"How To Remember Everything You Learn... Almost!"

From: Jason Stanley, 3rd Dan Shitoryu
1st January, 2002

For the first 5 years of my karate, every time I trained I learned something new. Either a new technique or the development of an existing technique, a new kata, a new philosophy, a new fighting combination or tweaking an existing combination. Today in my sixteenth year of martial arts I still learn new techniques. It doesn't happen as often as in those first five years, but I'd like to think I continue to improve what I began all those years ago.

So after fifteen years I have learned the best way to remember and develop karate over time, is to keep a journal. Keep a journal of what you learn and add to it, as needed. It would be fair to say that each karate lesson may cover several different aspects of karate. The lesson may include some self-defence, some kata and new fighting combination. It would also be fair to say, that we don't remember everything we learn in class. (In fact we forget 80% of the detail of what we learn within 24 hours, if not revised.*)

For most of us, we will forget a substantial portion of what we learn today within a week. We may remember the basics of the lesson, but many of the fine points are forgotten. And it's the finer details that make all the difference in the effectiveness of our technique. Wouldn't you agree? Do you recall exactly what you learned last week when you trained down to the smallest detail?

By keeping a journal you can keep track of all those things that you would have otherwise forgotten. You will need to review it often in order to keep the information fresh in your mind. (If you want to learn how to improve your memory, check out a book by Tony Buzan called Master Your Memory.)

One of the great things about keeping a karate journal is that you can look back at it down the track and modify techniques that you previously created. Or you can call on more than one of the techniques you wrote in your journal and create a whole new combination. You can clean up your kata & brush up on those fighting techniques you rarely use by reviewing your journal. It is an exceptionally useful tool before a grading or a tournament.

A good way to structure your journal, is to break it into segments then by date, rather than break it down by date and then into categories. One downfall of structuring the journal by date and then by category, is that when you come back and add to a particular section, you run out of room quickly. By breaking it up by category then by date you can add more pages to a particular category as needed. Because each segment is also chronological, you see your development as your journal grows. You can also look back and see how your technique builds on previous ideas you have recorded.

Using a 2 or 3 ring binder as your journal allows you to simply add pages as you go. That way each category can grow by itself, without overlapping or bumping into the next.

So what categories can you break karate into? That's the easy part, and the suggestions below are by no means the only way. Depending on your personal preferences and your style, you can modify this structure to suit.

The most common categories are Kumite, Kata, Basic technique, Self-defence, Fitness and Strength. Kumite can be broken down further into dojo, competition and street. Kata can be broken down by the kata names and then by version if you learn more than one version for a particular kata. Basic Technique can be broken into Stances, Blocks and Strikes. Self-defence can be broken down into Standing and Ground. Fitness would include exercises done to increase your performance. eg. Sprints, Fighting drills etc. Strength includes exercises like Chinups, Situps, Pushups etc.

Ok. You now have a basic structure, what next?

After each lesson, write down in the appropriate section of your journal what you have learned in that lesson. If you have information on that particular technique just append to what you already have. There is no need to rewrite previous information. Adding instead of rewriting information allows you to keep your information concise which is easier to recall at a later date. And because it is broken into sections, you can study a particular aspect at any given time. You can then remain focussed on what you're working on without being distracted by something irrelevant.

Here is an example of what a section of a typical journal might look like. Remember, your journal must mean something to you. It must be formatted in a way that is useful to you. If it's not, then it won't be fun and you won't use it. The following excerpt is an example only and should not be considered as the be-all, end-all of journal entries.

Section Category - Kumite
Sub Section - Competition

20 March 88 - Learned the importance of keeping on the balls of the feet. Helps you be dynamic. Much faster, much easier to move around. Keep back foot facing forward, not sideways.

23 March 88 - Make sure you are getting out of the way after scoring or after you have finished attacking. Don't stay in close. You increase your chance of being hit as you are presenting a target to your opponent. I got hit several times tonight from not getting out in time and dropping my guard. Remember, hands up and push out or break the line.

1 April 88 - Hands up again! Push out! Also learned new fighting technique. A triple technique - Reverse punch, back fist, reverse punch - this is done with the triple shuffle. Reverse punch on the spot, step back foot up and make back fist strike towards the face with front hand, slide front foot in with reverse punch. It's a long distance technique, primarily used for opponents who shuffle or step backwards.
4th April 88 - ..........
Etc.

You can make your journal electronic. Simply use a text editor like Microsoft Word or a similar program you are familiar with. The benefits for electronic journal are

• It is neat.
• It can be stored digitally so you can have it forever.
• It is easy to add pages.
• Pages can be printed out and added to your binder.
• You can leave space to add drawings, either by hand, or with your graphics program if you have one.
• You can use the "search" or "find" function to locate a particular technique without flipping through hundreds of pages.
  

Whatever structure you choose, there is no doubt that this is a powerful way to record and recall information. Think about it. Where has history been recorded most accurately for centuries? In books, not just in our minds!

Jason Stanley
www.karatetips.com

References - The Mind Map Book - Tony Buzan, Use your Memory - Tony Buzan