Seminars have become a popular way of learning new martial arts material if not a primary way for many.
Seminars and workshops being quite different than a class by their nature require a different strategy for learning in order to get the most out of them. With classes you (typically) get a focus on a few things and lots of reps again and again over intervals whereas the seminar or workshop is (typically) a lot of information in one or two days (seminar) or a enormous amount of detail on a few subjects (workshop).
Going into a seminar or workshop with a strategy for learning will help you get the most out of the experience. Here are some ideas to help you maximize your next seminar experience.
1. If possible, go with a training partner you have experience with. Training partners are your most valuable resource for martial arts training. You and your training partner serve as personal coaches to each other and with each other you get the reps needed to improve your skill. In a seminar, your training partner can be the second part of two minds being greater than one when it comes to taking notes, understanding techniques and drills, and recall in later training. Taking a training partner with you eliminates the issue of finding an appropriate partner for the seminar.
2. If you do not have a training partner going with you, find a partner for the seminar with similar experience level. Normally, when taking class I advise to always switch up partners and take on partners of different experience level as you will always learn from those who have more experience, from those of the same experience level, and those with less experience. A seminar is my exception to this rule as the amount of information presented and money invested will only cause frustration to partners of very different skill levels. A beginner pairing with an experienced practitioner is an unfair, unsolicited private lesson. The experienced practitioner will find themselves instructing while trying to get just enough repetition of something new to remember it later. The less experienced person will spend the time being way over their head trying to keep up with the experienced practitioner. Then result will most likely be both people leaving frustrated with not much retention.
3. Another thought about training partners: consider working in a group of 3. It gives you one more set of eyes. Learning in a group of three also has some interesting advantages. You can watch the technique or drill being done, you can feel the technique or drill, and you can do the technique or drill. And you can immediately get two different sets of feedback.
4. No matter your level, focus on your actual level of retention. If you find yourself quickly over your head, focus on the basics of the movements and/or look for a common concept or theme that runs through what the instructor is showing. Understanding that concept or theme is going to be key for your learning the art. Everyone, no matter their level, will hit that line of confusion in a seminar as the person teaching it tends to know more than the people participating.
5. If the instructor is known for showing several variables at once, split memorizing variables with your training partner. Perhaps you take the odd numbers and he/she takes the evens. This way you’re not stressed with trying to remember so much so quickly.
6. Make good notes. You will probably be writing a lot of things in a short hand that makes sense to you at that moment.
7. Rewrite your notes within 24 hours. Rewrite your notes within 24 hours. Rewrite your notes within 24 hours. Did I mention to rewrite your notes within 24 hours? Everyone I’ve talked to, including some of the best known martial arts instructors in the world, have all shared the same experience: writing notes only to come back to them weeks, months, or years later only to say “what the hell did I mean by this?” Your notes will make perfect sense to you as you write them. As time goes by, the shorthand that make such great sense to you will fade. If you get to your notes and rewrite them adding more detail now that you can as you’re not sitting their trying to quickly write so you can get in a few reps, you will find that your notes will make much more sense for reference to future practice. This method has done me well for both seminar notes and I used it quite successfully in my University studies as well.
8. Rep the hell out of what you learned and understood. The only way to really retain material and improve is to rep it out. We know this from our own regular practice. Seminar material needs the reps even more so if it is something you’re not doing in your regular class repetitions. Grab that training partner mentioned earlier and do some extra homework on that seminar material. This way you’ll understand what you’ve retained and you’re ready to pick up even more when you go to the next seminar with the same instructor.
9. Repeat seminars with the same instructors (if you like the material that is). There is a lot of detail to be learned in martial arts. Even if you’re seeing the same thing again and again, look for the new in the old. Find the fine details you missed last time. One example of this is the great Guro Dan Inosanto. A few years ago at a seminar on Wing Chun at the Inosanto Academy, Guro Dan spotted something in the presentation by Sifu Francis Fong on the basic pak sao technique. Guro Dan asked a question, got an answer from Sifu Francis and was delighted. Guro Dan has had 10 Wing Chun instructors including the infamous Bruce Lee and has performed most likely close to a million or more repetitions of the pak sao most likely yet he found a new detail in it. Finding the new in the old.
10. Get creative with the material that you retain and practice. Through creativity and experimentation you will make the material your own.
11. If the art is something you find yourself going to repeat seminars of and are constantly practicing, seek out instructorship. Learn to teach. Teach to learn.
