Learning

Individual students learn in different ways. You must find which way works for you. Once you know which type of learning works best for you, you may adjust your training to accommodate your individual learning needs. For example, you may need to see a technique performed repeatedly before it makes any sense or you may need to see the technique in the context it is used. You may need to have the instructor facing away from you so you can align your body accordingly and mimic the instructor's motion. You may learn a hyung/form/pattern easier from a book or video at home at you own pace rather than in class. These are just some of the numerous ways a person learns. If you do not take the time to discover how you learn, you will have a difficult time learning as the techniques get more complicated.

Sometimes we learn without even knowing it. Many times parents bring their children to Taekwondo class, and stay and watch the class each time. After a few weeks or months, the parents decide to start training themselves. At their first class, they perform so well that people ask them if they have trained in the martial arts before. The parents find that they have absorbed a lot of information just from watching classes.

Clear the Mind

Clear your mind before training so you are not distracted. On a physical level, this will lower the risk of injury to yourself or others due to your not paying attention. On a technical level, you will not miss any information you may need to perform a technique properly. If you practice a technique improperly, you will just have to learn to do it properly at a later time. Also, clearing your mind of all problems during training may give you a new perspective on the problems after the training.

Spar Black Belts

New students always seem to be afraid to spar with black belt; they seem to think the black belt will hurt them. Actually, the odds are much greater that a fellow color belt will hurt them. Black belts have years of training under their belts, they know how to control their techniques, and they do not have to beat up on students to prove their abilities. Whereas, color belts are inexperienced, have little control of their techniques, and sometimes feel the need to hurt the other person for getting the best of them.

If you spar a “true” black belt, you will find that many times your attacks get through and that you are able to block many of the black belt’s attacks. This is not because you are a great fighter. The black belt permits this to happen, praises you when it does happen, and probably will tell you how to make it better. Then, before the sparring session ends, the black belt will set up the action to let you know where you really stand. This will be done without comment and you will not be harmed, but you will be aware of whom the black belt is and who the color belt is, and that you have much to learn.

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