means muscles that normally stay inactive in everyday walking are starting to engage. The ribcage, lats, pecs, core, and hips all participate in creating that grounded flow. Salsa movement isn’t just steps—it’s a whole-body coordination pattern. And the detail you noticed about using the forefoot to push off the ground is important. That connection to the floor is what creates the grounded quality we see in Afro-Latin movement traditions. So if it feels challenging right now, that’s actually a good sign. Your body is reorganizing how it moves. Just remember: - Go slow and relaxed - Practice short sessions rather than pushing through 30 minutes at once - Focus on smooth weight transfer, not muscle force Over time the gait will feel much more natural, and it will start to influence how your salsa timing feels too. You're doing the right work. 💪

@Kanokrat Suksompoth Excellent reflection. You’re noticing some very important things here. 1️⃣ Hearing the clave What you described is exactly how the listening process develops. In some recordings the wood claves are played directly, so the rhythm is obvious. In others, the clave is distributed across the instruments—conga, bass, piano, maracas—so your ear has to piece the pattern together. The fact that you sometimes hear it immediately and sometimes need time to locate it means your ear is already beginning to organize the groove. 2️⃣ The third beat preparing the break You’re actually very close. The idea is that the third hit of the clave creates a moment of tension that prepares the body for the break step. It’s not that you step exactly on that hit—rather, that beat signals your body that the break is about to happen. Think of it as the musical cue that prepares the movement. 3️⃣ Stepping with the clave vs counting Your explanation here is perfect. When you stop counting and instead listen and respond, the body begins to synchronize naturally with the rhythm. Less mental control, more musical reaction. 4️⃣ Songs where you heard it clearly Great observations. - Son de la Loma and El Cuarto de Tula tend to expose the rhythmic structure very clearly. - Veinte Años and Chan Chan are more subtle, so it’s normal that you relied on the maracas to locate the rhythm. That’s actually a great strategy—many dancers learn to find the groove through one instrument first. 5️⃣ Stepping on the third beat challenge This is completely normal. What you described—feeling the rhythm first and then anticipating the movement—is exactly the skill we’re training. Distractions can break that internal pulse, so if that happens just pause, reconnect to the music, and start again. Overall, your reflections show that your listening awareness is expanding, which is the real goal of this exercise. The more time you spend with these songs, the easier it will become to feel the rhythmic cues without having to search for them. Keep going—you’re doing the right work. 👊

Great reflection—and this is actually a very normal place to be in the process. The drummers you’re listening to, like Alexis, are musicians who have fully internalized the clave and the tumbao. For them, the clave is always present in the way they phrase the rhythm, even when it isn’t being played directly as a separate instrument. Because of that, it can feel very subtle or even invisible when you’re first training your ear. So it’s completely okay if you can’t hear the implied clave yet or if locating the 1 and 4 inside those complex tumbaos feels difficult right now. That ability develops gradually as your ear becomes more familiar with the rhythmic language. For now, I recommend focusing on the moment when Alexis clearly marks the clave with one hand while playing the tumbao with the other. That’s a great training moment because it shows how the two rhythms relate to each other. Start with what you can hear clearly, and let that be your anchor. Over the course of these lessons, we’ll continue developing your ability to hear the pulse, the key rhythmic cells, and eventually the underlying clave that organizes everything. So don’t worry—you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be in the learning curve. Just keep listening and letting your ear adjust. The clarity will come. 👊

@Kanokrat Suksompoth thank you for trusting this process!

@Vin Gandhi Yes—this is exactly the world of syncopated rhythms. At first the patterns can feel random, especially with something like tresillo, but what you're experiencing is actually the ear beginning to stretch into a new rhythmic language. The way you described feeling “blind” while following the patterns tells me you likely process rhythm strongly through visual cues. Using visualizations like the shape of the music can definitely help at first. But ultimately we don’t want to rely on just one sense—we want to integrate hearing, movement, and feeling so the rhythm becomes embodied. One practice I recommend is spending 10–15 minutes a day with eyes closed, focusing only on the audio and the physical clapping. Removing the visual input helps your ear and body develop a deeper internal sense of the pulse. Over time, this strengthens your rhythmic awareness so when you return to visual diagrams, they make much more sense. Keep trusting the process—you’re asking the right questions and you’re right where you need to be in the learning curve. If you would like personalized support record a video of you working with the exercise and I can provide feedback 👊