Taking good notes or how do I remember all of this to practice...

[akhammon]

Hi,
First I am new here, to Mantis and to Kung Fu in general, so please forgive me if I am asking for something strange...

I have been studying Northern Seven Star Praying Mantis here in Rochester, NY for going on four months nows. I have picked up a couple of forms (Tiger Tail and Black Tiger Cross) and I know seven of the springy legs routines.

During class we usually cover alot of stuff and although my Sifu is very patient, I am slow to pick stuff up. I find after a couple of times I get the material down enough to practice at home but there is a lot of material to work on and sometimes it is days maybe weeks before I see the same stuff again and by then it has faded somewhat from my mind. One of my instructors encouraged me to take notes, but that is proving to be a challenging task.

Could someone give me some ideas on how I can take meaning notes while in class or just after, as I would like to retain more from each class than I am now and avoid working on something wrong because I couldn't quite remeber the right way to do it...

For instance, Last night I "learned" 5 of the 8 "somethings" (fight ending moves) and I can really only remember 3 of them enough to work on.

See what I mean, any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks,
-Keene

[yu shan]

Keene

Welcome to the forum, and a very good question. It is very important to "take notes". however you do it. Some folks write down this taught material, some draw (not good for me even my stick people look lame) some use video. I always have a note pad close by jot down everything I can. I find video is VERY valuable for me. These two ways work good together. The taking down of notes will get easier, trust me you need to do this. And dont forget to go over your material that night even if you just sit and think about it. What better way to meditate! ;)

I have heard good things about your group. You guys have alot of two person material eh. Keep up the good work and enjoy your training... and take care of your Shifu.

[monkeyfoot]

Also welcome to the forum.

Like mentioned above, video, notebooks and drawings help a lot. I have over time used each one aswell as combinations if I find something really taxing.

It would be worth mentioning that if you are new to martial arts then you have to also learn 'how to learn'. The best way to do anything is to introduce mental breaks when learning your forms. This allows you to take in small chunks of what you are doing and will help you remember the 'whole' a lot easier. Over time you will devellop the ability to take things in better and you will find your own way of learning.

For now though, keep at the notes, find simularities between other thing you do, put in mental markers, practice every day, and think about what you are doing as much as possible.....then it should be fine.

Good luck

Craig

[mantid1]

Hi Keene

The first things you will need to do is to separate your note book into sections for stances, strikes, blocks, kicks and forms. You can also add sections for stretching, self defense, two person drills.......etc

Ater each class grab your note book and write down any new blocks, stikes etc..

This is the perfect time since it is still fresh. Perfect time to ask your instutor if you are confused. Dont forget to write the terminology and history, you will be glad you did this when you have students:)

Now when you are at home you can pull out your note book and review.

It is important to be able to name all of your stances, strikes, blocks...etc it you are going to be able to write down your forms. Direction is important for writing down forms. The position I face when I start becomes "north". Then you will step to the "west" do such a block then a punch....you get the point.

I also use video to back up my notes. You can get more detail with the notes. Both work well together.

In three years you will have everything broken down into levels and all of the levels broken down into each different category.

Good luck

[akhammon]

Video huh, that is a great idea, I will ask Sifu if I can use my DV camera tonight, and that would be awesome as I could take notes, transcribe the names of the forms and everything... my memory problems solved...

>"I have heard good things about your group."

Thanks, I am glad to hear that, I think my school is great, two of my kids are students as well as myself and all of the instructors and senior students are the best, patient and helpful.

>"You guys have alot of two person material eh."

Yes we do lots of two person work, drills, forms, even exercises.

I hope the DV camera thing is ok with my Sifu as I am really looking forward to a seminar on "Single Flower Stabbing Fist" at our school in a couple of weeks which I bet is going to be great and would be ever better if I could get it on tape.

I have tried capturing this stuff with words and even using stick figures and frankly I am bad at it, so any other suggestions would be appreciated as I still would like to be able to express my education in Kung Fu on paper as well.

Thanks again,
-Keene

[akhammon]

Also welcome to the forum.

Thanks...


It would be worth mentioning that if you are new to martial arts then you have to also learn 'how to learn'. The best way to do anything is to introduce mental breaks when learning your forms. .

Great, this is good as this is how I am being taught and it is very intutive for me, very reaffirming.

Peace over Strength,
-Keene

[akhammon]

Hi Keene ... Good luck

Mantid1, awesome post, thanks so much, this is exactly what I am trying to do.

Perhaps you could point me to an example of how to document the position of the body for this type of note taking.
FYI: I am a programmer by day and I am thinking of something like a UML type diagram (template) to keep it consitent, yeah I know, very geeky.

Thanks a bunch,
-Keene

[mantid1]

The first thing you have to do is have the names of each individual technique and stance....etc. If you have a common name for each techniuqe it will be much easier.

I am not sure whar style you are from so I will use very basic Karate like techniques to show you how I would write down a form.

1. Bow facing north.

2. Chamber the left fist above your right shoulder palm down, with your right fist still at chamber. Then step the left foot to the north to a forward stance. As you complete the stance execute a left downward fore arm block clearing just to the outside of the left knee. You will make initial contact with the back of the left fore arm then rotate the arm clock wise to help clear the kick out of the way.

3. Execute a right revers punch to the north.

4. Look to the east. Step the right foot up to the left then out to the east into a right forward stance. When you rotatate into the forward stance execute a left reverse punch to the east.

....etc....etc

Try to use proper terminology to keep it consistant. You are writing down for YOUR notes so use what you understand. I sometimes still use terms form my last system 18 years ago. The people in my current system would not be able to understand what I am talking about but I do.

I can use my teachers notes. When he teaches me a form he gives me his notes also. Detailed notes are important.

Now. After I learn a form I tape it. Take it home and down load it onto the computer. I pull it up with windows media and play it in slow motion. As I play it I can pause it and type in the detailed descripton of the form step by step. You have to do this just after you learn it or you will lose some of the detail if you just go by tape.

I had a data base built for all of my stuff. I run a school so I need to have a good system.

The data base is broken down into levels. Each level is broken down into the different catagories such as blocks, strikes, kicks, forms, combinations form forms, throws...etc

when I pull up the data base I can just click on level one then I pull up strikes and select which strikes I want to teach and the same for the rest of the catagories then I submit it and It goes out into computer space some where. I pull up the next levels and do the same. At the end I click on view and my list for each level comes up, I check it then print it.

I have over 100 individual techniques, over 150 two person drills and combos not to mention the forms and grappling stuff. It only takes me 3 minutes to print up a lesson plan for class.

For the drills and combos I also have video for each. So if I am a little scetchy on whick drill it is I picked to teach I just click on that drills name and a video of it will come up.

Probably more info than you wanted.

I hope it helps.

[spiralstair]

Hi akhammon,
The typical way to transfer memory from short term to long term memory is thru rehearsal, or repitition. Think of the way most people try to remember a phone number, repeating it over and over till they can dial it.

Often students wait too long to 'rehearse'. If you cut down the amount of time that passes between when you leave class till when you try to perform the new moves on your own it may help your recall. A good method involves repeating the techniques imediately upon arriving home from class, as soon as you arrive. This can work to help the transfer while it is still 'fresh'.

Videotape is fantastic. For people who struggle with remembering it often helps to tape the performer from behind, so the point of view of the onlooker is the same as it will be as you perform the techniques yourself. That way you don't have to 'switch' right for left while trying to simultaneously remember the movement.
Good luck and happy mantising.

[Pilot]

What works for me is when I do not have time to take notes ( because we may be moving through material quickly ) I set aside a time to go over what was covered with my kung fu "buddy". In praying mantis, it is always good to work together, even with notes. We compare what each other has, and then we go over and write down the rest. We can always correct here and there later. :)

[Chop Socki]

There is some excellent advice here already; hopefully you've found some combination that works well for you.

Coming up with a syntax for taking notes that means something to you - even if it's nonsense to everyone else :p is very important. It'll evolve over time, but getting something down right after class ends is pretty important. If you're looking for an application for your computer skills, something to think about is a set of stick figures executing all the techniques in all the stances that you can link together into a sort of 'comic strip' might be a fun project. Going as far as to create a UML schema just sounds blech-y to me!

Video has been very helpful for me, but for applications which are a bit more advanced than what you're facing right now. In my case, I have such a large quantity of 'stuff' that I've learned over the years that even with my spreadsheet system, in which I list all my forms and the last time I practiced them, making it easy to scan the list to identify things I haven't worked on recently, things still fall off the end of my brain, and I find myself struggling to remember something that I've forgotten to practice in months. When I'm relatively happy with the way something looks, I videotape myself doing it. Then I transfer it to the computer, along with whatever application notes and details I can recall. Not only is it saved for posterity that way, there when I need it in the future, but as I grow and learn new applications (or learn to make better uses of the ones I already have), I can go back and replace that clip with something better.

Finally, a word of support that should make you rest easier with respect to your learning rate. When you're new to the system, everything you learn seems very mechanical - hold your arm this way, move your leg from here to here, etc. As you progress thru your martial arts education, not only will things be easier to learn because they just plain make more sense, but you'll start to see the same basic techniques over and over in different places, so you'll be able to remember things as larger 'blocks'. In other words, rather than trying to remember 'block this way, kick that way', you'll think to yourself as you're learning something 'hey! This section is just like that other form I already know!'.

I hope this stuff helps. Sorry for the novel!

- CC

[ChaoticMantis]

Here is my method toward learning/memorizing a form/set. When my instructor teaches me a set of moves, I want to first make sure I learn the movements correctly. As soon as I learned the movements correctly, I automatically practice the taught movements for at least 10 repetitions. Also I would ask my instructor on the names of the each move and would take notes. On the names of each move, I would write my interpretation of the moves so that I can refer back to it if I forget.

Also make sure you practice what you learned at least once a month. This also will help retain your memory on the movements of each set.

For example, I have not practice the first 5 sets of 8 Step & 7 Star Mantis in over 2 years. Because I practice these set continuous during my early years in training, I can recall all these sets from memory even though I have written down the movements on paper and archived it electronically.

There is another thread “Taking good notes or how do I remember all of this to practice...” This might also be helpful to you.

:)