Martial Arts Learning

Are you remembering and assimilating your techniques as quickly as you would like? Have you had the embarrassment of your instructor asking you to demonstrate a technique you have previously learned and having no idea what you are being asked to perform. The problem is that we do not pick up everything that taught to us. Most people miss 80% of everything that is said to them or shown to them. (Don't believe it? -remember the game of "Telephone"? ) We have to learn how to learn, and learn more effectively.

Here are eight simple techniques to speed your learning:
1.Keep A Notebook
Keep a notebook to jot down the subtle points that the instructor pointed out in class that could be forgotten. This is also a great place to put theories, strategies, and philosophical tidbits, as well as mistakes that the teacher pointed out in class. Don't wait until you get home to make your notes either - most people will forget about 90% of what they learned within 10 minutes.

2- Perfect, Maintain & Use The Basics
"If your kihon is weak you will never understand kata."
This underlines the importance of mastering the fundamentals of your system. You may think that once you have tested on the requirements of your rank that you can put them out of your mind, but you would be mistaken. If you don't have a solid foundation of basics, how will you ever learn advanced techniques? Yes they may look cool and effortless when performed by a ranking martial artist -just remember that what you see is the result of long years of toil and effort. By revisiting the basics, often you'll find that advanced techniques will be much easier to pick up. Besides, if you can't even do a proper punch how do you ever expect to exert maximum power?

3- Be Committed
You will get out of your martial arts training what you put in. From experience, I can tell you that if you don't practice outside of class, it shows -- and in a big way. Ask yourself this question: "What if my instructor put forth the same amount of effort in teaching as I do in training?" Make a specified time for your training and stick to it. If you are not doing so now, what better time to start than now?
Start small - just 5 minutes a day to begin. It is better to practice 5 minutes per day every day than an hour once a week. Commit yourself to betterment, by the day, week, and month.

4- Be Open-minded
Eastern Masters have often used contrasting images of an empty and a full cup of tea as a way to symbolize the concept of an open versus a full mind. You may already know a certain way to achieve something, and feel that it is the best -- but keep your mind open. Consider that the simplest technique will hold numerous nuances and applications you never considered.

5- See The Whole Picture
In a seemingly simple movement, such as stepping forward with sayu sabaki against a cut from Daijodan shomen giri, there are usually countless hidden subtleties that play key roles in the application and its variations. So although it may seem obvious that our attention as a learner of the example above should be drawn towards the evasion movement, that is not the case. You should observe the instructor's footwork, waist movement, hand positioning, etc.; pay attention to whole body movement.

6- Be Mindful
Tada Ima. This phrase means "here, now." After having practiced a certain movement hundreds of times, you'll come to a point where you don't have to consciously think about "how-to-do-it" anymore. Unfortunately, many people stop there, and end up simply "going through the motions." Push that technique to another level by visualizing the opponent(s) as you execute the kata -- see the application, feel the energy and intent. Be in the moment.

7- Be Adaptable
Take a familiar application and vary the possibilities. What if you were to use the same technique from another stance? What if the opponent was taller than your usual training partner? This is training.

8- Ask Questions
This one may seem obvious, but needs to be emphasized. The study of bujutsu requires complete involvement of the body, mind ,and spirit. You cannot just go through the motions. If
you come to the end of your class time and you have not formed any questions, you have wasted part of your opportunity for learning. There is nothing more frustrating to an instructor than asking for questions and being answered with blank faces and silence. There are no foolish questions but the one you didn't ask.

Consider the possibility that after many repetitions of a certain movement, you find out that you've been doing it incorrectly. Now imagine trying to correct that movement. We know how hard habits are to break: A lot of time and frustration could have been saved by asking questions of the instructor. And one of the most important questions to ask before going home is, "Is this the way to do it?"

Sometimes it may feel uncomfortable if you ask the teacher a question that initially seems to stump him, but don't let that prevent you from doing it again in the future. Any decent teacher loves a challenge -- it lets them momentarily pause the teaching mode and explore the movement in an "out-of-the-box" method, which is not only educational, but just plain fun.

You may not have a photographic memory, but apply these guidelines to your practice. Your learning skills will improve and you'll find your techniques will have greatly improved.

-Uncredited Author. I found this saved as a file on my computer and can't remember where I got it from, but I feel this is important material to share. If you are the author of this material I apologize for not crediting it properly but I would like to thank you for an excellent article.