Category: Memory

Memory enhancing tips for the recreational martial artist

12/9/2018

DBN Garth (right) of Kuk Sool Won™ of Pukekohe enjoying his training with fellow students

For SBN Caroline and I, our martial art of Kuk Sool Won™ is more than a hobby. It is our job, our passion and central to the way we live our lives. However, for most people, martial arts are a recreational activity. In our experience, students participate to get fit, learn some self-defense skills, build their confidence, and to enjoy the companionship of their fellow students. They set goals around achieving a certain rank and are motivated by the new material they learn at each new belt level. While the practice of martial arts is important, as with any recreational activity, it must fit in around many other life commitments.

A recreational martial art usually involves around 2 to 4 hours of structured training a week in a class environment. While this is enough time to learn the basic skills, in our martial art of Kuk Sool Won™ there is a lot of material to learn and perfect, especially as a student progresses towards black belt (and beyond). This invariably means our students need to practice their material outside of class time. This can be challenging, particularly for those students who are time poor or do not have someone they can practice with outside of classes. As well, students may not always have a training partner at the same belt level in their school. For example, my training partner left when I was a yellow belt (after six months of training). As ours was a small school, I never had another regular training partner at my belt level. Having a fellow student of the same rank as a training partner makes training much more enjoyable, helps with motivation, and aids the learning process, as you help each other to practice and remember your material. I know from experience that it definitely makes training more difficult when you no longer have another student at your level to train with.

While participating in martial arts as a recreational activity is enjoyable and rewarding, there are definitely some training challenges to be overcome. We have come up with some tips to make your training and practice more enjoyable and effective.

Take notes to aid your memory: When I learn a new set of techniques, I always write them down in my Kuk Sool notebook. I have done this since early in my training. I have often had to train with someone at a lower rank than myself, so I cannot rely on my training partner being able to remind me of my techniques. I also use the official Kuk Sool Won™ textbook as a memory prompt once I have been taught material by my instructor. My notes jog my memory, as does the textbook. They are an excellent aide memoire for use at home. I also add training tips to my notes as I refine my techniques after further instruction. Even if your memory is excellent, it is a good idea to have a backup, especially as you advance through the ranks. This is particularly true in Kuk Sool, where there are a large number of techniques to learn for each degree of black belt.
Walk through your forms and techniques at home: It is important to practice your material outside class. This is hard though, if you don’t have a lot of space and no one else in your household is practicing martial arts with you. There are ways around this. For forms, you don’t need a lot of room as you can practice doing them “on the spot”. Your instructor can teach you how to do this. The idea is to walk through your forms, so the moves become second nature. You can work on your stances for example and finesse the details of the form in class. For techniques, you can walk them through with an imaginary partner. I have been practicing my techniques on my imaginary friend “George” for several years now! Sure, it’s not as good as practicing with a real person, but it is better than not practicing your techniques at all.
Go through your forms and techniques in your head every day: I systematically work through my forms and techniques in my head every day. It is a form of meditation for me. It not only keeps my techniques fresh in my memory, but also is a form of relaxation. I use my notebook if I find myself forgetting any particular technique. I am currently training for second degree black belt in Kuk Sool Won™ and I have well over 300 techniques to remember, as well as a number of open hand and weapons forms. I largely focus on the material that I don’t get to teach students on a regular basis, as that material has become very much second nature. We need to work on our memory. It is not just something that happens. We need to regularly think about our martial arts material, inside and outside class. If we turn our mind off the moment we step outside of the dojang (training hall), we will struggle to remember our material.
Take the opportunity to train with as many other students as possible: While it is great to have a regular training partner, it can make us complacent. We quickly become in tune with that other person and know how their body will react when we do a technique on them. It is easy to just go through the motions. While a training partner can help with memory, training with other people as often as you can will challenge your memory. Being outside of your comfort zone puts pressure on your memory, which will highlight where you need to do further work. Also, techniques work differently on everybody, so training with other students will teach you how to apply a technique in different ways. This will add to your depth of knowledge. So actively seek out other students to train with during classes rather than always training with the same person. It might feel less comfortable, but you are likely to learn more.
Don’t miss classes: This may sound obvious, but when you are only doing 2 or 3 classes a week, you really can’t afford to miss too many. Your body and mind need regular and consistent training time. You will struggle to remember your material if your training become inconsistent. Also, the more classes you miss, the more you are likely to miss classes in the future. It becomes a viscous cycle. It can be hard to motivate yourself to get to training when you are tired, feeling a bit unwell, or it’s cold and wet outside. While it might be tempting to stay at home or go out with friends and family, martial arts require a certain level of dedication and commitment, even when it is just a recreational activity.

Martial arts training is a fantastic recreational activity. To get the most out of it, you need to be smart about how you train. The tips I have outlined above are ways to maximise the time you have available. Your instructor and other more senior students will also be a great source of knowledge. Ask for advice and be creative in the ways you train so that you can find works for you.

JKN Jane Hurst
First degree black belt and school owner
Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero

Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved.

0 Comments

The challenges of being a white belt

21/5/2018

0 Comments

Starting a martial art can be a very challenging experience. Depending on the style of martial arts, there can be a lot of material to learn at white belt level and at times, it can feel overwhelming and daunting. You are in a new environment, with people you probably don’t know. You are learning new skills and physically challenging your body in new and demanding ways. Everything is new and you can feel completely out of your comfort zone. I know I certainly did during my first few months as a white belt in Kuk Sool Won™. It was physically very hard for me and I felt outside of my comfort zone by how much there was to learn, particularly about the etiquette surrounding a traditional martial art. Fortunately, I had a very patient instructor who gently helped me through those challenging first few months.

I am now a Kuk Sool Won™ instructor and school owner and I regularly work with our new students. In the collective experience of myself and fellow school owner and 4th degree black belt, SBN Caroline, we have found that our new Kuk Sool students tend struggle with some or all of the following elements.

Etiquette: As a traditional Korean martial art, Kuk Sool Won™ places a strong emphasis on etiquette. There are for example, rules of behaviour both inside and outside the dojang. We address each other in a respectful manner and we respect rank through the use of titles. Bowing is also part of the tradition of our martial art. These etiquette rules can feel uncomfortable and challenging at first. They take time to learn and new students may worry about making mistakes or getting the etiquette wrong.
New material: Everything a white belt does will be new to that student. For example, they have to learn how to execute different types of kicks and hand strikes, which they may never have tried before. They also learn forms (called hyung in Kuk Sool Won™) and self-defense techniques, all of which will be new and challenging to them. It is like learning a new language. It can be very hard at the start. Even a new student who has trained in another style of martial arts will face challenges when they first start Kuk Sool, as there will be many physical and technical differences, which they need to adapt to and learn. As well, much of our terminology is in Korean, which takes time for new students to learn.
Physical challenges: Martial arts requires us to develop strength, fitness, speed, coordination, balance and flexibility. This is martial arts specific and happens over years of training. While the Kuk Sool syllabus is designed to gradually condition the body, training at white belt level is still physically challenging and our bodies need time to become adjusted to it. It is common for new students to feel frustrated by the limitations of their bodies, particularly when they see what other students who have been training for a while can physically do.
Memory: In our style of martial arts, new students learn a lot of material as white belts. They need to learn and remember a hyung (form) and a number of self-defence techniques. Our white belts can struggle with their memories, particularly for those who have not actively trained their memory skills for some time. Gradually their memories will improve, but remembering the syllabus can be particularly daunting in the early stages of training.
New environment: Being in a new environment with new people can be nerve-wracking for some people. It can take time to feel comfortable with other students and instructors.

While it is not possible to remove these challenges, there are ways to make the first few months easier for new students and in my next blog I will focus on these. The key message for new students though, is this. It is completely normal to feel outside of your comfort zone when you first start. Your fellow students and instructors have all been there and experienced it. We understand and want to support you through the challenging first few months. Stick at it as the rewards of martial arts training are definitely worth it.

JKN Jane Hurst
First degree black belt and school owner
Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero

Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved.

0 Comments

Feel like quitting your martial art?

2/5/2018

0 Comments

In our experience and as discussed in my last blog on perseverance, the majority of people who quit martial arts training do so at two key points; within the first few months and shortly after becoming a black belt. There are many reasons people quit. The novelty of training may have worn off and they may be struggling with the commitment required to progress. They may have become frustrated with themselves and believe they are not good enough. Or they may be struggling with injury or illness. For newly promoted black belts, they may feel that they have achieved their goal and don’t want to make the commitment to several more years of training to progress to the next level.

There are a myriad of reasons for quitting. However, the way people quit is similar. They will often tell their instructor by text or email after they have made the decision to leave. Some just stop training without even telling their instructor. Others will say they are taking a break, but in our experience few will ever return to training. While students may quit in different ways and for differing reasons, one thing is consistent. They rarely talk to their instructor about the difficulties they are experiencing before they make the decision to quit.

At some point during your martial art career you are likely to feel like giving up. So what should you do if you feeling like quitting?

Talk to your instructor about the difficulties you are having. A good instructor will find ways to help you and can give you guidance and advice. For example, we have students who struggle with their memory. We can provide reassurance, as well as teaching different ways to develop their memory skills. For those struggling with injury, we can adapt their syllabus to work around that injury. If we know about the difficulties you are experiencing, we can help.
Talk to other students you trust. Martial arts builds a sense of collegiality between students and they become a good source of support and guidance. They may have felt like quitting and can give you advice on what they did to get through that difficult time.
Give yourself some time before making a final decision to quit. You may just be going through a bad patch, related to the belt level you are at. By sticking at it, you may find that you are able to work through your difficulties and as a result, become a better martial artist. For example, most students struggle with their memory in a martial art likes ours (Kuk Sool Won™), which has a lot of material to remember. This is challenging, especially during the first few months. Eventually you will develop your memory skills if you stick at it. It is part of the process.
Remember that if you decide to take a break, you are unlikely to return to training. A better approach maybe to reduce the amount of training you are doing for a period of time.
If you do decide to quit, try to let your instructor and other students know in person so they have the opportunity to say goodbye to you. This is particularly important when you have been training for several years. Close relationships are formed through martial arts training and it can be hard on your instructor and fellow students if you quit without saying goodbye.

Martial arts training is not easy. It is difficult and you are likely to feel like quitting at times. I am interested to hear about your experiences. Have you ever felt like quitting and if so, what did you do about it? Please leave a comment.

JKN Jane Hurst
First degree black belt and school owner
Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero

Copyright © 2018. Kuk Sool Won™ of Onewhero. All Rights Reserved.

0 Comments

6 ways your 5 to 6 year old will benefit from training in Kuk Sool Won™

22/10/2017

0 Comments

Martial arts are great for kids but we are often asked how old do they need to be to start training. Normally, kids need to be 6 or 7 to join a kids class. However, we have developed a specialised programme for 5 year olds which we offer at our Kuk Sool Won™ school in Pukekohe. Here are 5 great reasons why your 5 year old will benefit from our Kiwi Dragons™ programme in the Korean martial art of Kuk Sool Won™.

1. Respect and discipline: Kuk Sool Won™ specifically focuses on creating respectful citizens. We gently encourage our 5 year old students to develop self-discipline and show respect to their instructors, fellow students, parents, and themselves. We do this through individual and teamwork drills and exercises, as well as by role modelling good behaviour.

2, Focus and memory: 5 year olds have a short attention span. By using repetitive exercises and breaking martial art elements into small components, we capture the attention of our young students and gradually improve their memory. We supplement this with various reward systems to keep them focused and motivated.

3. Control and balance: By breaking down martial art elements into smaller components, young students gradually gain control over their developing bodies. They develop co-ordination and balance through exercises that encourage development of the left and right sides of their brain and body.

4. Self-defence: Self-defence is at the core of Kuk Sool Won™. From their first class our 5 year olds learn how to get away if someone grabs them. They consistently practice getting away quickly so that it becomes second nature.

5. Fitness and fun: With plenty of age-appropriate exercises, drills and body conditioning, 5 year olds gain strength and fitness. They also have a lot of fun, which is an essential part of the learning process with young children.

6. Spatial Awareness: Kids spend a lot of time on digital media these days and from an early age. Flat screens and no interaction with others and real objects will not help them learn about depth perception and spatial awareness. By participating in a group activity with real objects, kids get to experience 3 dimensional play.

0 Comments

Memory enhancing tips for the recreational martial artist

The challenges of being a white belt

Feel like quitting your martial art?

6 ways your 5 to 6 year old will benefit from training in Kuk Sool Won™

Caroline and Jane Hurst

Archives

Categories