What is the shortest way that one can 1) set a mark (m<some_char>), 2) move the cursor to arbitrary position, and change between 1) and 2)?
Is there an equivalent ciw, ci', etc. for the above?
(Using vim 8.1.3741, but would appreciate vi-only solution even more.)
Considering ciw, ci', etc. as individual commands to memorize independently from each other is a trap lots of Vim users fall into, especially if they skip the user manual.
Case in point, ciw and ci' are not things of their own; they are nothing more than an operator: c (:help c), followed by a motion: iw (:help iw) or i' (:help i').
What you really are after is not "How to change from X to Y?" but "What motion to use to move to Y?".
Now that you have placed a mark somewhere in your buffer, all you need to do is c, followed by the motion to that mark:
ma
<move around>
c`aI learned something today.<Esc>
Which, of course, works with every other operator.