How many of you take notes

[Mark Lynn]

On another thread a poster asked what he could do to enjoy and get the most of a seminar. Several people replied (myself included) that he could take notes about what was covered. I did a search and didn't see this topic covered (please forgive me if it has and I didn't do the search right) and it wasn't so I thought I would throw it out.

1) How many of you take notes, for MA class, at seminars etc. etc.

2) How detailed do you get and do you find it helping you later on.

3) What do you use them for?

4) Any ideas on how to take them.

Just curious. At many of the seminars I've been to I always see a couple of people writing things down, I just wondered how many of the people here at MT take them.

Mark

 

[bignick]

personally, i don't...the only seminar's i usually attend are judo seminars...and i don't think i'm really at the level where i would get much out of taking notes...i just try to absorb as much as possible...although i know some people that do take notes or video tape....

 

[Paul B]

Personally, I am trying to concentrate what is being shown. I don't see how notes could help me at a Hapkido seminar. Too many techniques thrown (get it?)at you and if you blink twice you've missed it. No time for it,anyway.


I will say that I have noticed people sitting on the edge of the mat taking notes,but I don't know what they were looking for. Quotes? Philosophy? All the ones that I have been to were like..."Do this,this,then this,if you want to,add this....go have fun!" And you maybe picked up one of the ten techniques you were shown.

 

[Kenpodoc]

I take notes during seminars. Usually brief notes during the seminar and afterwards I try to review everything in more detail and record it. Obviously motion is sometimes difficult to transcribe on paper. The notes allow me to review material after the seminar and to recall material years later when I remember that I saw something but can't quite remember the details.

Jeff

 

[jfarnsworth]

It's a must to take notes in our art!

 

[MJS]

On another thread a poster asked what he could do to enjoy and get the most of a seminar. Several people replied (myself included) that he could take notes about what was covered. I did a search and didn't see this topic covered (please forgive me if it has and I didn't do the search right) and it wasn't so I thought I would throw it out.

1) How many of you take notes, for MA class, at seminars etc. etc.

Not so much during class now, but always at seminars/camps

2) How detailed do you get and do you find it helping you later on.

Due to the amount of material that is usually taught, there really isn't much time to get too detailed. Short hand notes, and then afterwards, go into more detail. There have been times after the seminar where I've looked at what i've worte down and been like, "What the hell does this mean??" LOL! In addition, I've also video taped the material with a partner following the seminar while it was still fresh in mind.

3) What do you use them for?

As a ref. at a later time.

4) Any ideas on how to take them.

Keep 'em short and sweet while at the seminar. Again, go into detail later on. I've seen people draw diagrams, stick figures, etc. Whatever helps at the time I guess!

Mike

 

[pete]

It's a must to take notes in our art!

that's more a matter of opinion and personal preference rather that "a must".

i will take some notes at seminars, but not on the mat. my preference is to make best use of mat time to get the feel, and to jot down a few key points either on breaks or after class, maybe on the train heading home. i'd rather practice the material a few more times for repetition than write stuff down.

my notes are generally more key points and options, rather than a step by step "how to". but that's just me... i know guys that write everything down in full detail and others who don't even own a pen!

it's really up to the individual...

pete

 

[chinto01]

I take notes at almost every class I attend. I also keep a log of things that I taught at class that night. While it is impossible to go to a seminar and expect to retain everything I would say bring another with you so that you both may take notes and share them after. 2 sets of eyes are better than one. When I attended classes in okinawa this summer video was not allowed. So we had to take notes. Infact we were encouraged to. Even with 3 people doing this we did not get everything. I also encourage my students to bring notebooks to class and jot things down as we go as I also prohibit the use of video cameras during class.

 

[Gin-Gin]

I write down what we covered in class that night before I go to bed (if it was new material), and definitely take notes at seminars/camps. My clipboard with notebook paper is kept in my gear bag, and right after the seminar I write down what was covered in my own shorthand. If I get permission, I usually stay and watch the Advanced class and take notes on what they did. The few times I did not take notes (or was not allowed to take them) I regretted, because after a couple of weeks I forgot the material and could only remember pieces of it. Taking notes has helped me enormously over the past few years, and I can't recommend it strongly enough! :ultracool

 

[fyn5000]

I never have time in class to take notes, but I try to write down some notes that evening or the next morning. I try not to wait too long before writing things down.

fyn

 

[TonyM.]

Always. The second time my students don't is their last class.

 

[Drac]

I always take notes...I attended a Combat Hapkido seminar in Halafax Nova Scotia last year and if all the photos taken they posted a picture on their website of me taking notes..

 

[Xequat]

Every once in a while, I'll sit down and go through all of my material and write out descriptions of it, but not during class. If I go to a seminar, I'll ask questions and learn everything I can, then go home and write it down, but for my class material, I can always ask questions at the next class. But I do like to keep some record for posterity. If I ever break a leg or something, and can't practice, I don't want to forget my material. Plus, I imagine it's hard to keep a bunch of stuff in your head when you get up a few levels into the blackbelt ranks.

My notes are usually just refreshers, though. because I learned the intricacies in class. For example...bow, double shuto, punch, hit-kick, elbow. I won't usually explain how to bow or where to place an attack in my notes because I can figure that out as I practice. Stick figures are good, but so is a $20 webcam. Just retain the material until you get home and then record it while it's fresh.

 

[Feisty Mouse]

Most of the time when I've seen people taking notes at seminars, it is people who are instructors, or at least very familiar with the system. As a beginner, I don't think I knew where to start with all the information. I think it's more helpful or makes more sense for someone who already has an idea of the overall system, or has seen a number of techniques before - then they can start piecing things together.

It seems like it doesn't hurt to take notes, whatever level you are, though.

 

[Fight with attitude]

1) How many of you take notes, for MA class, at seminars etc. etc.

Only when I have time and care enough.

2) How detailed do you get and do you find it helping you later on.

I get as detail as can be...most classes I could probably write a few pages but I do foget a lot of things and it becomes only a few paragraphs.

It does help me later on because I can read it over and over again and play it in my head...it's not nearly as good as being in class but it does help.

3) What do you use them for?

To study how to do moves...once I got that down I will write about how I can do the move without people countering me.

4) Any ideas on how to take them.

Learn the move step by step. Write down what your are doing right and wrong. Ask yourself, why am I doing it wrong? After you can do the move start trying to figure out why people are countering or escaping. Throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks..e.g "I did have a few guys just drive forward when I went for the triangle...hmmm I'm thinking I should put my hands on his shoulders and push him back until I can get my feet on his hips then do the triangle..or put one foot on the hip and do kind of a rubber guard.."...when I try this new things it's important to review what worked and what didn't work...if it did work how can you make it better? Why did it work? Can you go to another submission if the guy escapes? etc..basicly I ask myself a lot of questions mostly how's ? and why's ? then I try to figure out the answer.

 

[gyaku-zuki queen]

i haven't really been to any seminars, but whenever i go for training not in my regular dojo, i soak up as much as i can when i'm training, and when i'm done training and usually on the trip back home i go over everything ive done that day(s) and write down all of the pointers that i know i'll want to look into in the future for training. (helps remember)

 

[Mark Lynn]

Good replies!

For myself years ago I started taking notes and here's some of the reasons.

1) To give credit where credit is do. I remember the 1st Dan Inosanto seminar I went to, he was very good in telling us who taught him what and where this drill came from. This way word wouldn't get back to his instructors that he was taking credit for things they taught etc. etc. Which leads to the 2nd reason.

2) Early on I believed in all of the hype about learning techniques that had been passed down for generations through generations etc. etc. So I wanted to pass on techniques information etc. etc. to my future students (early on I decided that I would at sometime teach someone so I prepared for it). This mainly started to occur (become a priority) to me when I starting teaching for the college I was going to as a brown belt.

Which led me to be somewhat of a purist in teaching and use whatever I could in self defense/sparring practice etc. As time went by and I was again a student in a school I got into it more by writing down what we did in class so I could in time learn to structure class.

3) When I started to attend seminars in Thai boxing, Kenpo and such I wrote my notes to remember what we did so I could take something away from the seminar. Later on it was to learn all I could in the different FMA systems that I checked out.

4) When I was training at my instructor's dojo (at his private dojo at his house) all we generally did was fight. So I wrote notes on how I fought and what I needed to wortk on with the other opponents/students their strengths and weaknesses and such. Looking back on those now they are some of my favorite notes to read since they describe what was going on for me during that time in my life 10-17 years ago.

So over time my notes have taken on different roles for me. Sometimes they tended to be a journal of how I need to improve and other strengths and weaknesses. Other notes tend to show me how to teach and structure classes. And then others such as the one's I now take for seminars tend to be in depth how to do something, technical material. Which have formed the basis for what I teach now.

My notes now have been typed into my computer for use in handouts, curriculumns, future manuals (this one I have been working on now for 7 years and it never ends since I never stop learning new stuff), and such.

It's gotten to be a pretty big project now, but I stil enjoy it.

Just rambling
Mark

 

[clapping_tiger]

I think taking notes is a must! I have 3 notebooks I use. The first one (the big thick one), is for my art. Whenever I learned a new technique, form, stance, punch, theory, or whatever. I would write it down right after class. If I had to I would review it with my instructor to make sure I took everything down right. The second one is for weapons drills I have learned so I can go back and refresh my memory on any drills I may have questions on. The third one is creative stuff I came up with on my own, Technique combinations, striking combos, blends, stuff like that. You may not remember everything you were taught or thought of, but being able to refer back to your notes is a big help. My notes are pretty detailed, everything is broken down step by step, and many have diagrams.

 

[Gin-Gin]

I think taking notes is a must! I have 3 notebooks I use. The first one (the big thick one), is for my art. Whenever I learned a new technique, form, stance, punch, theory, or whatever. I would write it down right after class. If I had to I would review it with my instructor to make sure I took everything down right. The second one is for weapons drills I have learned so I can go back and refresh my memory on any drills I may have questions on. The third one is creative stuff I came up with on my own, Technique combinations, striking combos, blends, stuff like that. You may not remember everything you were taught or thought of, but being able to refer back to your notes is a big help. My notes are pretty detailed, everything is broken down step by step, and many have diagrams.

That's awesome, Clapping Tiger!! You set a great example for the rest of us. :asian:

When I was training at my instructor's dojo (at his private dojo at his house) all we generally did was fight. So I wrote notes on how I fought and what I needed to wortk on with the other opponents/students their strengths and weaknesses and such. Looking back on those now they are some of my favorite notes to read since they describe what was going on for me during that time in my life 10-17 years ago.

Absolutely, Boar Man! I forgot to mention in my previous post that not only does taking notes help me learn, but when I look back at them I not only see the material, but the memories of that seminar/camp, what rank I was at the time, & what I was going through at the time in regards to training. Like Mr. John Sepulveda says, it's all about making memories!!

 

[Paul Genge]

I have been through periods where I have taken note and those where I have not. At the moment it is the later of these, but at some point this may change again.

The advantages of note taking or video taping are as follows.

1. They provide a stimilus for remembering the techniques or drills covered in the course and the feeling of carrying them out.

2. You can force yourself through the experiential learning cycle by writing notes after the class. By this I mean that those of us who do not ponder the why and wherefore of the material we have been shown are forced to do so.

3. Video is great because it captures the event as it happened and not how you imagined it to happen.

I am sure there are other advantages, but here are some of the disadvantages.

1. You spend all your time behind the camera and not training.

2. You write down things wrong in your notes because at the time you did not understand them or you remembered them incorrectly when you got time for note taking.

3. Your notes become something that you cannot deviate from.

4. You become a collector of footage or notes and the application of the art becomes less important that obtaining the next piece of information or footage. This is definately something that plagues the Bujinkan martial arts.

I have found that if using notes as part of my training it is as important to write about how I felt during the class and my performance, as it is to document the drills or techniques.

Paul Genge
http://www.russianmartialart.org.uk