Write it down!

How do you learn?

When I lived in Osaka 15 years ago, it was certainly a test of my ability to absorb what came my way. I was hampered by three things:

-          Prior learning (yes, it is a thing. It can and does take time to unlearn habits)

-          Lack of fluency in the Japanese language (and, conversely, no one who spoke fluent English in the dojo)

-          Lack of opportunity to practice with corrections.

Classes were an intense, once-a-week experience in a city outside of Osaka. Travel was by train, and each way from my place was well over an hour commute. The closer I got to my departure, Inaba Sensei kindly arranged extra training for me on my days off. He was stellar! But, beyond that, it was learn by doing, listening and asking questions in my advanced basic Japanese, corrections corrections corrections and a whole lotta watching and emulating as best as possible.

So, I covered all three of the VAK (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) learning styles. But, I dabbled in one more pretty much from the beginning of training. It was a weekly ritual: write it all down!

And what a process!

Writing. Explaining. Crude pictures. For futari geiko, it was both descriptions of attack and defense written next to stickman opponents. For kata, it was step-by-step with directions and movements. And arrows to point which way I was going. I filled damn near a whole book in that time!

It was similar to something we did when I ran my dojo in Regina over 20 years ago. With the help of one of my senior students, Scot T, we created a document from Visio (a vector graphics program) that showed what movements and directions occurred in kata in sequence. It also identified heights of kicks and punches, angles of arms for blocks alignment of body and feet in different stances. It was quite a feat for the time.

And of course, we had a student handbook as well. We killed a lot of trees before the advent of digital files! But it also lacked that je-sais-exactement-quoi. Thus, in absence of having a computer or the software whilst in Japan, I had to do it the old fashioned way.

In today’s world, we see a lot of videos. Youtube. Vimeo. Etc. People sell online space in classes and seminars you can watch anywhere in the world. You can order videos and download digital files. But still, this is a lot of watching only. It is sorta repeating the V in the VAK learning spectrum. And it, to a degree, removes the learner from an important part of the learning spectrum.

Aaaand, what is that, you ask?

Well, I’ll tell you (I sort of already did). But, better yet, this time I’ll ask you: what about writing things down after class? Ever tried it?

I suggested it to guys from a dojo I trained at years ago to do it when they went to seminars. It seemed to go over well. Hell, I still do it now when I go to Okinawa. New trip, new book. And over lunch or on the bus ride home (depending on the dojo I am visiting, the pen hits the paper with furious intent to capture thoughts, feelings and movement from the training sessions. How did sensei move my arm with the bo? Where did he strike when showing application from kata X – and why? How low do I need to go?

For years, I have counseled my students to do this. Sadly, with minimal success. That does not mean I have stopped trying. I am contemplating making handing the book in a requirement for grading. And from my time learning to analyze documents, I can tell when things are fresh and when things have been written down some time ago. So nice try if you want to cram all that stuff onto pages at the last minute.

Same goes with big writing. Size does matter - bigger is not better. Quantity and quality are equally needed. J

Studies have been done that underline the importance of writing information down – NOT TYPING IT OUT – in helping to imprint and retain the knowledge. It helps with recall. And the retention between things written and typed is different. (This coming from the guy bashing away on his keyboard now trying to convince you to write!) But it is true. Google it.

Or don’t take my word for it. NPR wrote on the subject. So did KaratebyJesse’s Jesse Enkamp.

Writing things down strengthens your learning process. By doing it the old-fashioned way, you may find yourself doodling pictures to explain your words. You will use your recall process to try to frame the image. And if you can imagine yourself doing it in your head while you write, you are in part accessing your reticular activating system. Think of it as a means of setting up and reinforcing your very own karate squad goals!

From my 40 years on the floor, here are a few things I have learned through watching others and experiencing the process myself:

-          Go easy on yourself when you are learning new stuff. It will take some time to process and internalize.

-          Watch. Listen. Practice. Be present in the learning moment, not distracted by other things. Or by the noises in your own head that feed you dialogue and opinion (this is too hard, going too fast, I’ll never remember).

-          Practice Practice Practice! Seek feedback! Repeat!

-          Between sessions or after sessions – whichever is more practical – write it down in as concise and true a form as possible. Don’t wait til the next day or week to do it. Fresh is best! Think of it as writing notes in class (remember when we did that?). There is less chance for recall distortion if you do it as soon as possible.

The less you practice, the less you will retain. The more you practice – and the more ways you try to internalize your practice and your learning – the more it will become part of you.

Don’t believe it? Try learning a whole kata next time you are on the floor. Then try to do to it again next week. After no practice for a week.

Then try to learn a different kata using the writing method as described here. Read. Re-read. Practice. See what happens.

And let me know. Maybe I will do my own study and borrow you as a test subject!

Now, go find your notebook and get ready for next class!